Preview

• Publication year: 2024
• Citation: Vol. 93 No. 1 Pg. 35
• Pages: 35

Legislative preview 93 J. Kan. Bar Assn 1, 35 (2024) Kansas Bar Journal February 2024

Legislative preview

2024 Kansas Legislative Preview

By Joseph N. Molina III KBA Director of Legislative Services

When the Kansas Legislature returned in January of 2024 something occurred that has never happened in the history of Kansas politics. The chairs of both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees are women.

Sen. Kellie Warren (R-Leawood) is serving her fourth year as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. She is the first woman ever to chair a judiciary committee in Kansas and only the second woman lawyer ever elected to the Kansas Senate. Warren had previously served in the House of Representatives for District 28 from 2019-2020 where she served on the Judiciary Committee. Warren is a lifelong Kansan who works as an attorney focused on civil litigation in the areas of real property, contracts, and estates. She earned her B.A. from Cornell University and her law degree from the University of Kansas School of Law. The KBA has worked very closely with Sen. Warren on several issues, most recently on updates to the Kansas Probate Code to streamline minor settlements and extend the statute of limitations on child sex abuse cases.

Rep. Susan Humphries (R-Wichita) will replace Rep. Fred Patton (R-Topeka) as chair of House Judiciary. Patton retired in the fall of 2023, opening the way for this historic change. Humphries is a lawyer by trade with an office in Wichita focused primarily on adoption law. She has been in the legislature since 2017, sitting on the judiciary committee for her entire tenure. Humphries is very active in the KBA Religion Law Section which has sponsored several continuing legal education programs just this past year. She has a B.F.A from TCU and she earned her law degree from the University of Denver. We look forward to working with the new House Judiciary chair in 2024.

State Budget

The Kansas state budget is in an extraordinary position for this next fiscal year as evidenced by the consensus revenue estimates released in November, projecting a positive ending balance of $3.5 billion at the close of fiscal year 2025 (June 30, 2024). The issue now is which spending priority will make it to the governor's desk and get her signature. The Legislature is sure to offer an income tax break modeled after its 2023 proposal which consolidated the tax brackets into one with a 5.15% rate. The Legislature will...