Kansas House Bill HB2261

Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/4/25
• Refer: 2/4/25
• Report Pass: 2/13/25
• Engrossed: 2/19/25
• Refer: 2/20/25
• Report Pass: 2/27/25
• Enrolled: 3/14/25
• Passed: 3/24/25

Caption

Providing that Kansas highway patrols officers majors are to be within the unclassified service under the Kansas civil service act and a superintendent, assistant superintendent or major shall be returned to a rank with permanent status not lower than the rank held when the officer was appointed to such respective position.

Summary

HB 2261 amends the Kansas Highway Patrol statute to change the employment status of certain senior patrol leadership positions. The bill places highway patrol majors in the unclassified service under the Kansas Civil Service Act, alongside the superintendent and assistant superintendent. It also provides that if a person who is a patrol member is appointed to one of those leadership roles, that person must be returned to a permanent-status rank not lower than the rank held before the appointment when the term ends. The bill preserves the existing structure for the patrol’s top leadership, including gubernatorial appointment of the superintendent and appointment of the assistant superintendent by the superintendent from among patrol members. It also retains the requirement that other officers and troopers be appointed under the civil service system and meet existing qualifications such as age, citizenship, education, criminal history, and physical fitness standards. The bill does not materially alter the patrol’s operational duties, but it clarifies personnel classification and post-service placement rules for senior officers.

Impact

HB 2261 changes Kansas civil service law as applied to the Kansas Highway Patrol by expressly classifying majors as unclassified employees and by guaranteeing return rights to a permanent-status rank for superintendents, assistant superintendents, and majors after leaving those positions. This affects K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 74-2113 and related personnel administration for the patrol, while leaving the broader appointment and qualification framework for troopers and officers intact.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the House overwhelmingly, 118-1, and cleared the Senate on the consent calendar with a unanimous 40-0 vote. The voting pattern suggests general agreement that the measure was a technical or administrative personnel clarification rather than a substantive policy dispute.

Contention

There is little evidence of major contention in the available record. The only visible opposition was a single negative vote in the House, but no committee testimony or debate excerpts are provided to explain the objection. Any disagreement likely centered on the civil service classification change for majors or the guaranteed return-to-rank provision for senior patrol officers, though the available materials do not identify a specific opposing argument or stakeholder.