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29 June 2023
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNW) — The controversy over what a new law will mean when it takes effect July 1 could be headed to court. Democratic Governor Laura Kelly and Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach disagree on what Senate Bill 180 means for gender markers on birth certificates and driver’s licenses.
The new law defines biological sex in several areas, like restrooms, locker rooms, prisons, and domestic violence centers. In his legal opinion Monday, Kobach said that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Kansas Department of Revenue should not allow gender marker changes and will have to go back and update state records for individuals who have already changed gender markers.
According to the Kelly Administration, after reviewing SB 180 and the attorney general’s non-binding opinion released Monday, they disagree with the attorney general’s conclusions regarding SB 180’s impacts on the operations of the KDHE and KDOR.
In a statement on Thursday, Kelly said she’s directed the agencies to follow their legal counsel’s interpretation of the law.
“I have directed the agencies to follow SB 180 according to their legal counsel’s interpretation of the law. While my administration and the Attorney General’s Office have had many conversations about the law, KDHE and KDOR disagree about its impacts on their operations and will instead keep in place their policies regarding gender markers on birth certificates and driver’s licenses.”
Governor Laura Kelly, D-Kansas
Kobach called the governor’s statement nonsense. He released this statement:
“The Governor has stated that SB 180 changes nothing with respect to drivers licenses and birth certificates. That is nonsense. The Legislature passed SB 180 and overrode Governor Kelly’s veto specifically to ensure that those documents reflect biological sex at birth. The Governor doesn’t get to veto a bill and then ignore the Legislature’s override. She is violating her oath of office to uphold Kansas law. We will see her in court.”
Attorney General Kris Kobach, R-Kansas
For now, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Kansas Department of Revenue will not change their policies for gender markers on birth certificates or driver’s licenses.
As a result of a 2019 consent judgment, the Kelly Administration said that KDHE’s current policy allows transgender Kansans to obtain birth certificates that affirm their gender identity. KDHE
does not believe SB 180 affects the court-ordered policy adopted and enforced by KDHE. The
agency will continue to follow the federal court order.
KDHE has posted a message about its policy on its website.
The Kelly administration also said that KDOR believes its current driver’s license policy does not conflict with SB 180. Its policy will remain the same.
KDOR has put a message at the top of its website, saying SB 180 “will not impact the longstanding procedures for obtaining, renewing, and updating a Kansas driver’s license as they pertain to gender markers.”