The 2025 Kansas Legislative Session began Monday. Over the weekend, the Great Bend Tribune contacted Rep. Brett Fairchild (R-St. John), Rep. Sherri Brantley (R-Great Bend), and Sen. Tory Marie Blew (R-Great Bend) about their committee assignments and plans for the new year.
Fairchild represents the 113th District of the Kansas House of Representatives. His committee assignments in 2025 are the same as before: Water, Agriculture, and Higher Education Budget Committee.
“I’m always active in introducing legislation,” he said. “One example is that I’m going to be introducing a bill to reform eminent domain in Kansas and give more rights and protections to landowners.”
Freshman Representative Sherri Brantley was looking forward to being sworn in at 2 p.m. Monday at Topeka. Since the election in November, Brantley said she has completed her teaching assignment with Great Bend USD 428 and planned to leave for Topeka on Sunday.
“After Monday, we will begin our committee meetings and settle into our roles at the Capitol,” she said. Brantley has been assigned to the following committees: Education and the K-12 Education Budget, and Legislative Modernization.
On Wednesday the Senate and the House will have the opportunity to hear the State of the Kansas Judiciary Address, State of the Kansas Military Address, and the State of the State Address.
“It will be an honor to represent the 112th District at these events,” Brantley said.
“This year, the Kansas Legislature will prioritize cutting property taxes for residents. As of Jan. 1, the state sales tax on food has been eliminated, following the decisions made during the 2024 Legislative Session.
“As I become more familiar with our schedule for the year, I plan to schedule Capitol Coffee-Connect meetings at locations within District 112. During my campaign, I promised my constituents that I would work on their behalf, so I want to keep them informed about ongoing developments while also hearing their thoughts. This commitment is very important to me.”
Brantley can be reached at Sherri.Brantley@house.ks.gov.
Tory Marie Blew
Senator Tory Marie Blew (R-Great Bend) previously served as Representative to the 112th St. and was elected to the Senate in November. She is assigned to the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs, where she will serve as vice chair. She is also assigned to the Senate Committees on Agriculture and Natural Resources; Commerce; and Local Government, Transparency and Ethics.
Along with Senator Bill Clifford (R-Garden City), she pre-filed a bill on Jan. 8 that will introduce an act concerning school districts, relating to question-submitted elections on the issuance of bonds. This bill specifically seeks to validate the election results for the school board election that was passed for USD 200 in Greeley County in 2004. The district passed a $4.6 million bond issue for school facilities but the attorney general’s office blocked the funding, saying the district broke state law by not posting an election notification on a countywide website.
Greeley County doesn’t have a website. If Senate Bill 2 passes this year, Greeley County will get its money so it can make improvements.
“The general contractor who has been assisting with this bond is from Great Bend, so they reached out and that’s why I pre-filed the bill with Senator Clifford,” Blew said.
As for other plans in 2025, she said, “I’m still working on a child care bill with the Governor and hopefully we’ll have it introduced soon.”
Pre-filed bills
Senate Bill 1, pre-filed on Jan. 3 by Senator Kenny Titus (R-Wamego), seeks to exempt Kansas from Daylight Savings Time.
Senate Bill 3 and House Bill 2002, pre-filed on Jan. 10 by the House Legislative Post Audit Committee, is summarized as “an act concerning health and health care, relating to the lay caregiver act; requiring the Department of Health and Environment to audit hospital compliance with such act and report such audit results to the legislature, amending K.S.A. 65-431a and repealing the existing section.”
House Bill 2001 - Continuing the reimbursement from the taxpayer notification costs fund for printing and postage costs of county clerks through calendar year 2029, was pre-filed on Dec. 23, 2024.
House Bill 2003 - Establishing the EV Energy Equity Road Repair Tax Act (the EVEERRT Act) and providing for a road repair tax on electricity distributed from a public charging station for electric vehicles, was pre-filed on Jan. 10.
House Bill 2004 - Providing countywide retailers’ sales tax authority for Seward County for the purpose of financing the costs of roadway and bridge construction, maintenance and improvement in the county, was pre-filed on Jan. 10.
House Bill 2005 - Establishing the Veterans’ Valor Property Tax Relief Act providing an income tax credit or refund for eligible individuals, was pre-filed on Jan. 10.
House Concurrent Resolution 5001 - Making application to the Congress of the United States to call a convention of the states to establish term limits for members of Congress, was introduced on Jan. 10.
