Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

Kansas House Bill HB2257

Introduced
2/4/25  

Caption

Enacting the interstate compact on the agreement among the states to elect the president by national popular vote.

Summary

HB2257 would enact Kansas’s participation in the Interstate Compact on the Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote. Under the compact, Kansas would continue to hold a statewide popular election for president and vice president, but once the compact is in effect nationally, the state would award its presidential electors to the presidential slate that wins the most votes nationwide rather than the slate that wins Kansas. The bill also sets out how member states would calculate and share vote totals, designate the national popular vote winner, handle ties, and manage withdrawal from the compact. The bill amends Kansas election statutes governing presidential electors to align state law with the compact. It updates K.S.A. 25-802 so Kansas electors must vote in accordance with the compact, and it revises K.S.A. 25-804 to provide that elector selection and certification must follow the compact’s rules when the compact applies. The bill also repeals the prior versions of those statutes. In practical terms, the measure would change how Kansas allocates its electoral votes in presidential elections if and when the compact reaches the required threshold of states representing a majority of electoral votes.

Impact

HB2257 would significantly alter Kansas’s presidential election law by shifting the state from a winner-take-all allocation based on the Kansas popular vote to a national popular vote system, but only after the compact is activated by enough member states. It would affect the duties of the secretary of state, political parties, presidential candidates, and presidential electors by requiring statewide vote tabulation, interstate reporting, and certification of electors tied to the national popular vote winner. The bill also creates rules for withdrawal, tie-breaking, and public release of vote totals, and it would supersede existing state provisions on elector selection when the compact is in force.

Sentiment

Based on the bill’s sponsorship and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes in the provided materials, the available context suggests the measure was introduced as a reform proposal rather than as a contested committee product. The bill is sponsored on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Lawrence/Douglas County, which indicates support from election-reform advocates. No recorded votes or transcript discussion are provided, so there is no documented legislative sentiment in the materials beyond the bill’s reform-oriented framing.

Contention

The main point of contention inherent in the bill is whether Kansas should join a compact that could award its electoral votes to the national popular vote winner instead of the candidate preferred by Kansas voters. Supporters of the compact generally argue it would make every vote count equally nationwide and align the presidency with the national popular vote; opponents typically raise concerns about reducing Kansas’s independent role in presidential elections and about the legal and political implications of interstate coordination. The bill text also raises practical issues about interstate vote certification, timing, and the possibility of withdrawal, but no specific objections or supporters are documented in the provided committee materials.

Companion Bills

No companion bills found.

Previously Filed As

KS SB3

Clarifying the procedures and restrictions on accepting a nomination for an elected office.

KS SB4

Requiring all advance voting ballots be returned by 7:00 p.m. on election day.

KS HB2002

Expanding medical assistance eligibility and enacting the cutting healthcare costs for all Kansans act.

KS SCR1603

Proposing to amend section 1 of article 11 of the constitution of the state of Kansas to limit property tax valuation increases for residential property.

KS SB6

Providing a sales tax exemption for sales of electricity to residential premises by municipally owned or operated utilities.

KS HB2001

Authorizing the secretary of commerce to enter into agreements with major professional sports franchises to establish STAR bond projects for a major professional sports complex, providing for additional revenue sources, expanding the powers and discretion of the secretary and making other changes to the STAR bonds financing act to facilitate such projects, limiting the secretary’s authority to approve such projects to one year unless extended by the legislative coordinating council, authorizing the Kansas development finance authority to issue STAR bonds for such projects, transferring funds under certain circumstances from the state gaming revenues fund to the attracting professional sports to Kansas fund for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, and, if approved by the legislative coordinating council, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.

KS SB2

Eliminating the income limit to qualify for the subtraction modification exempting social security benefits, increasing the income tax credit amount for household and dependent care expenses, establishing the veterans' valor property tax relief act providing for an income tax credit or refund for eligible individuals, citing the increased property tax homestead refund claim section as the homeowners' property tax freeze program, decreasing the normal privilege tax rate, increasing the extent of property tax exemption for residential property from the statewide school levy, decreasing the rate of ad valorem tax imposed by a school district; providing for certain transfers to the state school district finance fund, reducing the state rate of tax on sales of food and food ingredients and modifying the percent credited to the state highway fund from revenue collected.

KS SB1

Modifying income tax rates for individuals, exempting all social security benefits from Kansas income tax, increasing the Kansas standard deduction and the Kansas personal exemption, increasing the income tax credit amount for household and dependent care expenses, decreasing the privilege tax normal tax, excluding internal revenue code section 1031 exchange transactions as indicators of fair market value for property tax valuation purposes, increasing the extent of property tax exemption for residential property from the statewide school levy, providing for certain transfers to the state school district finance fund and abolishing the local ad valorem tax reduction fund and the county and city revenue sharing fund.

KS SCR1604

Proposing to amend section 1 of article 11 of the constitution of the state of Kansas to limit property tax valuation increases for real property and personal property mobile homes.

KS HB2003

Establishing the veterans' valor property tax relief act providing for an income tax credit or refund for eligible individuals, modifying the definition of household income and increasing the appraised value threshold for eligibility of seniors and disabled veterans related to increased property tax claims and citing the section as the homeowners' property tax freeze program, providing property tax exemptions for certain personal property including watercraft, marine equipment, off-road vehicles, motorized bicycles and certain trailers, excluding internal revenue code section 1031 exchange transactions as indicators of fair market value, providing for certain exclusions from the prohibition of paying taxes under protest after a valuation notice appeal and providing four prior years' values on the annual valuation notice.

Similar Bills

AZ SB1300

interstate agreement; national popular vote.

AZ HB4013

interstate agreement; national popular vote

AZ SB1338

Interstate agreement; national popular vote

AZ HB2806

Interstate agreement; national popular vote.

SC H3870

The agreement among states to elect the president by national popular vote

VA SB322

National Popular Vote Compact; enters Virginia into an interstate compact.

VA HB965

National Popular Vote Compact; enters Virginia into an interstate compact.

WI SB1117

Entering into an agreement among the states to elect the president and vice president of the United States by means of a national popular vote.