Kansas Governor Laura Kelly Signs New State Laws Amid Broader Policy Actions

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, has taken multiple recent state policy actions according to two reports published in early April 2026. One report states she signed seven new bills into law, including a measure allowing certified registered nurse anesthetists to prescribe and administer drugs within their qualifications, and another authorizing the Kansas Department of Agriculture to charge participation fees for poultry producers in a national disease-testing and certification program. A separate report describes Kelly signing a bipartisan law requiring students to store phones in a secure, inaccessible location until school dismissal, intended to address concerns about the effects of phone use on students. The reports describe distinct legislative and administrative actions without full overlap in specifics; each cites different bills or issues rather than corroborating the same individual measure. The second report also states that Kelly initially declined to provide SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) data to the federal government, prompting a threat from federal authorities to withhold funding. According to that report, Kelly later agreed to share the data after receiving additional privacy guarantees, resolving the funding dispute. The current status of all measures described is that they have been signed into law or resolved as stated, with no indication of pending reversal or legal challenge in the available reporting. Some details remain unresolved due to lack of cross-source corroboration, including the full list of the seven bills referenced in one report and the specific nature of the privacy guarantees Kelly received regarding SNAP data. No conflicting claims were identified between the two reports, but neither independently confirms the other's specific factual claims.