Kansas House of Representatives

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

Kansas House of Representatives
Kansas Legislature
Type
Type	Lower house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 8, 2024
Leadership
Speaker	Dan Hawkins (R) since January 9, 2023
Speaker Pro Tempore	Blake Carpenter (R) since January 9, 2023
Majority Leader	Chris Croft (R) since January 9, 2023
Minority Leader	Vic Miller (D) since January 9, 2023
Structure
Seats	125
Political groups	Republican (85)   Democratic (40)
Length of term	2 years
Authority	Article 2, Kansas Constitution
Salary	$88.66/day + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 8, 2022 (125 seats)
Next election	November 5, 2024 (125 seats)
Redistricting	Kansas Reapportionment Commission
Meeting place
House of Representatives Chamber Kansas State Capitol Topeka, Kansas
Website
Kansas House of Representatives
Rules
Rules of the Kansas House of Representatives

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 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.^[1] 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.^[1]

The Kansas House of Representatives in 1905

In 1870, the Kansas House of Representatives first met at the Kansas State Capitol, which was not officially completed until 1903.^[2]

Populists and Republicans both claimed control of the Kansas House of Representatives in 1893, with the Populists accusing the Republican Party of election fraud.^[3] The dispute led to separate Populist-led and Republican-led Houses in 1893 until the Kansas Supreme Court sided with the Republicans and the Populist-led House disbanded.^[3]

In 1888, Alfred B. Fairfax became the first African American elected to the House, serving as chairman of the House Committee on Immigration.^[4]

In 1918, Minnie J. Grinstead became the first female elected to the House.^[5]

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.^[6]

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.^[7]

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, the Committee of the Whole and the entire membership of the chamber.^[8] Other state representatives can amend a bill in committee or on the floor of the chamber.^[8]

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 the bill.^[8] State legislators can override the veto with the support of two-thirds majority of both houses.^[8]

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 2023–2024 session:

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)			Total
	Republican	Democratic	Independent		Vacant
Begin 2021	86	38	1	125	0
February 8, 2021[9]	86	39	0	125	0
Begin 2023	85	40	0	125	0
Latest voting share	68%	32%	0%

Map of current (2024) partisan composition of Kansas House of Representatives:

  Republican Party

  Democratic Party

Leadership

The Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives is the leader of the chamber and is elected by his fellow state representatives.^[8] The speaker presides over the legislative process on the floor of the chamber or appoints a presiding officer. The speaker decides the committee structure.^[8] The majority and minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses relative to their party's strength in the chamber.

Officers

Position	Name	Party	District
Speaker of the House	Daniel Hawkins	Republican	100
Speaker Pro Tem	Blake Carpenter		81
Majority Leader	Chris Croft		8
Assistant Majority Leader	Vacant
Majority Whip	Susan Estes		87
Caucus Chair	Kristey Williams		77
Minority Leader	Vic Miller	Democratic	58
Assistant Minority Leader	Valdenia Winn		34
Minority Whip	Stephanie Clayton		19
Caucus Chair	Barbara Ballard		44
Agenda Chair	Jerry Stogsdill		21
Policy Chair	Christina Haswood		10

Members of the Kansas House of Representatives

District	Representative	Party	Residence	First Elected
1	Michael Houser	Republican	Columbus	2012
2	Ken Collins	Republican	Mulberry	2018
3	Chuck Smith	Republican	Pittsburg	2014
4	Trevor Jacobs	Republican	Fort Scott	2016
5	Carrie Barth	Republican	Baldwin City	2022
6	Samantha Poetter Parshall	Republican	Paola	2020
7	Dan Goddard	Republican	Parsons	2022
8	Chris Croft	Republican	Overland Park	2018
9	Fred Gardner	Republican	Garnett	2022
10	Christina Haswood	Democratic	Lawrence	2020
11	Ron Bryce	Republican	Coffeyville	2022
12	Doug Blex	Republican	Independence	2016
13	Duane Droge	Republican	Eureka	2022
14	Dennis Miller	Democratic	Olathe	2022
15	Allison Hougland	Democratic	Olathe	2022
16	Linda Featherston	Democratic	Overland Park	2020
17	Jo Ella Hoye	Democratic	Lenexa	2020
18	Cindy Neighbor	Democratic	Shawnee	2002
19	Stephanie Sawyer Clayton	Democratic	Overland Park	2012
20	Mari-Lynn Poskin	Democratic	Leawood	2020
21	Jerry Stogsdill	Democratic	Prairie Village	2016
22	Lindsay Vaughn	Democratic	Overland Park	2020
23	Susan Ruiz	Democratic	Shawnee	2018
24	Jarrod Ousley	Democratic	Merriam	2014
25	Rui Xu	Democratic	Westwood	2018
26	Adam Thomas	Republican	Olathe	2018
27	Sean Tarwater	Republican	Stilwell	2016
28	Carl Turner	Republican	Leawood	2020
29	Heather Meyer	Democratic	Overland Park	2020
30	Laura Williams	Republican	Lenexa	2022
31	Louis Ruiz	Democratic	Kansas City	2004
32	Pam Curtis	Democratic	Kansas City	2014
33	Mike Thompson	Republican	Bonner Springs	2022
34	Valdenia Winn	Democratic	Kansas City	2000
35	Wanda Brownlee Paige	Democratic	Kansas City	2024
36	Lynn Melton	Democratic	Kansas City	2022
37	Melissa Oropeza	Democratic	Kansas City	2022
38	Timothy Johnson	Republican	Basehor	2020
39	Owen Donohoe	Republican	Shawnee	2006
40	David Buehler	Republican	Lansing	2022
41	Pat Proctor	Republican	Leavenworth	2020
42	Lance W. Neelly	Republican	Tonganoxie	2020
43	Bill Sutton	Republican	Gardner	2012
44	Barbara Ballard	Democratic	Lawrence	1992
45	Mike Amyx	Democratic	Lawrence	2018
46	Dennis Highberger	Democratic	Lawrence	2014
47	Ronald Ellis	Republican	Meriden	2016
48	Dan Osman	Democratic	Overland Park	2020
49	Nikki McDonald	Democratic	Olathe	2023
50	Kyle McNorton	Republican	Topeka	2023
51	Kenny Titus	Republican	Manhattan	2022
52	Jesse Borjon	Republican	Topeka	2020
53	Kirk Haskins	Democratic	Topeka	2022
54	Ken Corbet	Republican	Topeka	2012
55	Tobias Schlingensiepen	Democratic	Topeka	2022
56	Virgil Weigel	Democratic	Topeka	2012
57	John Alcala	Democratic	Topeka	2012
58	Vic Miller	Democratic	Topeka	1978
59	Rebecca Schmoe	Republican	Ottawa	2022
60	Mark Schreiber	Republican	Emporia	2016
61	Francis Awerkamp	Republican	St. Marys	2016
62	Randy Garber	Republican	Sabetha	2010
63	John Eplee	Republican	Atchison	2016
64	Lewis Bloom	Republican	Clay Center	2022
65	Jeff Underhill	Republican	Junction City	2022
66	Sydney Carlin	Democratic	Manhattan	2002
67	Mike Dodson	Republican	Manhattan	2020
68	Nathan Butler	Republican	Junction City	2022
69	Clarke Sanders	Republican	Salina	2020
70	Scott Hill	Republican	Abilene	2022
71	Steven Howe	Republican	Salina	2020
72	Avery Anderson	Republican	Newton	2020
73	Lori Shultz	Republican	Lindsborg	2024
74	Stephen Owens	Republican	Hesston	2018
75	Will Carpenter	Republican	El Dorado	2012
76	Eric Smith	Republican	Burlington	2016
77	Kristey Williams	Republican	Augusta	2014
78	Robyn Essex	Republican	Olathe	2022
79	Webster Roth	Republican	Winfield	2022
80	Bill Rhiley	Republican	Wellington	2018
81	Blake Carpenter	Republican	Derby	2014
82	Leah Howell	Republican	Derby	2022
83	Henry Helgerson	Democratic	Eastborough	1982
84	Ford Carr	Democratic	Wichita	2022
85	Patrick Penn	Republican	Wichita	2020
86	Silas Miller	Democratic	Wichita	2022
87	Susan Estes	Republican	Wichita	2020
88	Sandy Pickert	Republican	Wichita	2022
89	KC Ohaebosim	Democratic	Wichita	2018
90	Carl Maughan	Republican	Colwich	2022
91	Emil Bergquist	Republican	Park City	2022
92	John Carmichael	Democratic	Wichita	2012
93	Brian Bergkamp	Republican	Wichita	2020
94	Leo Delpergang	Republican	Wichita	2018
95	Tom Sawyer	Democratic	Wichita	1986
96	Tom Kessler	Republican	Wichita	2020
97	Nick Hoheisel	Republican	Wichita	2018
98	Cyndi Howerton	Republican	Wichita	2020
99	Susan Humphries	Republican	Wichita	2016
100	Daniel Hawkins	Republican	Wichita	2012
101	Joe Seiwert	Republican	Pretty Prairie	2008
102	Jason Probst	Democratic	Hutchinson	2016
103	Angela Martinez	Democratic	Wichita	2022
104	Paul Waggoner	Republican	Hutchinson	2018
105	Brenda Landwehr	Republican	Wichita	1994
106	Lisa Moser	Republican	Wheaton	2020
107	Susan Concannon	Republican	Beloit	2012
108	Brandon Woodard	Democratic	Lenexa	2018
109	Troy Waymaster	Republican	Bunker Hill	2012
110	Ken Rahjes	Republican	Agra	2014
111	Barbara Wasinger	Republican	Hays	2018
112	Tory Marie Blew	Republican	Great Bend	2016
113	Brett Fairchild	Republican	St. John	2020
114	Michael Murphy	Republican	Sylvia	2020
115	Gary White	Republican	Ashland	2022
116	Kyle Hoffman	Republican	Coldwater	2010
117	Adam Turk	Republican	Shawnee	2022
118	Jim Minnix	Republican	Scott City	2020
119	Jason Goetz	Republican	Dodge City	2022
120	Adam Smith	Republican	Weskan	2016
121	John Resman	Republican	Olathe	2016
122	Bill Clifford	Republican	Garden City	2020
123	Bob Lewis	Republican	Garden City	2022
124	Marty Long	Republican	Ulysses	2024
125	Shannon Francis	Republican	Liberal	2014

Committee leadership

2023–2024

Committee	Chairman	Vice Chairman	Ranking Minority Member
Agriculture and Natural Resources	Ken Rahjes	Lisa Moser	Sydney Carlin
Agriculture and Natural Resources Budget	Ken Corbet	Joe Seiwert	Sydney Carlin
Appropriations	Troy Waymaster	Kyle Hoffman	Henry Helgerson
Calendar and Printing	Chris Croft	Daniel Hawkins	Vic Miller
Child Welfare and Foster Care	Susan Concannon	Timothy H. Johnson	Jarrod Ousley
Commerce, Labor and Economic Development	Sean Tarwater	Jesse Borjon	Jason Probst
Corrections and Juvenile Justice	Stephen Owens	Eric Smith	Dennis Highberger
Education	Adam Thomas	Susan Estes	Jerry Stogsdill
Elections	Pat Proctor	Paul Waggoner	Brandon Woodard
Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications	Leo Delperdang	Carl Turner	KC Ohaebosim
Federal and State Affairs	Will Carpenter	Tom Kessler	Jo Ella Hoye
Financial Institutions and Pensions	Nick Hoheisel	Bill Clifford	Rui Xu
General Government Budget	Kyle Hoffman	Bill Rhiley	Mike Amyx
Health and Human Services	Brenda Landwehr	John Eplee	Susan Ruiz
Higher Education Budget	Steven Howe	Tory Marie Blew	Brandon Woodard
Insurance	Bill Sutton	Patrick Penn	Cindy Neighbor
Interstate Cooperation	Daniel Hawkins	Blake Carpenter	Valdenia Winn
Judiciary	Fred Patton	Mark Schreiber	John Carmichael
K-12 Education Budget	Kristey Williams	Brenda Landwehr	Valdenia Winn
Legislative Budget (House)	Troy Waymaster	Kyle Hoffman	Henry Helgerson
Legislative Modernization	Barbara Wasinger	Blake Carpenter	Jerry Stogsdill
Local Government	Barbara Wasinger	Blake Carpenter	Jerry Stogsdill
Rules and Journal	Fred Patton	Dennis Highberger	None
Social Services Budget	Les Mason	Will Carpenter	Barbara Ballard
Taxation	Adam Smith	Brian Bergkamp	Tom Sawyer
Transportation	Shannon Francis	Lance Neelly	Barbara Ballard
Transportation and Public Safety Budget	Avery Anderson	John Resman	Virgil Weigel
Veterans and Military	Ronald Ellis	Mike Dodson	Virgil Weigel
Water	Jim Minnix	Cyndi Howerton	Lindsay Vaughn
Welform Reform	Francis Awerkamp	Leah Howell	Heather Meyer

Past composition

See also: Political party strength in Kansas

The Republican Party has controlled the Kansas House in most of Kansas History, with the Democratic control occurring less. Since 1992, the GOP has held most seats. The Democratic Party of Kansas had held most seats in the early 90s, but the party has never gained a trifecta in Kansas political history.

See also

• List of Kansas state legislatures

Notes

References

1. Ewing, Cortez A. M (August 1932). "Early Kansas Impeachments". Kansas Historical Quarterly. 1 (4): 307–325.
2. Kansas State Capitol, Kansapedia, Kansas Historical Society. (accessed July 25, 2013)
3. Cool Things – Legislative War Artifacts, Kansapedia, Kansas Historical Society, November 1997. (accessed July 25, 2013)
4. "Alfred Fairfax - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society". www.kshs.org. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
5. Enicks-Knissr, Lori Lynn (April 2014). "The Lady from Seward" – Minnie J. Grinstead, the First Woman Elected to the Kansas House of Representatives (PDF) (M.A. thesis). Emporia State University.
6. "Kansas Legislative Research Manual Kansas Legislative Procedures," Archived May 10, 2013, at the Wayback Machine March 12, 2009.
7. Kansas Legislators Past & Present-Robert Dole Archived November 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
8. Legislative Procedure in Kansas Archived May 10, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Kansas Legislative Research Department, November 2006. (accessed July 24, 2013)
9. "Kansas Rep. Aaron Coleman rejoins Democratic Party". Associated Press. KSHB. February 8, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.

External links

• Kansas House of Representatives
• Interactive Map of Kansas House and Senate Districts
• Search Kansas Legislators Past & Present
• Kansas Oral History Project

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