Kansas Republicans Override Governor Kelly’s Veto on Transgender Bathroom Bill

By Nicole Weatherholtz | Thursday, February 19, 2026, 5:06 PM EST

Kansas Republicans have voted to override Democrat Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of Senate Bill 244, which requires transgender individuals to use restrooms and changing facilities based on biological sex rather than gender identity.

The Kansas Senate approved the override Tuesday with a vote of 31-9, and the Kansas House followed Wednesday with an 87-37 vote. The bill became law as the second new law enacted during the state’s 2026 legislative session and the first to take effect.

Under SB 244, government buildings—including public schools and universities—must separate bathrooms and locker rooms by biological sex. The law also addresses other designated spaces tied to privacy and changing. Violations could trigger penalties, including fines of up to $1,000 or criminal charges for repeatedly using facilities that do not match one’s biological sex.

The bill includes exceptions: parents or caregivers may take children under 9 into opposite-sex bathrooms, and coaches may enter opposite-sex locker rooms as long as everyone is clothed. It also prohibits Kansas residents from changing the sex marker on state-issued driver’s licenses and birth certificates.

Senate President Ty Masterson, a Republican, praised the override, stating it “restored sanity.” He asserted that Kelly’s veto would have forced mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters to share bathrooms with biological men in government buildings. “Kansas Democrats are for They/Them,” he said in a statement.

Transgender state Representative Abi Boatman criticized the measure, calling it “obviously discriminates against transgender people in ways that make our lives exponentially more difficult and dangerous.”

Governor Kelly defended her veto, describing the legislation as “poorly drafted” and warning of significant consequences. She cited examples such as not being able to visit a grandmother in a nursing home if one is male but the grandmother is female, or not being able to visit a hospitalized spouse.

Republican state Senator Kellie Warren responded that the governor’s examples are “not the subject of the bill,” emphasizing it applies only to restrooms and changing areas. Similarly, Republican state Representative Susan Humphries characterized Kelly’s veto message as “full of red herrings” and ineffective at addressing the legislation’s merits.

Prior to the veto, SB 244 passed with more than two-thirds support in the GOP-dominated legislature. In 2025, lawmakers overrode a similar veto to pass a law banning sex change drugs for minors, which is currently being challenged in state court.