Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

Kansas House Bill HB2328

Introduced
2/7/25  
Refer
2/7/25  
Refer
2/25/25  
Refer
2/27/25  
Refer
3/10/25  
Refer
1/28/26  
Refer
2/6/26  

Caption

Providing an exception to restrictions on prison-made housing units to allow the secretary of corrections to establish a program for delivering such units into designated areas.

Summary

HB 2328 amends Kansas law governing prison-made goods to create a narrow exception to the existing prohibition on the secretary of corrections operating a home-building program that competes with private manufactured home and modular home businesses. Under the bill, the secretary could establish a program to deliver prison-made housing units into designated areas identified in consultation with local communities, but only in places that have seen minimal building activity and home improvements despite efforts to encourage development. The bill also requires the secretary to evaluate the program and submit a report within 10 years of its establishment to the governor and legislative leaders. That report must address the program’s effect on housing availability in the designated area, its impact on nonprison housing manufacturers and dealers, and whether participating inmates later found employment in related industries after release. It must also include information on costs reimbursed to the state and the amount of savings inmates had upon release. The bill preserves the existing exemption for the separate vocational building program used to provide small freestanding buildings to state agencies.

Impact

HB 2328 would amend K.S.A. 75-5275a, the section of the prison-made goods act that limits correctional production of housing units, by adding a new exception for a targeted prison-made housing delivery program. It would not broadly authorize prison-made homes statewide; instead, it would allow the secretary of corrections to place units only in designated areas meeting the bill’s criteria. The measure would also require a delayed program review and reporting obligation, creating a new oversight and data-collection requirement for the Department of Corrections and potentially affecting manufactured home and modular home markets in the selected areas.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes in the provided materials, the overall sentiment appears procedural and policy-driven rather than openly contentious in the available record. The bill is framed as a limited pilot-style exception aimed at housing access and inmate rehabilitation, suggesting support for a targeted correctional and housing policy experiment. At the same time, the statutory language reflects sensitivity to competition concerns by preserving the general ban and requiring a future impact report.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely the potential competition between prison-made housing units and private manufactured home or modular home manufacturers and dealers, which the bill explicitly addresses by limiting the program to designated low-development areas and requiring a later report on market effects. Another likely issue is whether prison labor should be used to produce housing units for civilian use, even in a restricted program, versus whether the program could help address housing shortages and provide vocational benefits to incarcerated people. The bill’s inclusion of a long-term evaluation requirement suggests lawmakers were balancing these competing concerns.

Companion Bills

No companion bills found.

Previously Filed As

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 SB7

Authorizing federally licensed firearm dealers, in addition to county sheriffs, to receive applications for concealed carry licenses and forward such applications to the attorney general, prohibiting sheriffs from assessing any fee related to application services and allowing dealers to assess a fee related to application services not to exceed $20.

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 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.

KS SB6

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

KS SB3

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

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 SB8

Exempting the sale of firearms, firearms accessories, ammunition, firearm safes and firearm safety devices from the retatilers' sales tax.

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 HB2002

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

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