What new laws go into effect in Kansas on Jan. 1, 2025?

TOPEKA (KSNT) – Several new laws are set to go into effect at the start of next year in Kansas, including legislation that will finally do away with the state's tax on food.

Lawmakers in the Kansas Legislature passed more than a hundred new laws following the 2024 session, with Governor Laura Kelly approving of 101. Legislators were able to get 10 additional laws approved without the governor's signature or by beating her veto power.

27 News reached out to the Kansas Department of Legislative Research (KLRD) to find out what new laws will take effect on Jan. 1, 2025. Jordan Milholland with the KLRD provided a list of the bills passed in the 2023 and 2024 Legislative sessions which will become active at the beginning of next year.

Milholland said there were only a handful of bills passed over the past two years that contain language referencing Jan. 1, 2025. However, these bills contain nearly 200 provisions which will go into effect soon as new laws for Kansas.

• Senate Bill 27.
• Senate Bill 491.
• Senate Bill 500.
• Senate Substitute for House Bill 2247.
• House Bill 2560.
• House Bill 2790.
• House Substitute for Senate Bill 229.

Kansans can also expect to feel the benefits of having the state's tax on food dropped on Jan. 1, 2025. Kelly approved legislation in 2022 to gradually phase out the food tax in Kansas with it being completely taken away as of 2025.

The state's food tax was originally 6.5% prior to the legislation passed in 2022. The tax was dropped to 4% in 2023, then to 2% in 2024.

Senate Bill 27

This bill reconciles amendments to statutes which were amended more than once during the current and previous Legislative sessions. This bill repeals one version of the statutes and, if necessary, amends the continuing version with noncontradictory amendments to create a single version of the statute containing all amendments.

• Total number of provisions - nine.

Senate Bill 491

Senate Bill 491 creates and amends law to standardize language pertaining to criminal history and record check fingerprinting requirements for multiple entities. It also identifies what criminal history records may be released to various agencies for the purpose of verifying a person's identity, criminal history, qualifications and fitness for employment.

Both fingerprints and criminal history record information is confidential under this bill, with penalties stated regarding unauthorized disclosure of these details.

• Total number of provisions - six.

Senate Bill 500

This bill amends Kansas law regarding restricted driving privileges for certain people who violate the misdemeanor offense of failure to comply with a traffic citation. People who fail to appear in court in response to a traffic citation and pay fines and court costs associated with these types of citations are committing the offense of failure to comply.

This legislation does allow for driving activities under certain conditions, such as when taking children to and from school or purchasing groceries, for people who have their driving privileges restricted due to failure to comply.

• Total number of provisions - two.

Senate Substitute for House Bill 2247

This bill removes and relocates mortgage-related provisions from the Kansas Uniform Consumer Credit Code (UCCC) to the Kansas Mortgage Business Act (KMBA). It also adds law supplemental to the KMBA and to the UCCC, amends contract rate law and makes additional amendments to the UCCC.

• Total number of provisions - 154.

House Bill 2560

House Bill 2560 repeals and replaces the Kansas Money Transmitter Act with the Kansas Money Transmission Act. It also enacts the Kansas Earned Wage Access Services Act along with making several amendments to the State Banking Code.

• Total number of provisions - 12.

House Bill 2790

This bill transfers the registration, compliance oversight and enforcement authority for professional employer organizations (PEO), including authority for rules and regulations, from the commissioner of insurance to the secretary of state. The bill replaces the word "commissioner" with "secretary" in the Professional Employer Organization Registration Act.

House Bill 2790 also states that a fully insured welfare benefit plan offered by a PEO to its employees and covered employees is to be treated as a single employer welfare benefit plan.

• Total number of provisions - six.

House Substitute for Senate Bill 229

House Substitute for Senate Bill 229, originally passed by the Legislature in 2023, had a delayed start date. The bill establishes the Legislative Compensation Commission which is to be made up of nine members.

The commission is required to study compensation, salary and retirement benefits of members of the Kansas Legislature. Commission members will then make recommendations on legislator retirement benefits and set compensation and salary rates for legislators.

Total number of provisions - 15.