Kelly Signs Dozen Bipartisan Bills on Law Enforcement, Child Welfare

New Law Strips Counties of Authority Over Water Transfers

Marshall, Klobuchar Introduce Bill to Boost Domestic Fertilizer

Trump Demands Congress Pass Farm Bill as Kansas Farmers Face Mounting Pressure

Self Unsure on Return After KU's Buzzer-Beater Tournament Exit

Kelly Signs Dozen Bipartisan Bills on Law Enforcement, Child Welfare

TOPEKA, Kan. — Gov. Laura Kelly signed more than a dozen bipartisan bills Friday spanning law enforcement, child welfare, transparency, health care and local governance. Senate Bill 445 requires the Kansas Highway Patrol and KBI to provide funeral support and family assistance when officers die in the line of duty, honoring the four Kansas officers killed in 2025. House Bill 2557 enacts the revised Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children, standardizing procedures for placing children across state lines. Other measures open certain Supreme Court Nominating Commission records under the Kansas Open Records Act, require the Kansas Department of Agriculture to publish an online map of applied-for water diversions, add legislative oversight to the Rural Health Transformation Program and require background checks for advanced practice registered nurses. Additional bills modernize city dissolution procedures, authorize commissioners to disorganize empty fire districts and establish an official seal for the Kansas House of Representatives.

Governor Kelly Signs Batch of Bipartisan Bills on Law Enforcement, Child Welfare, Transparency and Local Government

Measures honor fallen officers, update interstate child placement rules, expand open records and address rural health

citizen journalGreg Loving

New Law Strips Counties of Authority Over Water Transfers

TOPEKA, Kan. — Gov. Laura Kelly signed House Bill 2433, reaffirming the state's sole authority over water transfers and appropriations in Kansas. The bipartisan measure, introduced by Rep. Barb Wasinger, R-Hays, prohibits counties from enacting resolutions that conflict with or duplicate state control, placing decisions with the chief engineer and the water transfer hearing panel. The bill targets a decade-long dispute between the cities of Hays and Russell and Edwards County over the R9 Ranch water transfer; Hays purchased the roughly 7,000-acre ranch in Edwards County in 1995 and applied in 2015 to convert its 30 water rights from irrigation to municipal use and pipe water approximately 70 miles. Edwards County opposed the transfer and enacted zoning regulations the cities argue were designed to block the project; an administrative law judge ruled in the cities' favor, but multiple lawsuits remain active. The cities have received a $15.8 million state grant toward the project's estimated $79 million cost and have applied for additional federal funding.

Governor Kelly Signs Bill Reaffirming State Authority Over Water Transfers

House Bill 2433 resolves jurisdictional questions at the center of an 11-year dispute over the R9 Ranch water transfer near Hays

citizen journalGreg Loving

Marshall, Klobuchar Introduce Bill to Boost Domestic Fertilizer

WASHINGTON — Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar introduced the Homegrown Fertilizer Act, a bipartisan bill establishing a grant and loan program to boost domestic fertilizer production and support small and mid-sized producers. The legislation arrives as the Strait of Hormuz blockade caused by the ongoing conflict in Iran has disrupted roughly half of global nitrogen-rich urea fertilizer shipments, driving up input costs for American farmers heading into the spring growing season. Marshall said Kansas farmers deserve a competitive, diverse fertilizer marketplace that does not leave them vulnerable to price spikes and supply disruptions, and that the bill invests in American manufacturing while supporting innovation in agricultural inputs including plant biostimulants and alternative nutrients. The measure also aims to put more competitive options in farmers' hands to provide relief from rising input costs at a time when the federal government is scrambling to identify alternative fertilizer sources from countries including Venezuela and Morocco.

Sen. Marshall's Office

Trump Demands Congress Pass Farm Bill as Kansas Farmers Face Mounting Pressure

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump demanded Congress pass the long-stalled farm bill in a March 20 Truth Social post, amplifying pressure on lawmakers as Kansas farmers face some of the toughest economic conditions in a generation. The 2018 Farm Bill has been extended three times and expires Sept. 30; the House Agriculture Committee advanced the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 on a bipartisan 34-17 vote March 5, but the bill still needs full House and Senate approval. Kansas Reps. Sharice Davids and Tracey Mann supported the measure, which would authorize farm programs for five years, strengthen crop insurance and permanently move the Kansas-born Food for Peace program to USDA. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., has called the current moment the most difficult he has seen for producers, with Midwestern farm bankruptcies climbing 70% last year and roughly 700 Kansas farmers exiting the industry. Rising fertilizer costs from the Strait of Hormuz closure and tariff-driven trade disruptions have compounded the strain, and farm groups are pushing to attach an additional $15 billion in farmer aid to a potential Iran supplemental spending bill.

CNBC · Kansas Reflector · KCLY

Self Unsure on Return After KU's Buzzer-Beater Tournament Exit

SAN DIEGO — Kansas coach Bill Self, 63, said after the Jayhawks' NCAA Tournament elimination Sunday that he has not yet decided whether he will return for a 24th season in Lawrence. The comments came after fourth-seeded Kansas fell 67-65 to fifth-seeded St. John's in the Round of 32 at San Diego's Viejas Arena, where the Red Storm's Dylan Darling hit a driving layup as the buzzer sounded after KU had stormed back from 14 points down to tie the game in regulation. The loss marked the fourth consecutive year Kansas has failed to reach the Sweet 16. The Jayhawks had opened the tournament with a 68-60 win over Cal Baptist behind 28 points and four three-pointers from freshman Darryn Peterson, but squandered a 26-point lead before holding on. Meanwhile, Wichita State's postseason run continued as Kenyon Giles scored 28 points in a 96-70 NIT rout of Oklahoma State on Sunday, extending the Shockers' winning streak to six games and setting up a semifinal matchup against Tulsa.

KSN · ESPN · Kansas City Star

Sources

1. Governor's Office
2. Citizen Journal
3. Sen. Marshall's Office
4. CNBC / Kansas Reflector / KCLY
5. KSN / ESPN / Kansas City Star

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