Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

Kansas House Bill HB2696

Introduced
2/4/26  

Caption

Providing for the modernization of notarization and the notary public process with respect to real estate documents for the purpose of mitigation of real estate document-related fraud, requiring the development, implementation and administration of a two-tiered authentication system for notarization of real estate documents and requiring use of a 3D biometric antifraud system by all notaries public by December 31, 2027.

Summary

HB 2696 would overhaul the notarization process for real estate-related documents in Kansas by creating a new category of “verified notary public” authorized to notarize those documents only through a biometric antifraud system. The bill defines a broad range of covered real estate documents, including deeds, mortgages, liens, easements, leases, powers of attorney, HOA documents, and related affidavits and agreements. It requires the use of device-bound hardware, secure software, and three-dimensional liveness detection to capture and authenticate biometric information from both the notary and the signer, with the goal of reducing fraud in real estate filings. The bill sets a statewide implementation deadline of December 31, 2027, after which counties may not accept real estate documents for recording unless they have been authenticated through the biometric system. It also directs the secretary of state to approve the system for statewide compatibility, requires counties to develop procedures for integrating the authentication data, and allows verified notaries to charge an additional fee to offset hardware and system costs. The bill amends existing Kansas statutes governing acknowledgments of deeds and other real estate instruments, and it states that its provisions supersede inconsistent state laws.

Impact

HB 2696 would significantly change Kansas notary and recording law for real estate transactions by replacing the current acknowledgment process for covered documents with a biometric verification regime for notaries who choose to handle real estate documents. It amends K.S.A. 58-2209 and 58-2211 to make those statutes subject to the new verified-notary framework, and it repeals the existing versions of those sections. The bill would also impose new duties on the secretary of state, counties, and notaries, while creating new privacy, storage, and authentication rules for biometric and identifying information.

Sentiment

The bill’s stated purpose is strongly anti-fraud and modernization-oriented, and the available context suggests a policy rationale focused on protecting property owners and the integrity of county recording systems. Because there are no recorded committee transcripts or votes provided, there is no direct evidence of opposition or support from legislators in the available materials. The bill text itself reflects a proactive, technology-forward approach and frames the change as a response to growing real estate fraud and financial harm.

Contention

The main points of potential contention are the mandatory use of biometric technology, the cost and feasibility of statewide implementation, and the privacy implications of collecting and storing biometric data. Counties, the secretary of state, notaries, and system vendors would all have to coordinate on hardware, protocols, and compatibility, which could raise administrative and funding concerns. Privacy and data-security issues may also be debated because the bill requires biometric capture and transmission while limiting state custody of biometric data and placing storage responsibilities partly on vendors. Another possible issue is the bill’s broad scope, which covers many types of real estate-related documents and could affect banks, title companies, county recorders, and notaries who handle property transactions.

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 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 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 SR1701

Providing for the organization of the Senate for the 2024 special session of the Legislature.

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 SB4

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

KS HR6001

Providing for the organization of the House of Representatives for the 2024 special session of the Legislature.

KS HCR5002

Providing for the adjournment sine die of the 2024 special session of the Legislature.

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 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.

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