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HB 2055

Providing for the filling of a vacancy in the office of state treasurer and the commissioner of insurance by appointment of a person of the same political party as the incumbent office holder and making such appointment subject to senate confirmation.

2025-2026 Regular Session

Requires the Governor to appoint a party-meregistered candidate for State Treasurer or Insurance Commissioner vacancies, with Senate confirmation.

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Bill Summary · HB 2055

HB 2055 — Summary (Kansas, 2025 Session)

Status: Referred to Committee on Elections
Introduced: January 24, 2025 (as introduced by House Committee on Elections, requested by Rep. Waggoner)
Primary subject: Filling vacancies in the offices of State Treasurer and Commissioner of Insurance

Purpose

The bill changes the procedure for gubernatorial appointments to fill vacancies in two statewide executive offices — the State Treasurer and the Commissioner of Insurance — by requiring the Governor to appoint a person who is registered with the same political party as the officeholder elected at the immediately preceding election. It also makes such appointments subject to confirmation by the Kansas Senate.

Key provisions

  • Amends K.S.A. 25-101b (State Treasurer) and K.S.A. 40-106 (Commissioner of Insurance).
  • When a vacancy occurs, the Governor must appoint a “suitable person” who is registered with the same political party as the State Treasurer or Commissioner of Insurance elected at the immediately preceding election.
  • If the most recently elected officeholder was not registered with any political party, the Governor may appoint a suitable person without the party-registration restriction.
  • All such appointments are subject to confirmation by the Kansas Senate pursuant to K.S.A. 75-4315b.
  • Except as provided in K.S.A. 46-2601, an appointee may not exercise the powers, duties, or functions of the office until confirmed by the Senate.
  • Repeals the existing versions of K.S.A. 25-101b and 40-106 and takes effect upon publication in the statute book.

Who is affected

  • Governor: changes constraints on selection of interim appointees for the two offices.
  • Appointees: must meet party-registration requirement in most cases and cannot assume full authority until Senate confirmation (subject to narrow statutory exceptions).
  • Kansas Senate: gains formal confirmation authority for these appointments.
  • Offices of State Treasurer and Commissioner of Insurance: succession and interim leadership processes are affected.
  • Voters/partisan balance: reduces Governor’s ability to appoint an interim officeholder from a different party than the prior elected official.

Fiscal impact

The Division of the Budget (Fiscal Note, Feb. 20, 2025) reports that the Governor’s Office, the State Treasurer’s Office, and the Insurance Department indicate enactment would have no fiscal effect.

Procedural/timeline notes

  • Bill was referred to the House Committee on Elections after introduction.
  • The bill repeals and replaces existing statutory language and is effective upon publication (no delayed effective date specified).
  • Note: the provided materials included texts labeled HB 2055 from other states on unrelated topics; this summary pertains to the Kansas HB 2055 concerning treasurer and insurance commissioner appointments.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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