The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for crafting and voting on legislation, helping to create a state budget, and legislative oversight over state agencies. Representatives are elected to two-year terms. The Kansas House of Representatives does not have term limits. The legislative session convenes at the

Kansas State Capitol The Kansas State Capitol, known also as the Kansas Statehouse, is the building housing the executive and legislative branches of government for the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in the city of Topeka, which has served as the capital of Kansas sin ...

Topeka Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Uni ...

annually.

History

On January 29, 1861, President James Buchanan authorized Kansas to become the 34th state of United States, a free state. The ratification of the

Kansas Constitution The Wyandotte Constitution is the constitution of the U.S. state of Kansas. Background The Kansas Territory was created in 1854. The largest issue by far in territorial Kansas was whether slavery was to be permitted or prohibited; aside from the m ...

created the Kansas House of Representatives as the lower house of the state legislature. Members of the Kansas House voted to impeach Governor Charles L. Robinson in 1862, but the impeachment trial did not lead to his conviction and removal of office. The Kansas Senate did vote to impeach the secretary of state and state auditor for the unlawful sale of bonds, but only three state senators voted for the governor's impeachment. 1905 Kansas House of Representatives Topeka GeoRLawrenceCo LC 6a34855u

1905 Kansas House of Representatives Topeka GeoRLawrenceCo LC 6a34855u

In 1870, the Kansas House of Representatives first met at the Kansas State Capitol, which was not officially completed until 1903. Populists and Republicans both claimed control of the Kansas House of Representatives in 1893, with the Populists accusing the Republican Party of election fraud.Cool Things – Legislative War ArtifactsKansapediaKansas Historical Society
November 1997. (accessed July 25, 2013) The dispute led to separate Populist-led and Republican-led Houses in 1893 until the

Kansas Supreme Court The Kansas Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the state of Kansas. Composed of seven justices, led by Chief Justice Marla Luckert, the court supervises the legal profession, administers the judicial branch, and serves as the st ...

sided with the Republicans and the Populist-led House disbanded. In 1918, Minnie J. Grinstead became the first female elected to the House. In 1966, the state legislature began to hold annual general sessions and a constitutional amendment adopted at the 1974 general election extended the duration of the session held in the even-numbered years to 90 calendar days, subject to extension by a vote of two-thirds of the elected membership of each house. United States presidential candidate Bob Dole, the 1996 Republican nominee, began his political career with a two-year term in the Kansas House of Representatives after his election in 1950.Kansas Legislators Past & Present-Robert Dole

Legislative procedure

State representatives introduce a proposed law in the Kansas House of Representatives in the form of a bill, which must be approved by a

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

, the Committee of the Whole and the entire membership of the chamber.Legislative Procedure in Kansas
, Kansas Legislative Research Department, November 2006. (accessed July 24, 2013) Other state representatives can amend a bill in committee or on the floor of the chamber. A bill must be approved by both houses of the Kansas Legislature in order to be submitted to the governor, who can sign it into law or

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

the bill. State legislators can override the veto with the support of two-thirds majority of both houses.

Party composition

Republicans have controlled the chamber for all but six years since statehood, and without interruption since 1993. The GOP presently holds a supermajority in the chamber. The following is the official make-up for the 2021-2023 session:

Leadership

The Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives is the leader of the chamber and is elected by his fellow state representatives. The speaker presides over the legislative process on the floor of the chamber or appoints a presiding officer. The speaker decides the committee structure. The majority and minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses relative to their party's strength in the chamber.

Officers

Members of the Kansas House of Representatives

Committee leadership

2021–2022

2019–2020

2017–2018

2015–2016

Past composition of the House of Representatives

References

External links

Kansas House of Representatives

Interactive Map of Kansas House and Senate Districts

Search Kansas Legislators Past & Present

Kansas Oral History Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kansas House Of Representatives Kansas Legislature State lower houses in the United States