Kansas
Kansas lawmakers have new bill banning gender marker changes on ID
Watch AG Kris Kobach testify on driver’s license gender marker bill
Watch AG Kris Kobach testify on driver’s license gender marker bill
Kansas lawmakers have new legislation under consideration to ban gender marker changes on state identification.
The introduction of House Bill 2426 comes after the Kansas Supreme Court denied a petition for review filed by Attorney General Kris Kobach following a Kansas Court of Appeals decision.
That move meant the Kansas Department of Revenue could resume gender marker changes on driver’s licenses and other state ID cards for transgender people, despite Kobach’s assertion that a 2023 law known as Senate Bill 180 banned such changes.
That law, also known as the Women’s Bill of Rights, strictly defines sex based on reproductive anatomy at birth. The text of the law is a little over one page and lacks details.
Jason Long, a senior assistant revisor of statutes, told lawmakers that HB 2426 would “address the issues” raised by the courts with SB 180.
While SB 180 never made explicit reference to driver’s licenses or gender, Kobach told lawmakers the court rulings “defeated the intent of SB 180” and the law now “does nothing, it has no practical effect on anything.”
“So what this bill does is remove the wiggle room that the Kansas Court of Appeals seized upon,” he said.
The new bill would define gender to mean biological sex at birth for purposes of statutory construction. It would also direct the Revenue Department to invalidate licenses that have already had gender marker changes approved. A similar directive would be given to the Office of Vital Statistics to invalidate any birth certificates that have been changed.
With its first committee hearing of 2026, the House Judiciary Committee held a bill hearing on HB 2426 on Jan. 13. The bill was sponsored by the committee chair, Rep. Susan Humphries, R-Wichita, who said the committee was “starting off with a bang” and predicted a hearing “filled with emotion.” Two Capitol Police officers were posted in the room.
A day before the meeting, the agenda item was listed on the House calendar as an “informational discussion on driver’s license gender marker policy.” At some point, it was converted into a bill hearing.
House Minority Leader Brandon Woodard, D-Lenexa, told reporters there was than 24 hours notice to the public and even less time for people to submit testimony.
“They do those sorts of things in an attempt to shield,” Woodard said. “They know that the public’s not on the side with them.”
“We’re only doing this because Kobach keeps losing in court,” he said of the bill.
None of the written testimony was immediately available to attendees or on the Legislature’s website. A committee assistant indicated there was so much opposition testimony that it couldn’t be uploaded before the hearing because it is “a huge undertaking.”
In addition to Kobach, there were a handful of other supporters. Several opponents testified in person, including some who are transgender Kansans or have relatives who are.
“I’m sure there will be people who want to debate the merits of SB 180 all over again, and that’s not really my job,” Kobach said.
Humphries said there is no fiscal note quantifying the cost of the bill because staff “haven’t had time” to produce one.
New bill would address ambiguity in law
Kobach said the new bill “will remove any ambiguity” in the law.
“Courts oftentimes see ambiguity in statutes, and no statute is perfect, and sometimes you can’t remove ambiguity because of the nature of the subject matter,” Kobach said. “But in this particular case, the Court of Appeals, I believe, twisted the ambiguity to create a meaning that renders the law a dead letter.”
As part of their June 2025 ruling, the appellate judges said SB 180 “can reasonably be interpreted to be limited to ‘sex’ to the exclusion of ‘gender.’” The three-judge panel was comprised of Chief Judge Sarah Warner and Judges Stephen Hill and Karen Arnold-Burger.
Kobach said it was a “mistake” for the Court of Appeals to say gender and sex have different meanings. Kobach argued the terms are interchangeable under state law.
The judges said in their ruling “the Legislature could have included a definition of ‘gender’” in SB 180, or in separate statutes on driver’s licenses they could have written a definition where gender meant biological sex assigned at birth.
The judges said lawmakers may have a variety of reasons for the words they choose to use.
“We simply cannot assume that the Legislature sloppily and hastily adopted legislation with a complete lack of awareness of the context … we must and do give our committed public servants in the Legislature more credit than that,” they said in their ruling.
During oral arguments in January 2025, the judges and attorneys suggested lawmakers could have done a better job writing the first-in-the-nation law based on model legislation. Even Anthony Powell, who is Kobach’s solicitor general, said, “The Legislature didn’t consider every angle.”
Kobach apparently disagrees.
“I think the Legislature did a fine job in passing it, and absent judicial activism, we wouldn’t be standing here right now,” Kobach said.
He accused the appellate court of stepping “out of its judicial role and acts in a legislative capacity and says, we are going to act to change or add meaning to a statute.”
The judges indicated they believe they were doing the opposite.
“It is not the court’s role to ‘rewrite legislation,’” the judges said in their ruling. “It is only by rewriting this statute that we arrive at the conclusion propounded by the AG, that they are identical.”
During oral arguments, judges and attorneys openly suggested lawmakers could amend the law to address the issue of interpreting ambiguous laws.
“There’s nothing to prevent the Legislature tomorrow from introducing legislation to define gender in the way they’re arguing it should be defined, the same as they have defined sex,” Arnold-Burger said during oral arguments.
Lawmakers in the 2025 session didn’t heed that advice. A year later, such legislation has been introduced. Kobach said the bill’s clear definitions “will end the litigation, and we will no longer be spending hundreds of attorney man hours on this and clogging the court’s docket as well with this very litigious issue.”
What Republican and Democratic leaders say about bill’s priority
Republican leadership was asked why the bill is a priority during a Jan. 13 gaggle with reporters.
“Because it’s a vital statistic,” said Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover. “If you can change something on your birth certificate, why can’t you change the date?”
“Why can’t you change your age?” asked House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita.
“Those are statistics of factual record, and they just need to be what they are,” Masterson said. “That’ll go quickly. I don’t even think you’ll see a lot of controversy in the Legislature on it.”
He did say he expects it to be a partisan issue.
“I don’t know why they keep supporting the boogeyman this much, but for whatever reason, Kris Kobach loses in court so much that they have to change the law so they can actually get a win in the Supreme Court,” said Woodard, the House minority leader, during a Jan. 15 gaggle with reporters.
Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, D-Lenexa, said, “It is not a top issue for Kansans.”
Woodard said Republicans pushing the bill so early in session shows, “Their priority is focused on culture war issues.”
“This is two years in a row of their top priority being bashing on trans people in Kansas, which does nothing to make it more affordable to live, work or raise a family here,” he said.
Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A former PTA treasurer from Lee’s Summit has pleaded guilty to nine counts of bank and wire fraud after stealing more than $100,000 from the organization, according to federal officials.
Officials said Holly Mikkelsen could face up to 30 years in federal prison without parole.
From Aug. 17, 2020, to July 23, 2025, Mikkelsen served as treasurer of the Summit Pointe Elementary School Parent Teacher Association (SPE PTA) in Kansas City, Missouri. The group is a nonprofit, school-based volunteer organization.
Prosecutors said that while serving as treasurer, Mikkelsen made unauthorized withdrawals from the PTA’s checking accounts for her personal benefit. Investigators said the alleged theft included writing and signing checks in the nonprofit’s name payable to herself, using those funds for personal expenses, withdrawing cash from ATMs, and transferring SPE PTA money into her personal accounts.
“The council is taking immediate steps to strengthen financial accountability across all affiliated PTAs, including a full review of existing protocols, dual authorization requirements for financial transactions, board financial training, and consistent audit practices district-wide,” said Lorenzo Harrison, Council President of LSR7 PTA. “The community will be kept informed as this process moves forward.”
Sentencing for Mikkelsen is scheduled for Sept. 24.
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
Early risers, give yourselves a few extra minutes before heading out the door this morning. Showers and storms to start the day will likely make for at least a slightly slower commute.
Brief periods of heavy rainfall will be possible. While rain will be around through much of the day, there will also be some breaks in the rainfall too.
Temperatures will stay below average while conditions will be damp at times. Highs today will be in the 60s and upper 50s.
New storms are expected to move in from the west by the evening. As they cross the state line from Colorado, they will initially need to be monitored closely.
A couple of Western Kansas storms during the evening could be strong to severe. While all forms of severe weather will be possible, the threat of a tornado is low and mainly confined to areas along the Kansas/Colorado line.
The severe threat should be lower after midnight despite skies remaining unsettled.
Spotty showers and thunderstorms will likely continue to show some life into Friday.
Despite clouds and rain through much of the day tomorrow, many high temperatures will begin to warm up into the 70s.
Some new storms will be possible later in the afternoon and evening but will still be spotty.
A Friday severe risk has expanded a bit since yesterday but is still confined to southern portions of the area. Wind and hail are the main threats.
Some strong storms to the south will be possible all the way into the overnight.
Saturday will be similar to Thursday and Friday. Spotty rain around through much of the day, more evening showers and storms rolling through, and damp through the overnight.
Once Saturday night rain moves out, Sunday will not be as active. Memorial Day will be mainly dry and warm before skies turn unsettled again.
Kansas
United Market opens in Kansas City’s Linwood Shopping Center, bringing fresh food back to Prospect
KSHB 41 reporter La’Nita Brooks covers stories in Kansas City, Missouri, and stories offering solutions on crime. Share your story idea with La’Nita.
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Hundreds of people packed the parking lot at Linwood Boulevard and Prospect Avenue on Wednesday for the grand opening of United Market KC, a new grocery store community members say represents more than a place to shop.
“A place where families can once again access fresh, affordable food right here in the heart of Prospect,” Helen, a speaker at the event, said.
La’Nita Brooks
The store replaces the former Sun Fresh location, which was marked by empty shelves and unpleasant smells before closing.
Under new ownership and a completely new brand, community leaders and the store’s owner say United Market KC is a new beginning for the corridor.
United Market opens in Kansas City’s Linwood shopping center, bringing fresh food back to Prospect
The grand opening drew the Kansas City, Missouri, mayor, several city councilmembers and community leaders, who all spoke at the event.
The day included performances, a live band, free samples and a flood of customers shopping the aisles for the first time. The first five customers received $100 toward their purchase.
La’Nita Brooks
Anthony Estrada, the owner of United Market, closed the ceremony with a heartfelt speech about his hopes to unite the community through food — a vision reflected in the store’s name.
“Extremely excited,” Estrada said. “I feel like the community really showed up. I feel like that’s what we need for the store to be successful. We’re here to serve the community the best we can.”
La’Nita Brooks
Marquita Taylor, president of the Santa Fe Area Council Neighborhood Association, said she was pleased with how quickly a new store followed the previous one and called on the community to help keep it thriving.
“I’m glad it didn’t take long from one store to the next. I’m glad and happy to see so many people here. And I just want the commitment of all these people to wrap your arms around this store because it has to stay safe,” Taylor said.
Community leaders said they are confident the store is here to stay.
La’Nita Brooks
Resident Billy Ray said the atmosphere inside the store matched the excitement outside.
“Beautiful, open, looking good, everyone’s walking around happy, shopping,” Ray said. “That’s what we want to see.”
United Market will slowly phase into a free membership concept after the first 30 days.
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