Committee hears bill to bar WHO, U.N. and WEF from having jurisdiction or effect in Kansas

HB 2204, read in committee on Oct. 27, 2025, would state that the World Health Organization, the United Nations and the World Economic Forum ‘‘shall have no jurisdiction or power within the state of Kansas’’ and that ‘‘no rule, regulation, fee, tax, policy, or mandate of any kind shall be enforced or implemented by the state or any of its departments or any local governments’’ as a result of those organizations.

Mike Hyam of the Reviser's Office read the short text and told the committee he did not know of any existing authority these international organizations currently exercise over Kansas; he said the bill would prevent a state or local agency from implementing a policy because it conformed to guidance from those organizations. ‘‘This is as much a statement bill as it is anything,’’ he said in response to questions about current legal effect.

Several proponents testified in favor. Teddy Love of Ottawa told the committee the bill is ‘‘important, timely and necessary for the protection of Kansas’’ and urged lawmakers to ‘‘please pass HB 2204.’’ Nick Reinicker of Inman referenced international agreements and submitted written materials; he told the committee the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is an example of an international instrument that has been referenced in federal and state drug policy. Erica Sheets, chair of the Johnson County chapter of Moms for Liberty, testified that, in her view, international health and education policy frameworks such as the World Health Organization's initiatives and the CDC’s Whole Child/Community School Model have influenced state education and health practices and that removing those influences is necessary to protect parental control and local priorities. Sheets cited state testing statistics in her prepared remarks, saying ‘‘66.8 percent of Kansas students test below the effective level for ELA’’ and provided other combined proficiency figures; those statistics were presented as part of her argument and attributed to Kansas State Department of Education data in her testimony.

Committee members sought clarification on the bill’s practical effect. Representative Ruiz asked what powers the listed organizations currently have in Kansas; Reviser's Office staff said he was not aware of any direct jurisdiction, and that the bill would bar state or local adoption of policies explicitly tied to those international entities. Representative Wagner asked about international treaty obligations and whether treaties could preempt state law; the Reviser's Office responded that treaties are a legally complicated area and, to his knowledge, there was no treaty in force that would override state law in the circumstances described.

Proponents presented broad policy and cultural arguments rather than statutory citations establishing active international control over state policy. The committee record included written proponent submissions; no opponents or neutral witnesses were listed in the transcript. The chair closed the hearing after proponent testimony and noted that the bill, as presented, does not restrict the governor's emergency powers or federal authority.

Notes and next steps: HB 2204 was presented and heard with multiple proponent witnesses; no committee action or vote is recorded in the transcript. The hearing was dominated by policy rhetoric about sovereignty and global institutions rather than by detailed legal evidence that the listed organizations exercise current regulatory power over Kansas agencies.