Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoes anti-trans 'bathroom bounty' bill

[Jessica_Rose ✅]

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoes anti-trans 'bathroom bounty' bill

https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/kansas-governor-vetoes-bathroom-bill 🔗

Trudy Ring (17 Feb 2026)

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has vetoed what LGBTQ+ advocates are calling an anti-transgender "bathroom bounty" bill.

Kelly, a Democrat in a heavily Republican state, Friday vetoed Senate Bill 244, passed by legislators in January along party lines, Republicans for, Democrats against. It would have required trans people to restrooms and other single-sex facilities in government buildings according to their sex assigned at birth, not their gender identity. It further would have required the state to reissue any driver's licenses or birth certificates that reflected a trans person's gender identity, replacing that gender marker with one for the sex assigned at birth. It further would have banned multi-occupancy gender-neutral restrooms in government buildings.

It would have imposed a fine on individuals of $1,000 for a second violation of the law and would allow those "aggrieved" by the presence of a trans person to sue for damages of $1,000 or the amount of actual damages. The government entity would be fined $25,000 for the first violation and $125,000 for any subsequent violation. The lawsuit provision is not limited to government buildings.

In her veto message, Kelly called the bill "poorly drafted."

"... I believe the Legislature should stay out of the business of telling Kansans how to go to the bathroom and instead stay focused on how to make life more affordable for Kansans."