50th day brings legislative gridlock as key bills return to conference committees
Negotiations stall on juvenile justice, housing vouchers and sex offender school bans
TOPEKA, Kan. — As the Kansas Legislature hit the 50th day of the 2026 session Wednesday — marked by a flood of administrative journal publications from the governor's office — late-session horse-trading stalled, with both chambers agreeing to disagree on a series of high-profile conference committee reports.
Lawmakers appointed new conferees to resolve differences on several contentious measures. Among the stalled legislation: SB 391, which would prohibit local governments from requiring landlords to accept federal housing choice vouchers; HB 2329, which would increase detention limits for juvenile offenders; and Sub HB 2164, a Senate substitute bill that would ban certain sex offenders from entering school property.
The pattern is typical of a session's final weeks, when legislative leadership uses the conference committee process to shape omnibus legislation outside standard floor debate. With both chambers seeking replacement conferees on more than a dozen bills, leaders face a tightening window to broker compromises before the traditional first-adjournment deadline in April.
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