2022 Statehouse Insider
Week One
Jan. 10 – Jan. 14, 2022
It was a busy week in Topeka which saw hearings on various tax issues related to wildfires in the state and Governor Laura Kelly’s State of the State address. Key issues this session will include reapportionment and redistricting following the 2020 census, a Senate vote on the “Value Them Both” constitutional amendment question on abortion, possible legalization of medical marijuana, and deliberation of how to most appropriately spend the projected $2.9 billion ending balance – either through tax cuts (such as removal of the sales tax on food), or the paying down of outstanding debt (such as KPERS, the state employee retirement system).
Week Two
Jan. 17 – Jan. 21, 2022
This week, the Legislature worked through bills and hearings, even while many legislators were absent due to positive COVID tests. The Senate passed a few bills of high importance, as the House also began initial committee work. Here are some of the highlights of the week.
Week Three
Jan. 24 – Jan. 28, 2022
This week, the Legislature passed a map drawing new lines for the state’s four Congressional districts, held hearings on various bills proposing to exempt “food” from states sales tax, and advanced an economic development bill that would provide for incentives for specified industries to establish their national corporate headquarters in the state with specified capital investment of at least $1,000,000,000.
Week Four
Jan. 31 – Feb. 04, 2022
This week, the legislature took a day of hiatus when winter storms were predicted to bring heavy snow to the capitol city. On Thursday, as predicted, Governor Laura Kelly vetoed a Republican-friendly map that would have drawn new lines for the state’s four Congressional districts.
Week Five
Feb. 07 – Feb. 11, 2022
This week saw the override of Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of a Republican-friendly map (Sub Senate Bill 355) that will draw new lines for the state’s four Congressional districts. It is assumed that legal challenges to the bill will follow.
Week Six
Feb. 14 – Feb. 18, 2021
The Legislature passed a Republican-friendly Congressional redistricting map last week (Sub Senate Bill 355), overriding Governor Laura Kelly’s veto. As anticipated, multiple legal challenges to the bill were filed. Major floor action in the House this week included the attempted passage of a resolution on a proposed constitutional amendment giving the Legislature oversight of rules and regulations adopted by executive branch agencies.
Week Seven
Feb. 21 – Feb. 25, 2022
This was Turnaround week in the Kansas legislature, where the House and Senate debated dozens of bills before adjourning on Wednesday afternoon. Any bill that was either not passed by its chamber of origin by Wednesday, or is otherwise exempt, will no longer be an active bill this session.
Week Eight
Feb. 28 – March 4, 2022
The legislature returned to work this week to begin further consideration of bills. On Thursday afternoon, while debating a bill that would provide income tax credits to graduates of aviation-related programs and their employers, the Senate amended the bill multiple times to add other income and property tax bills and programs with a total cost of over $100 million to the state.
Week Nine
March 7 – March 11, 2022
A snow front on Thursday caused abbreviated work in the Kansas Legislature this week. One major action item was the release of newly proposed state Senate district maps which would pair multiple incumbent Senators against each other in the coming 2024 elections. The Democrats’ proposed Eisenhower Senate map plan creates only one incumbent v. incumbent battle in the 2024 elections, while the Republicans’ Liberty 2 map creates two, and the Kansas League of Women Voters’ BluestemSenate creates three such scraps.
Week 10
March 14 – March 18, 2022
The Kansas legislature’s final day for non-exempt committees to meet passed without much fanfare on Friday, March 18. As a rain and snow mixture fell on Topeka Friday, a few lawmakers navigated the statehouse hallways, while the majority of legislators returned home to gear up for a week of late-night floor debate on big-ticket issues as time winds down on the 2022 session.
Week 11
March 21 – March 25, 2022
This week was Drop Dead week for the Kansas legislature, where any non-exempt bill not passed both chambers may be dead unless it is referred to a conference committee which meets next week to work out differences in bills. Both the House and Senate debated and passed numerous bills this week, with the Senate, on Wednesday, working until close to 2:00 am. The House passed its budget bill and overwhelmingly approved Sub HB 2737 which will draw new House district lines for the next 10 years.
Week 12
March 28 – April 1, 2022
Last week was the final week of regular session for the 2022 Kansas legislature. Both chambers deliberated for hours, with final action on Friday concluding about 1:30 am. Legislators will take off most of the month of April before returning on Monday, April 25 for a, likely brief, veto session to consider bills vetoed by Governor Laura Kelly. In addition, multiple bills of significant interest that failed to be passed Friday evening could still be addressed during the veto session.
First Veto
April 26 – April 29, 2022
The 2022 Kansas Legislature returned on Monday, April 25 to begin its Veto Session. Legislators continued work on unfinished legislation and took action to attempt to override vetoes of various bills by Governor Laura Kelly. The legislature finished its work late on Thursday, with the Senate finally adjourning around 2:20 am early Friday morning.
First Veto
May 23, 2022
The 2022 Kansas Legislature returned on Monday, May 23 for Sine Die – the final day of session. The House and Senate continued work on a few bills and took action on a few bills attempting to override Governor Laura Kelly’s veto. The most anticipated issue of the day, however, was set aside following a ruling last week by the Kansas Supreme Court upholding the Legislature’s new map of Kansas’ four Congressional districts. The legislature finished its work for the year early on Monday afternoon.