Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

Kansas Senate Bill SB256

Filed/Introduced
8/8/26  
Introduced
2/10/25  

Caption

Enacting the back to work act to require all full-time state employees to perform such employees' duties in their assigned office, facility or field location, provide for certain exceptions by agency heads and require certain reports regarding such exceptions.

Impact

The Back to Work Act will significantly impact the employment policies of state agencies across Kansas. By requiring employees to be physically present in their assigned locations, the bill aims to streamline operations and improve accountability. However, the legislation allows agency heads to issue exceptions for specific cases, such as nonstandard work hours or limitations on office space. This provision could lead to variability in how different agencies implement the policy, potentially creating disparities in employee experiences across the state government.

Summary

Senate Bill 256, also known as the Back to Work Act, mandates that all full-time employees of state agencies in Kansas perform their duties at designated offices or field locations starting July 1, 2025. This legislation aims to reinforce the in-office work policy for state employees, reflecting a shift from remote work practices that became common during the pandemic. The bill highlights the necessity for state agencies to return to traditional workplace settings, which supporters argue will enhance productivity and collaboration among employees.

Contention

While supporters view the bill as a necessary step towards operational efficiency, there are concerns regarding its rigidity and the potential loss of flexibility for state employees. Critics argue that enforcing in-person work could disregard the benefits of remote or hybrid arrangements that some employees may have found effective. The exceptions clause may alleviate some issues; however, determining who qualifies could become a bureaucratic challenge, raising questions about management and oversight within agencies. The discussions around the bill indicate that it may provoke debate on work-life balance and the evolving nature of public sector employment in the wake of the global shift towards remote work.

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 HB2002

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

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 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 SB4

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

KS HR6002

Providing for assignment of seats in the House of Representatives for the 2024 special session of the Legislature.

KS SB6

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

KS HB2004

Authorizing counties to propose an earnings tax for ballot question.

Similar Bills

No similar bills found.