Thank you for reading the third edition of the Kansans First Report, a periodic legislative update from my office regarding the work of the Republicans in the Kansas Senate.

I chose Kansans First because it reflects our fundamental belief that we should trust the people of Kansas and that the policies we enact should reflect that belief.

You can read the first edition, which details our Better Way Plan, by clicking here and the second edition by clicking here.

This edition will describe our work in the Kansas Senate during the month of March, leading up to adjournment early last Friday morning. Last week, we adopted a number of bills important to Kansans, which are detailed below.

If I can ever be of any assistance, I encourage you to contact my office at ty.masterson@senate.ks.gov or e-mail me at presidenttymasterson@gmail.com.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

“Let’s Start with the Facts” is an ongoing feature of the Kansans First Report, highlighting key items of information impacting Kansas.

Democrats compare Kansas’ ban on males in female sports to crucifixion of Jesus Christ. One Kansas Democrat lawmaker told her Republican colleagues they were “full of s–t” after they voted Wednesday to ban males in female sports – and two other Democrats likened it to the crucifixion of Christ. The pointed rhetoric came after the House and Senate both voted to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.” (Source)

2022 valuation spikes led to big property tax increases in some counties. The Truth in Taxation revenue-neutral law continues to save taxpayers money in some counties, but elected officials elsewhere took advantage of valuation spikes to impose large property tax increases last year. (Source)

Riley Gaines Assaulted by Trans Activists at San Francisco State University. Record-setting swimmer Riley Gaines, who came to Kansas to testify in support of the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, was violently assaulted at San Francisco State University following a speech on Thursday.  (Source)

The job market is cooling as higher interest rates and a slowing economy take a toll. The U.S. job market is showing signs of softening as rising interest rates and slowing economic growth begin to take their toll on hiring. (Source)

Republicans believe tax dollars are taxpayer dollars – that is, they belong to the people, not the government. In these times of record inflation, high rent and mortgage costs, and other economic uncertainty, Republicans are committed to lowering rates for everyone - with an eye towards important structural reform that puts Kansas on a path to economic prosperity, as demonstrated by other states.

Last week, the Kansas Senate passed legislation which is a comprehensive tax package that includes eliminating of the state sales tax on food, lowering income taxes for all Kansans while going to a single rate, reducing the property tax burden for all Kansans, and lowering taxes on Social Security income. Here are the specifics:

• Replace individual income tax brackets with a single, simple rate of 5.15 percent while containing a large exemption for both single and married filers so every Kansan gets a tax cut;
• Provide for annual standard deduction increases by a cost-of-living adjustment, which has a direct positive impact on low and middle-income Kansans;
• Reduce taxes on retirement income by expanding the exemption on Social Security income;
• Increase the amount of the appraised value of residential property exempt from the statewide uniform 20 mill school finance levy to $60,000;
• Reduce corporate income tax rates and discounting reductions required by the Attracting Powerful Economic Expansion Act (APEX) as a result of those taxes being lowered;

SB 169 passed 24-13.  Having also passed the House, it heads to the governor. If the governor truly wants to meet Republicans in the middle of the road, she will sign the bill.

Republicans are committed to stopping the woke agenda, particularly when it has an impact on children. This past week, Republicans sent two bills to the governor that do just that:

Kansas Child Mutilation Prevention Act

In recent years, there has been increasing alarm at children who too often feel pressure to submit to gender reassignment surgeries that they later regret. Example after heartbreaking example is compelling lawmakers across the country to take decisive action to protect these children.

Note this article regarding Chloe Cole, who came to the Kansas Senate (along with others who have de-transitioned) recently to courageously testify in support of SB 233 and told her story. Cole is engaged in a lawsuit against Kaiser Hospitals, claiming that the organization’s administration pressured her into accepting a “mutilating, mimicry sex change experiment” that she later came to regret.

The need to protect children like Chloe is why the bill is so vital to pass. It bans gender reassignment surgeries for minors by requiring the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts to revoke the license of a physician who performed a childhood gender reassignment service. It also creates a civil cause of action against a physician who performs childhood gender reassignment service.

While some Democrats tried to undermine Chloe and others like her by asking questions irrelevant to her story, Republicans stood strong and passed the Kansas Child Mutilation Act twice - this past week, it was contained within SB 26, which passed 23-12. Having also passed the House, it heads to the governor.

Separate Accommodations for Boys & Girls

Senate Sub. for HB 2138 would require school district boards of education to adopt a policy regarding separate overnight accommodations for students of each biological sex during school district sponsored travel; permit local broadcasters to broadcast a school’s regular or postseason activities under certain criteria; and provide for administrative review by the State Board of Education of resolutions adopted by school district boards to permanently close a school building. HB 2138 passed 28-10.  Having also passed the House, it heads to the governor.

The Kansas Senate has taken a significant step toward protecting public investments from ESG (environmental, social, or governance) criteria by passing the Kansas Public Investments and Contracts Protection Act. With Americans increasingly worried if their retirement funds are at risk due to demands by corporations attempting to be woke, action was needed to protect the obligations made to taxpayers and retirees.

Under the bill, HB 2100, state agencies and other political subdivisions would be prohibited from giving preferential treatment to or discriminating against companies based on ESG criteria in the procuring or letting of contracts. It would also require fiduciaries of KPERS – the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System – to act solely in the interest of participants and beneficiaries of the system. Finally, it would prohibit state agencies from adopting ESG criteria or requiring any person or business to operate in accordance with ESG criteria.

HB 2100 passed 27-12. Having also passed the House, it heads to the governor.

“What is a woman?” is a question that Kansans never thought would have to be legislated, but the progressive left has created the necessity to do so due to their efforts to destroy basic notions of biology in favor of a woke narrative.

This week, Republicans addressed this issue head on by passing the Women’s Bill of Rights. SB 180 establishes a meaning of biological sex for purposes of statutory construction and would set intermediate constitutional scrutiny as the standard of judicial review to be applied with regard to laws and rules and regulations that distinguish between the sexes and would identify those areas where distinction between the sexes would be related to important governmental objectives. The bill also would require certain entities that collect vital statistics for the purposes outlined in the bill to identify each individual who is part of the collected data set as either male or female at birth. Finally, with respect to biological sex, the bill states that separate accommodations for men and women are not inherently unequal.

Remarkably, the Women’s Bill of Rights is bringing together groups that often disagree on other issues. In the Senate Committee meeting, representatives of Independent Women’s Law Center, Independent Women’s Voice, and Women’s Liberation Front, along with Kansas Family Voice and the Kansas Catholic Conference, provided proponent testimony, generally stating a long-standing legal precedent requires equal treatment of similarly situated men and women but allows differentiation between the sexes when privacy, safety, or equal opportunity are at stake. As the testimony noted, this long-understood fundamental premise is being threatened by those who want to redefine common sex-based words in a manner that separates sex from biology and by those who think separate is inherently unequal when it comes to sex.

It’s important to note that the bill would not change existing laws but establishes a legal definition of sex-based terms for clarity in the implementation of said laws.  SB 180 passed the Senate in February by a vote of 26-10 and again last week by a vote of 28-12. Having also passed the House, it now heads to the governor.

SB 221 is a comprehensive bill brought to the legislature by the Secretary of State aimed at cleaning up our election laws with a focus on ensuring our laws are consistent throughout statutes and clear for election officials at both the state and county level. Senator Mike Thompson led the way in the negotiations on the bill and it passed 30-6. Having also passed the House with a unanimous vote, it heads to the governor.

Also headed to the governor is a bill which will create a presidential primary on March 19, 2024. In the past several cycles, the parties held caucuses or didn't have a system for the public to vote at all. A presidential primary will be conducted like every other election - the only difference will be that all advance ballots will need to be in by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. Senate Sub. For HB 2053 passed 28-12. Having also passed the House, it is now headed to the governor.

Finally, SB 209 would change the deadline for all advance voting ballots to be received by the county election officer from the third day following the date of the election to 7:00 p.m. on the date of the election. The deadline change would apply to advance voting ballots received by mail or in the office of the county election officer, the satellite election office, any polling place, or a county-maintained election drop box. SB 209 passed 23-14.  

HB 2264 would amend the Woman’s-Right-to-Know Act to add a notification requirement about reversal of abortion options with certain medications and amend the definition of abortion.  The bill would clarify certain medical procedures and methods of contraception would not be considered an abortion and would adopt the amended definition of abortion uniformly for multiple statutes. HB 2264 passed 26-11.

Republicans are committed to protecting the public from crime. This week, the Senate adopted key pieces of legislation to further that objective:

Strengthening Anti-Stalking Statutes

SB 217 would amend law regarding the use of electronic tracking systems to target a person’s location, movement, or travel patterns and the timeframes of protective orders. SB 217 passed 37-0. Having also passed the House, it heads to the governor.

Creating the Crime of Human Smuggling

HB 2350 would create the crimes of human smuggling and aggravated human smuggling, provide for criminal penalties, and make these provisions supplemental to the Kansas Criminal Code. HB 2350 passed 36-2. Having also passed the House, it heads to the governor.

“News You Can Use” will be an ongoing feature of the Kansans First Report, featuring news articles and other information from around the country that are relevant to the principles and priorities Republicans are promoting in Kansas.

28 groups urge Biden admin to support women's sports, fight 'unlawful' Title IX reg. More than two dozen organizations are urging the Biden administration to "abandon plans" to allow biological males to compete in women's sports and use the same locker rooms. (Source)

First infant anonymously dropped off at Kentucky 'baby box' surrender location. The first infant in Kentucky was anonymously left at one of the state's "baby box" safe surrender locations after a new state law allowed newborns to be dropped off anonymously. (Source) 

Wyoming bans transgender youths from girls' sports teams. Wyoming has become the 19th state to ban transgender athletes from playing on girls or women’s sports teams after the Republican governor opted not to veto the legislation.  (Source)

Martina Navratilova calls World Athletics' decision on transgender females 'step in the right direction.' Martina Navratilova expressed support for World Athletics as the international governing body for track and field events prohibited transgender women from competing against biological females. (Source)

Biden's approval drops as vast majority of Americans worry about crime in their communities. The majority of Americans are seriously concerned about rising crime in their cities, as President Joe Biden's national approval rating takes a nosedive. A new Marist Polling survey found that Biden's approval rating dropped four percentage points in March to 42%, falling from 46% in a February poll conducted around the president's State of the Union speech. The poll revealed that 68% of Americans believe that crime is a "real threat in most communities." (Source)

Parents vs. Porn. A Louisiana law has sparked a bipartisan movement to keep pornography away from minors. (Source) 

Oregon Woman Sues State for Rejecting Adoption Application over Opposition to Child Gender Transition. Jessica Bates was driving to work in southeast Oregon when she heard a Christian radio broadcast that, she said, caused a “really strong nudge in my spirit.” It was the story of a single dad who had adopted a child. Bates, a single mother of five, felt a calling from God to do the same. It was, she said, a four-word message: Those Are My Children. (Source)

Wall Street should be 'concerned' about debt limit standoff with Biden: McCarthy. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., warned Wall Street investors that the debt limit standoff between Republicans and the White House is something that should worry them. (Source)

Biden admin releases new Title IX regulations on transgender issues in schools. The Biden administration is rolling out new Title IX rules to expand the meaning of sexual discrimination to include gender identity that would prevent schools and colleges from banning transgender athletes.



Under the department’s proposed rule, no school or college that receives federal funding would be allowed to impose a "one-size-fits-all" policy that categorically bans transgender students from playing on sports teams consistent with their gender identity. Such policies would be considered a violation of Title IX. (Source)