Kansas
This fast-tracked disability tax credit bill is the first new Kansas law of 2024
Kansas politicians have enacted their first new law of 2024: a fast-tracked single-subject bill that reinstates an expired tax credit.
Gov. Laura Kelly signed Senate Bill 15 into law on Thursday after it passed the House 117-1 and 34-0. The legislation reinstates and makes changes to a tax credit designed to incentivize employment of Kansans with disabilities.
The tax credit had broad bipartisan support last session, too, but failed because of political logrolling by Republican legislators and the Democratic governor’s veto. That meant the tax credit expired at the end of 2023, prompting lawmakers to fast-track the legislation this session and make it retroactive to the start of 2024.
“Kansans with disabilities deserve a fair wage for the work they perform,” Kelly said in a statement. “I’m signing this bipartisan legislation to create more opportunities for people with disabilities, grow our workforce and ensure every Kansan can work with dignity and respect.”
The income tax credit is for goods and services purchased from qualified businesses that employ disabled workers and pay them at least as much as the minimum wage. The legislation also creates a new matching grant program to help transition sheltered workshop employers toward paying the minimum wage.
“By incentivizing businesses that purchase products from companies with integrated workforces, we are creating more jobs for Kansans with disabilities,” said Rep. Sean Tarwater, R-Stilwell, in a statement via the governor’s office. “This bill also helps those that make below minimum wage to get a pay increase. This spurs local economies across the state as the workforce grows and has additional money in their pockets.”
The minimum wage requirement was added last year following a contentious public hearing at which disability rights advocates took issue with the previous allowance for employers to pay less than $7.25 an hour.
Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns executive director Martha Gabehart said the new law is “a win-win for Kansans with disabilities and businesses.”
“The transition grants hold the opportunity to help providers switch from sheltered work to providing competitive integrated employment, enabling Kansas to join the growing list of states that have equalized the pay for people with disabilities by eliminating subminimum wage,” Gabehart said in a statement via the governor’s office.
Why lawmakers failed to get the tax credit renewed last year
Last session, the tax credit went through the normal legislative process in the House. The commerce committee, which Tarwater chairs, held a public hearing on House Bill 2275 before it was later passed by the full chamber 124-0.
But the Senate never took up the bill.
Instead, it came up in a conference committee, where top legislators on tax policy bundled dozens of separate bills into three packages.
The tax credit became part of the Senate Bill 8 bundle that was debated and voted on by the House on in the wee hours of the last day of regular session without time for legislators to read the legislation. It was passed by the Senate three weeks later.
Some of the pieces in the bundle were controversial, and Kelly vetoed it, saying the Legislature’s bundling “has made it impossible to sort out the bad from the good.” Lawmakers never attempted an override because they had already adjourned for the year, and they didn’t have veto-proof majorities anyway.
That meant the tax credit expired before legislators returned to Topeka for the 2024 session.
This session, instead of the Senate taking up HB 2275, legislators again turned to a conference committee. But this time, they didn’t bundle it with anything else. Instead, they gutted SB 15 to use as a shell for HB 2275, which was tweaked at the request of senators, who had not held a public hearing on the legislation.
Sen. Caryn Tyson, R-Parker, called it “a unique situation.”
“We know the urgency on this is because the program has sunset, and everybody understands that we are trying to get this done as quickly as possible,” Tyson said.
She initially said either the Senate tax or commerce committee could hold a hearing but acquiesced to negotiating in the conference committee.
“I don’t know why we would wait any longer,” Tarwater said.
Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.
KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva covers stories in the Northland, including Liberty. She also focuses on issues surrounding immigration. Share your story idea with Fernanda.
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Soccer may be wrapping up in Kansas City, but the city is about to take center stage again.
The new season of “Ted Lasso,” filmed in Kansas City, is just days away, and for families like the Brownes, the excitement is hard to contain.
“My boys were so excited. Like I’ve seen them do a lot of things they like, but I’ve never, ever seen them that level of joy and excitement for days,” Kerry Browne said.
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The show holds a special place for the family, who were among those caught up in the buzz when production came to town last summer.
Fernanda Silva/KSHB
That show has changed me more than anything else has,” Rory Browne McClain said. “
KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva had the chance to ask cast members questions ahead of the new season and brought along a question from the Browne family — what were their favorite parts of Kansas City?
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“For me, it’s the American Jazz Museum,” Jeremy Swift said. He plays Leslie Higgins in the show.
Brendan Hunt, who plays Coach Beard, pointed to CPKC Stadium, where the press conference was held.
Fernanda Silva/KSHB
“I like so much of Kansas City, but truly, honestly, like one of my favorite things is this stadium,” Hunt said.
Juno Temple, “Keeley Jones” in the show, reflected on what the city meant to her personally.
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“I was really moved by this place, and that’s something that I will forever hold close to my heart,” Temple said.
Jason Sudeikis, who plays the show’s title character, spoke about what he hopes Kansas City viewers take away from the new season.
“I’d like to think that they feel, that we from Kansas City feel well represented by the characters and by the characters from Kansas City, the characters that he met in Kansas, like Coach Beard,” Sudeikis said.
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Hunt drew a direct parallel between the World Cup’s effect on Kansas City’s global profile and what viewers are about to see play out on screen.
“It kind of ends up being like, you know, all this media that’s happened the last month of like the world discovering Kansas City and the vibe — like that is exactly what happens to Keely,” Hunt said. “So, you’re about to have déjà vu real hard when this thing comes along.”
For Browne, the timing could not be better.
“I love that the world will get to see what we love about Kansas City,” Browne said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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The Kansas Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at July 10, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from July 10 drawing
02-39-44-46-56, Mega Ball: 23
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from July 10 drawing
Midday: 4-0-8
Evening: 0-0-3
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning 2 By 2 numbers from July 10 drawing
Red Balls: 01-03, White Balls: 02-08
Check 2 By 2 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 10 drawing
14-42-46-47-57, Bonus: 05
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All Kansas Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $599. For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at select Kansas Lottery offices.
By mail, send a winner claim form and your signed lottery ticket to:
Kansas Lottery Headquarters
128 N Kansas Avenue
Topeka, KS 66603-3638
(785) 296-5700
To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a claim form, and deliver the form along with your signed lottery ticket to Kansas Lottery headquarters. 128 N Kansas Avenue, Topeka, KS 66603-3638, (785) 296-5700. Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Kansas Lottery.
When are the Kansas Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3 Midday/Evening: 1:10 p.m. and 9:10 p.m. CT daily.
- 2 By 2: 9:30 p.m. CT daily.
- Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Super Kansas Cash: 9:10 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Kansas editor. You can send feedback using this form.
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Two Kansas parents were charged Thursday in connection with the shooting deaths of their two children.
The Ellsworth County Attorney’s Office charged Aaron French and Makayla French of Brookville with four counts each of aggravated child endangerment.
On March 28, law enforcement responded to a home near Kansas Highway 141 and Avenue N near Kanopolis Lake.
A 5-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy had been shot, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The 5-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene. The 8-year-old was taken to a Wichita hospital, where he died almost a week later.
The KBI said a young child in the home picked up a loaded, unsecured shotgun and shot the siblings.
Aaron French, 37, and Makayla French, 28, have been ordered to appear in court on July 28.
For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. To watch our shows live on our website, click here.
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