Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

Kansas Senate Bill SB19

Introduced
1/16/25  

Caption

Enacting the conscientious right to refuse act to prohibit discrimination against individuals who refuse medical care and creating a civil cause of action based on such discrimination and revoking the authority of the secretary of health and environment to quarantine individuals and impose associated penalties.

Impact

The enactment of SB 19 is expected to have significant implications for public health authority in Kansas. One noteworthy provision of the bill is the revocation of the authority held by the secretary of health and environment to enforce isolation or quarantine orders. This aligns with the overall theme of curtailing governmental power regarding individual medical choices and may lead to challenges in managing public health crises. The bill establishes a private cause of action for individuals who face discrimination, which could open the door for a wave of lawsuits seeking redress for perceived violations of the act.

Summary

Senate Bill 19, also known as the Conscientious Right to Refuse Act, is a legislative proposal aimed at protecting individuals who refuse medical interventions based on personal or ethical beliefs. The bill prohibits various forms of discrimination against those who opt-out of vaccinations or other medical procedures. Specifically, it prevents employers, healthcare entities, schools, and individuals from taking adverse actions—including dismissal, demotion, or denial of services—against persons who choose not to undergo these interventions for reasons of conscience. By safeguarding the rights of these individuals, the bill seeks to create a more tolerant environment for personal health decisions.

Contention

Debate surrounding SB 19 is likely to center on the balance between individual rights and public health safety. Supporters of the bill view it as a necessary step in protecting personal liberties, particularly in light of recent public health challenges. They argue that individuals should not be coerced into medical interventions under threat of punishment or discrimination. Conversely, opponents of the bill may express concern that it undermines public health initiatives and could hinder efforts to control infectious diseases. The repeal of pre-existing laws related to health department authorities is also a contentious point, potentially leaving public health responses less robust in emergencies.

Companion Bills

No companion bills found.

Previously Filed As

KS HB2002

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

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 SB5

Authorizing counties to impose an earnings tax.

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 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 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 HB2004

Authorizing counties to propose an earnings tax for ballot question.

KS SB8

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

KS SR1702

A resolution honoring the life, career and trailblazing achievements of Kansas icon Ed Dwight.

Similar Bills

No similar bills found.