Kansas House Bill HB2332

Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/7/25
• Refer: 2/7/25
• Report Pass: 3/19/25
• Engrossed: 1/15/26
• Refer: 1/16/26
• Report Pass: 3/2/26
• Enrolled: 3/13/26
• Passed: 3/23/26

Caption

Establishing a seal for the house of representatives and a seal for the senate and providing for the custody and use of each.

Summary

HB2332 establishes the official seal of the Kansas House of Representatives by recognizing the seal already affixed to the front of the House podium as the chamber’s seal. The bill includes a detailed description of the seal’s imagery, including the rising sun, river and steamboat, settler’s cabin, plow, ox-wagons, buffalo, Native American riders, the state motto “Ad astra per aspera,” and thirty-four stars. It also identifies the seal as the seal of the Kansas House of Representatives. The bill places custody of the House seal in the office of the Speaker of the House and limits its use to attestation of official House documents and other purposes approved by the Speaker. In effect, the measure formalizes an existing symbol and creates a statutory framework for its official custody and use. Although the bill text provided focuses on the House seal, the caption indicates the broader measure also addresses a Senate seal and related custody provisions, suggesting the enacted version may have included parallel treatment for the other chamber. The bill’s impact on state law is narrow and administrative. It does not change substantive rights, taxes, or regulatory programs; instead, it codifies legislative branding and document authentication procedures for the House of Representatives. By placing the seal under the Speaker’s control, the bill clarifies who may authorize its use and for what official purposes, which may help standardize House records and ceremonial or formal documents. The general sentiment around the bill appears strongly favorable and largely noncontroversial. The recorded votes show overwhelming support in both chambers, including unanimous House final passage, near-unanimous Senate passage, and strong House concurrence after amendments. That voting pattern suggests the measure was viewed as a routine institutional or housekeeping bill rather than a policy dispute. There is little evidence of substantive contention in the materials provided. The only possible point of difference is that the bill caption references both House and Senate seals, while the text excerpt provided addresses only the House seal, implying amendments or parallel provisions may have been involved. Even so, the vote totals indicate minimal opposition, and no committee debate or public controversy is reflected in the available record.

Impact

HB2332 amends Kansas law to formally establish the House of Representatives seal, assign custody of the seal to the Speaker, and limit its use to official attestation and other Speaker-approved purposes. The measure is administrative in nature and primarily affects legislative procedure, official House documents, and the handling of chamber insignia; it does not create new duties for the public or alter substantive state programs.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been received positively and treated as a routine internal legislative matter. Voting was overwhelmingly supportive in both chambers, with no recorded committee controversy in the materials provided. The strong margins suggest broad agreement that the bill simply formalized an existing House symbol and its official use.

Contention

There is little visible contention in the available record. The main issue that could have required clarification is the relationship between the bill caption, which references both House and Senate seals, and the text excerpt, which focuses on the House seal. Any disagreement appears to have been limited to technical or amendment-related matters rather than policy opposition, as reflected by the very high vote totals.