Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Kansas House Judiciary committee hears hours of testimony on bill to define "gender" on IDs and birth records
Summary
At a lengthy House Judiciary hearing, proponents including the attorney general, the KBI and doctors said HB2426 would restore clarity for driver’s licenses and vital records; opponents, transgender Kansans and advocates warned the measure would harm transgender and intersex residents and create legal and administrative disruption.
Topeka — The House Committee on Judiciary heard more than three hours of testimony on House Bill 2426, a proposal to define the term “gender” in state law as the biological sex assigned at birth and to require state agencies to reissue driver’s licenses and birth certificates so they match that definition.
Attorney General Chris Kobach, one of the bill’s principal proponents, told the committee the measure is intended to reverse a Court of Appeals ruling in Kansas v. Harper that he said allowed agencies to treat a person’s birth sex differently in databases and on physical documents. “The Court of Appeals seized on any ambiguity they could find to come up with a position that renders the bill … a dead letter,” Kobach said, and he pointed to the bill’s addition of the word “only” in a statutory subsection as the key change to remove that ambiguity.
Jason Long of the Office of Reviser of Statutes summarized the draft, saying it would amend…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
