Kansas governor warns of Legislature’s ‘political games,’ ‘micro-managing’ in eight-bill veto spree

Rep. Nick Hoheisel, a Wichita Republican, criticized Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly for her veto of legislation that added requirements for proxy advisers. He appears here on the House floor on March 26, 2026, in Topeka, Kansas. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Statehouse)

TOPEKA — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly shot down legislation riddled with “bureaucratic red tape,” “political games” and “micro-managing” as part of her Monday veto spree.

Among the eight bills vetoed in one go were a prohibition on local electric fence regulations, a new mandate for state agencies that oversee occupational licenses, restrictions on proxy advisers and changes to public regulatory processes.

Kelly, a Democrat, also vetoed Monday a pair of anti-abortion bills, tax incentives for private school attendees and a bill that would end in-state college tuition for immigrants. They came ahead of the Legislature’s veto session, which is scheduled to begin Thursday, where Republican lawmakers, with the voting power of a two-thirds majority in both chambers, could override Kelly’s vetoes.

House Bill 2603 would forbid municipalities from requiring permits, fees and conditions of maintenance or installation for battery charged security fences.

“I’ve always believed that local elected officials are best suited to make these types of policy decisions for their constituents,” Kelly said in a Monday news release. “Local leaders and law enforcement officials, not the state government, should determine how these types of security fences are used in their communities.”

House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, said in a statement the bill implements standard guardrails, removing barriers for Kansans.

“Kansas businesses should be able to protect their property without navigating a patchwork of local regulations,” he said. “Businesses shouldn’t face burdensome pushback from cities on how to protect themselves from trespassing, theft, vandalism, or any other crime that these systems deter and prevent.”

The bill passed the House on Feb. 18 in a 86-38 vote and the Senate on March 19 in a 29-11 vote.

Senate Bill 30 would give the Legislature control over occupational licenses, requiring that any new license or change to licenses be approved by lawmakers.

Hawkins said the bill “ensures that unelected agencies don’t unilaterally expand government by adding new licensing requirements without oversight.”

Kelly’s veto “protects the status quo and limits workforce development,” he said, alleging state agencies impose new license restrictions with little accountability.

Kelly said the bill was “another inappropriate power grab” from legislators without the necessary technical knowledge.

“Not only do they lack the required expertise, but this process would simply add bureaucratic red tape and bloated administrative busy work,” she said. “It is the role of the legislature to solve big problems only it can, not micromanage the state agencies with technical expertise for these professions.”

SB 30 passed the House on Feb. 16 in a 86-35 vote and the Senate on March 24 in a 30-10 vote.

Kelly said she vetoed Senate Bill 375 because it came to her desk through a process of “political games.”

The bill was based on model legislation that adds reporting requirements for proxy advisers, hired consultants who assist investors with their shareholder votes. Under the bill, proxy advisers would have to prove the recommendations they make that go against a company’s management are based in financial analysis. It would also give the Kansas Attorney General’s Office the power to take action against violators.

Hawkins said the governor’s veto “protects hidden influence at the expense of Kansas investors,” and that the bill brought transparency and honesty to the forefront.

But Kelly said the bill wasn’t written in a thoughtful manner and lacked adequate opportunity for discussion from both parties in both chambers.

“A bill of this magnitude needed much further vetting and a full debate in the House,” she said.

It passed the House on March 18 in a 84-40 vote and the Senate on March 25 in a 32-8 vote.

Rep. Nick Hoheisel, R-Wichita, pushed back against Kelly’s procedural claims. He said she didn’t raise any objection to the bill’s content, so she objected to how it was passed. She got it wrong, he said in a statement posted to X.

“Kansas investors, retirees, and pension beneficiaries are the ones who pay the price for this veto,” Hoheisel said.

He added: “The governor’s procedural objection is factually incorrect — this bill was vetted, debated, amended, and passed through both chambers exactly as the process requires. Kansans don’t have the luxury of a veto built on a false premise. The Legislature will override it.”

House Bill 2719, which passed both chambers without any opposition, is five-pronged, making changes to the procedural elements of public notice requirements for new regulations, technical amendments and records retention. The bill also allows the Legislature to prioritize regulations for approval, which would expedite processes within the Department of Administration, the Attorney General’s Office, the Division of Budget, and the Secretary of State’s Office.

Kelly said it was “a blatant attempt by the Legislature to undermine the separate, but equal, authority of the executive branch by micro-managing state agency functions.” She said the bill makes government less efficient and cost effective.

The Secretary of State’s Office requested and backed the bill.

“Disappointed to see this bipartisan effort to increase transparency for Kansans and reduce regulatory red tape vetoed by the Governor,” Secretary of State Scott Schwab wrote Monday on X.

Hawkins, too, heralded the bipartisan support for the bill.

“The governor’s veto pen doesn’t discriminate,” he said. “Even unanimous, bipartisan legislation isn’t safe.”

He said the Legislature set aside politics to pass straightforward changes. He promised House Republicans would override the vetoes on all four bills.