The Legislature will convene the 2013 Special Session on September 3, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. to address the “Hard 50” law declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in Alleyne v. United States. The 2013 Special Session was called pursuant to a proclamation issued by Governor Sam Brownback on August 6, 2013.

A special session occurs when the Legislature is called to convene at a time outside the regular legislative session, usually to address a particular topic or emergency. A special session may be called by the Governor or the Legislature. Article 1, Section 5 of the Constitution of the State of Kansas provides, “the governor may, on extraordinary occasions, call the legislature into special session by proclamation; and shall call the legislature into special session, upon petition by at least two-thirds of the members elected to each house.”

The 2013 Special Session is the 22nd special session in Kansas history. The first was called in 1874 and the most recent were: 1987 (State highway plan), 1989 (Property tax), and 2005 (School finance).

The Kansas Legislature consists of a 125-member House of Representatives and a 40-member Senate. Representatives are elected for a two-year term and Senators are elected for a four-year term. The Legislature convenes on the second Monday in January for an annual session and generally adjourns in early May. During the interim period joint and special committees meet to discuss issues assigned to them by Legislative leadership or by statute. The Legislature is supported by five non-partisan staff agencies: Kansas Legislative Research Department, Revisor of Statutes, Legislative Administrative Services, Office of Information Services and, Legislative Division of Post Audit. In addition, the offices of the Chief Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate are responsible for the operations of the respective chambers under the direction of elected leadership. The general public can access the legislative process through its elected Senators and Representatives or through participation in committee activity.

This website provides the information needed to contact Senators and Representatives; track the status and content of a bill; read supplementary reports and publications; find out what is happening in the chambers or committees; and look at the current statutes. Information about the chambers, committees, or individual legislators can be found using the appropriate tabs at the top of this page. During the Session, House and Senate Calendars provide information about business to be considered in the chambers and a weekly agenda of committee meetings. The Journals are the historical record of activity in the chambers. Information regarding the status or content of bills and the content of the laws can be found under the Bills and Laws tab.

In addition to the website, the public can access a variety of information by calling the Legislative Hotline at 1.800.432.3924 (in-state) or 785.296.2149 (out-of-state). The hotline is a free service provided by the State Library of Kansas. Librarians are available by instant message chat at www.kslib.info/ask-a-librarian or text questions to 785.256.0733 (standard text message rates may apply).