On Saturday Kansans will be able to legally access a key tool used to prevent fentanyl overdose deaths and they will no longer need to pay the state $100 for a license to carry a concealed firearm.
Transgender athletes will also no longer be permitted to compete in girls and women’s sports and the state will enact one of the most sweeping anti-trans policies in the nation.
Though Kansas lawmakers left Topeka in May, the vast majority of the policies they approved will not take effect until the annual publishing of the state registrar on July 1. Of 98 bills passed this year, provisions of 77 will be enacted on Saturday.
Here are seven policy changes taking effect this weekend that will impact the lives of Kansans:
Fentanyl test strips
Fentanyl test strips, a tool that can be used to determine if a pill contains the powerful narcotic, will become legal in Kansas. Prior to the new law, the strips were prohibited as drug paraphernalia. After July 1, Kansans will be able to purchase and carry the strips to ensure they are not mistakenly ingesting Fentanyl.
Under the same law, heightened penalties for sale of fentanyl will take effect alongside heightened penalties for assault of a healthcare worker.
State definition of man and woman
Kansas will become one of the first two states in the country to enact model legislation promoted by the Independent Women’s Forum, a policy group critical of trans rights, that defines man and woman in state statute based upon sex assigned at birth.
Lawmakers advocating for the bill argued it was necessary to separate single-sex spaces, like bathrooms and locker rooms, by sex assigned at birth. But Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, a Republican, and Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration have both said they do not believe the law will directly impact public accommodations because there is no enforcement mechanism.
Kelly’s office announced Thursday that state agencies would continue to allow transgender Kansans to change the gender markers on their state issued driver’s licenses and birth certificates.
Kobach, a Republican, had previously issued an opinion that the law would block transgender Kansans from changing their gender on government documents. In the cases of documents that were already changed, Kobach has said the law requires them to revert back to sex at birth. He pledged to take Kelly to court over the administration’s refusal to change policies.
Child sex abuse cases
The statute of limitations for criminal prosecution of child sex crimes will be eliminated in Kansas. Survivors will also gain an additional 10 years to sue their abusers in civil court.
Prior to the new law, Kansas law a criminal case must be filed within five years of most alleged crimes, rape cases had a 10 year statute of limitations after a victim turned 18. Kansas previously had one of the smallest windows for victims of childhood sexual abuse to sue, requiring a lawsuit by the age of 21. Under the new law, a survivor can file a lawsuit until the age of 31 or within three years of any criminal conviction related to their case.
Transgender athletes
As of July 1 transgender athletes will no longer be permitted to compete in girls or women’s sports if their sex assigned at birth was not female.
In high school sports a question will be added to forms filled out during a student’s pre-season physical indicating a student’s sex assigned at birth. Only those students who were assigned female at birth can participate in girls or women’s competition.
The same restriction will apply to students at Kansas colleges and in any school-sponsored athletics Kindergarten through 8th grade.
Increased tobacco age
Kansans between 18 and 21 years old will no longer be able to buy and smoke tobacco products. In 2019 Congress voted to raise the federal age for tobacco ages from 18 to 21 but Kansas vendors did not have to comply because the state did not change its age limit from 18.
Kansas will now align with federal tobacco laws bringing the minimum age for tobacco purchase and consumption to 21.
Human Smuggling
Under the new Kansas law human smuggling would become a level 5 person felony which carries up to 130 months, nearly 11 years, in prison.
Smuggling would be defined as gaining financial benefit for intentionally transporting an undocumented individual who will be exploited for the financial gain of another.
The bill has caused concern among some that it could put undocumented immigrants at risk for prosecution. In order to determine whether an individual is guilty of Kansas’ human smuggling crime a Kansas judge and jury must decide during the alleged smuggler’s trial whether the person transported by the defendant entered the country illegally. That determination is generally reserved for federal courts.
Concealed carry licenses
As of July 1, Kansans will no longer have to pay a state fee to obtain a concealed carry license. Applicants will still owe their local sheriff’s office a $32.50 fee, but the $100 charge historically paid to the Kansas Attorney General’s Office will be reduced to zero.
Kansans over the age of 21 are already permitted to carry a concealed firearm without a license. Licenses are required for those ages 18 to 21 and encouraged for older adults.
