Journal of the House
FORTY-SIXTH DAY
Hall of the House of Representatives,
Topeka, KS, Thursday, March 19, 2026, 9:30 a.m.
The House met pursuant to adjournment with Speaker Hawkins in the chair.
The roll was called with 124 members present.
Rep. A. Smith was excused on excused absence by the Speaker.
Prayer by guest chaplain, Pastor Tim Milby, First United Pentecostal Church, Arkansas City, and guest of Rep. Rhiley.
Dear Lord, we come to you this day and first of all we would like to thank you for these representatives that have agreed to take their time and efforts to serve the people of Kansas. We ask that you bless them for their service.
Second we ask that you, Dear Lord, would direct and guide these representatives to pass the best possible laws for the people of Kansas. When there seems to be great division, we ask Lord that you will help them to be willing to reach compromises that will help the work of the government to continue smoothly. We pray as these men and women face challenges in doing their duty that they will learn to lean on your wisdom and direction.
We thank you for allowing us to be involved in this very important hour.
We ask all these things in the wonderful name of Jesus!!! Amen.
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Rep. Collins.
REFERENCE OF BILLS AND CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS
The following bills were referred to committees as indicated:
Appropriations: HB 2800, SB 513.
MR. PRESIDENT and MR. SPEAKER: Your committee on conference on House amendments to SB 254 submits the following report:
The House recedes from all of its amendments to the bill, and your committee on conference further agrees to amend the bill as printed with Senate Committee amendments, as follows:
On page 1, in line 20, by striking "New";
On page 2, by striking all in lines 24 through 43;
By striking all on pages 3 through 5;
On page 6, in line 1, by striking "New"; by striking all in line 5;
And by renumbering sections accordingly;
On page 1, in the title, in line 12, by striking all after "presence"; by striking all in lines 13 through 16; in line 17, by striking all before the period;
And your committee on conference recommends the adoption of this report.
Tom Kessler
Rebecca Schmoe
Conferees on part of House
Mike Thompson
Tory Marie Blew
Conferees on part of Senate
On motion of Rep. Kessler, the conference committee report on SB 254 was adopted.
On roll call, the vote was: Yeas 78; Nays 46; Present but not voting: 0; Absent or not voting: 1.
Yeas: Anderson, Awerkamp, Barrett, Bergkamp, Bergquist, Blex, Bloom, Brantley, Brunk, Bryce, Buehler, Caiharr, B. Carpenter, W. Carpenter, Chauncey, Corbet, Croft, Delperdang, Droge, Ellis, Essex, Estes, Fairchild, Francis, Gardner, Goddard, Goetz, Hawkins, Helwig, Hoffman, Hoheisel, Howe, Howell, Howerton, Huebert, Humphries, James, T. Johnson, Kessler, King, Lewis, Long, McNorton, Minnix, Moser, Neelly, Pickert, Pishny, Poetter, Proctor, Rahjes, Reavis, Rhiley, Roth, Sanders, Sappington, Schmoe, Schwertfeger, Seiwert, Steele, Storm, Sutton, Sweely, Tarwater, Turk, Turner, VanHouden, Waggoner, Ward, Wasinger, Waymaster, White, Wilborn, Willcott, Williams, K., Williams, L., Wilson, Wolf.
Nays: Alcala, Amyx, Ballard, Boatman, Bohi, Borjon, Paige, Butler, Carlin, Carmichael, Carr, Collins, Curtis, Esau, Featherston, Haskins, Helgerson, Hoye, Martinez, McDonald, Melton, Meyer, Mosley, Neighbor, Ohaebosim, Oropeza, Osman, Ousley, Poskin, Roeser, Ruiz, L., Ruiz, S., Sawyer, Clayton, Schlingensiepen, Schreiber, Simmons, Smith, C., Stiens, Stogsdill, Vaughn, Weigel, Wikle, Winn, Woodard, Xu.
Present but not voting: None.
Absent or not voting: Smith, A..
MOTIONS TO CONCUR AND NONCONCUR
On motion of Rep. Tarwater, the House concurred in Senate amendments to HB 2737, AN ACT concerning economic development; relating to tax increment financing; providing for alternative financing of projects through taxpayer agreements; enacting the taxpayer agreement act; amending K.S.A. 12-1774 and repealing the existing section.
On roll call, the vote was: Yeas 121; Nays 3; Present but not voting: 0; Absent or not voting: 1.
Yeas: Alcala, Amyx, Anderson, Awerkamp, Ballard, Barrett, Bergkamp, Bergquist, Blex, Bloom, Boatman, Bohi, Borjon, Brantley, Paige, Brunk, Bryce, Buehler, Butler, Caiharr, Carlin, Carmichael, B. Carpenter, W. Carpenter, Carr, Chauncey, Collins, Corbet, Croft, Curtis, Delperdang, Droge, Ellis, Esau, Essex, Estes, Featherston, Francis, Gardner, Goddard, Goetz, Haskins, Hawkins, Helgerson, Helwig, Hoffman, Hoheisel, Howe, Howell, Howerton, Hoye, Huebert, Humphries, James, T. Johnson, Kessler, King, Lewis, Long, Martinez, McDonald, McNorton, Melton, Meyer, Minnix, Moser, Mosley, Neelly, Neighbor, Ohaebosim, Oropeza, Osman, Ousley, Pickert, Pishny, Poskin, Proctor, Rahjes, Reavis, Rhiley, Roeser, Roth, Ruiz, L., Ruiz, S., Sanders, Sappington, Sawyer, Clayton, Schlingensiepen, Schmoe, Schreiber, Schwertfeger, Seiwert, Simmons, Smith, C., Steele, Stiens, Stogsdill, Storm, Sutton, Sweely, Tarwater, Turk, Turner, VanHouden, Vaughn, Waggoner, Ward, Wasinger, Waymaster, Weigel, White, Wikle, Wilborn, Willcott, Williams, L., Wilson, Winn, Wolf, Woodard, Xu.
Nays: Fairchild, Poetter, Williams, K..
Present but not voting: None.
Absent or not voting: Smith, A..
On motion of Rep. Bergquist, the House concurred in Senate amendments to HB 2622, AN ACT concerning municipal lease-purchase agreements; modifying the protest petition requirements; amending K.S.A. 10-1116c and repealing the existing section.
On roll call, the vote was: Yeas 124; Nays 0; Present but not voting: 0; Absent or not voting: 1.
Yeas: Alcala, Amyx, Anderson, Awerkamp, Ballard, Barrett, Bergkamp, Bergquist, Blex, Bloom, Boatman, Bohi, Borjon, Brantley, Paige, Brunk, Bryce, Buehler, Butler, Caiharr, Carlin, Carmichael, B. Carpenter, W. Carpenter, Carr, Chauncey, Collins, Corbet, Croft, Curtis, Delperdang, Droge, Ellis, Esau, Essex, Estes, Fairchild, Featherston, Francis, Gardner, Goddard, Goetz, Haskins, Hawkins, Helgerson, Helwig, Hoffman, Hoheisel, Howe, Howell, Howerton, Hoye, Huebert, Humphries, James, T. Johnson, Kessler, King, Lewis, Long, Martinez, McDonald, McNorton, Melton, Meyer, Minnix, Moser, Mosley, Neelly, Neighbor, Ohaebosim, Oropeza, Osman, Ousley, Pickert, Pishny, Poetter, Poskin, Proctor, Rahjes, Reavis, Rhiley, Roeser, Roth, Ruiz, L., Ruiz, S., Sanders, Sappington, Sawyer, Clayton, Schlingensiepen, Schmoe, Schreiber, Schwertfeger, Seiwert, Simmons, Smith, C., Steele, Stiens, Stogsdill, Storm, Sutton, Sweely, Tarwater, Turk, Turner, VanHouden, Vaughn, Waggoner, Ward, Wasinger, Waymaster, Weigel, White, Wikle, Wilborn, Willcott, Williams, K., Williams, L., Wilson, Winn, Wolf, Woodard, Xu.
Nays: None.
Present but not voting: None.
Absent or not voting: Smith, A..
MOTIONS TO CONCUR AND NONCONCUR
On motion of Rep. Humphries, the House nonconcurred in Senate amendments to HB 2412 and asked for a conference.
Speaker Hawkins thereupon appointed Reps. Humphries, Williams, L. and Osman as conferees on the part of the House.
On motion of Rep. Francis, the House nonconcurred in Senate amendments to HB 2579 and asked for a conference.
Speaker Hawkins thereupon appointed Reps. Francis, Essex and Helgerson as conferees on the part of the House.
On motion of Rep. Francis, the House nonconcurred in Senate amendments to HB 2647 and asked for a conference.
Speaker Hawkins thereupon appointed Reps. Francis, Essex and Helgerson as conferees on the part of the House.
On motion of Rep. W. Carpenter, the House nonconcurred in Senate amendments to HB 2763 and asked for a conference.
Speaker Hawkins thereupon appointed Reps. W. Carpenter, Bryce and Ruiz, S. as conferees on the part of the House.
INRODUCTION OF ORIGINAL MOTIONS
On emergency motion of Rep. Croft pursuant to House Rule 2311, SCR 1603 be advanced to Final Action on Bills and Concurrent Resolutions subject to amendment and debate and roll call.
FINAL ACTION ON BILLS AND CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS SUBJECT TO AMENDMENT AND DEBATE
Committee report to SCR 1603 be adopted.
On motion of Rep. Turner, SCR 1603 be amended As Amended by House Committee, on page 1, in line 21, by striking "2027" and inserting "2028";
On page 6, in line 42, by striking all after "at"; by striking all in line 43;
On page 7, by striking all in line 1; in line 2, by striking all before the period and inserting "the general election in November in the year 2026, unless a special election is called at a sooner date by concurrent resolution of the legislature, in which case, the proposed amendment shall be submitted to the electors of the state at the special election"
Also, roll call was demanded on motion of Rep. B. Carpenter to amend SCR 1603 As Amended by House Committee, on page 1, in line 24, after "taxation" by inserting ", except that the legislature may provide by law for the freezing or limiting of property tax valuations for owner-occupied residential property of qualifying seniors";
On page 5, in line 9, by striking all after the stricken material; by striking all in lines 10 through 22; in line 23, by striking all before the period and inserting "allow the legislature to provide for the freezing or limiting of property tax valuations for owner-occupied homes of qualifying seniors as prescribed by law. The amendment would also require certain property, including residential, commercial and industrial property, agricultural improvements and mobile homes, to be valued for property tax purposes based on the lesser of the current fair market value or an average of fair market values over a period of years, which may reduce the impact of rapid increases in property values. The number of years used to calculate the average value and any adjustments in specific circumstances would be prescribed by law";
On page 6, in line 15, by striking all after the stricken material; by striking all in lines 16 through 32; in line 33, by striking all before the period and inserting "allow the legislature to provide for the freezing or limiting of property tax valuations for qualifying seniors and would base certain property valuations on the lower of current value or an average value over time, as prescribed by law";
Also on page 6, in line 35, after "constitution" by inserting "and would not allow the legislature to provide for the freezing or limiting of property tax valuations for qualifying seniors and would retain the current system of valuing property based on fair market value without averaging";
On page 1, in the title, in line 7, after "value" by inserting "and providing that the legislature may provide by law for the freezing of property tax valuations for owner-occupied residential property of qualifying seniors"
On roll call, the vote was: Yeas 77; Nays 41; Present but not voting: 0; Absent or not voting: 7.
Yeas: Anderson, Barrett, Bergquist, Blex, Bloom, Bohi, Borjon, Brantley, Brunk, Bryce, Butler, Caiharr, B. Carpenter, W. Carpenter, Chauncey, Collins, Corbet, Croft, Delperdang, Droge, Ellis, Esau, Essex, Estes, Francis, Gardner, Goddard, Goetz, Hawkins, Helgerson, Helwig, Hoffman, Hoheisel, Howe, Howerton, Huebert, Humphries, James, T. Johnson, Kessler, King, Long, McNorton, Minnix, Neelly, Pickert, Poetter, Proctor, Rahjes, Reavis, Rhiley, Roeser, Roth, Sanders, Sappington, Schmoe, Schwertfeger, Seiwert, Smith, C., Steele, Stiens, Storm, Sutton, Sweely, Tarwater, Turk, Turner, VanHouden, Ward, Wasinger, Waymaster, White, Wilborn, Williams, K., Williams, L., Wilson, Wolf.
Nays: Alcala, Amyx, Awerkamp, Ballard, Bergkamp, Boatman, Paige, Carlin, Carmichael, Carr, Curtis, Fairchild, Featherston, Haskins, Howell, Hoye, Martinez, McDonald, Melton, Moser, Mosley, Neighbor, Ohaebosim, Oropeza, Pishny, Poskin, Ruiz, L., Ruiz, S., Sawyer, Clayton, Schlingensiepen, Schreiber, Stogsdill, Vaughn, Waggoner, Weigel, Wikle, Willcott, Winn, Woodard, Xu.
Present but not voting: None.
Absent or not voting: Buehler, Lewis, Meyer, Osman, Ousley, Simmons, Smith, A..
Also, on motion of Rep. Poetter Parshall to amend SCR 1603, the motion did not prevail.
FINAL ACTION ON BILLS AND CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS
SCR 1603, A PROPOSITION to amend section 1 of article 11 of the constitution of the state of Kansas; relating to property taxation; limiting valuation increases for real property and for personal property classified as mobile homes used for residential purposes, was considered on final action.
On roll call, the vote was: Yeas 84; Nays 40; Present but not voting: 0; Absent or not voting: 1.
Yeas: Anderson, Awerkamp, Barrett, Bergquist, Blex, Bloom, Bohi, Borjon, Brantley, Paige, Brunk, Bryce, Buehler, Butler, Caiharr, B. Carpenter, W. Carpenter, Chauncey, Collins, Corbet, Croft, Delperdang, Droge, Ellis, Esau, Essex, Estes, Fairchild, Francis, Gardner, Goddard, Goetz, Hawkins, Helwig, Hoffman, Hoheisel, Howe, Howell, Howerton, Huebert, Humphries, James, T. Johnson, Kessler, King, Lewis, Long, Melton, Minnix, Moser, Neelly, Pickert, Proctor, Rahjes, Reavis, Rhiley, Roeser, Roth, Sanders, Sappington, Schmoe, Schwertfeger, Seiwert, Steele, Stiens, Storm, Sutton, Sweely, Tarwater, Turk, Turner, VanHouden, Waggoner, Ward, Wasinger, Waymaster, White, Wilborn, Willcott, Williams, K., Williams, L., Wilson, Winn, Wolf.
Nays: Alcala, Amyx, Ballard, Bergkamp, Boatman, Carlin, Carmichael, Carr, Curtis, Featherston, Haskins, Helgerson, Hoye, Martinez, McDonald, McNorton, Meyer, Mosley, Neighbor, Ohaebosim, Oropeza, Osman, Ousley, Pishny, Poetter, Poskin, Ruiz, L., Ruiz, S., Sawyer, Clayton, Schlingensiepen, Schreiber, Simmons, Smith, C., Stogsdill, Vaughn, Weigel, Wikle, Woodard, Xu.
Present but not voting: None.
Absent or not voting: Smith, A..
A two-thirds majority of the members elected to the House having voted in the affirmative, the resolution was adopted, as amended.
EXPLANATION OF VOTE
Mr. Speaker: I vote NO on SCR 1603, as amended, as it once again shifts the burden to young people. I represent the largest number of renters in the state, who are not helped by this, I vote NO. Thank you, Mister Speaker. – Brandon Woodard
On motion of Rep. Croft, the House recessed until 1:45 p.m.
__________________________________
EARLY AFTERNOON SESSION
The House met pursuant to recess with Speaker Hawkins in the chair.
On motion of Rep. Croft, the House adjourned pro forma until 9:30 a.m. on Friday, March 20, 2026.
JENNY HAUGH, JULIA WERNER, Journal Clerks.
SUSAN W. KANNARR, Chief Clerk.
☐