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• Introduced in the Senate on February 6, 2008, to allow every nursing facility, assisted living facility and long-term care unit to serve as a voting place for its residents, detailing the procedures for each such place to qualify and for local election officials to administer those sites. The bill is estimated to cost local governments $88,000 per election if all eligible facilities in the state choose to participate.
  • Referred to the Senate Elections and Local Government Committee on February 7, 2008.
    • Reported to the Senate on February 26, 2008, recommending the bill be passed as amended. Senate committee changed the effective date of the bill to January 1, 2010.
  • Amendment offered by Sen. Tim Huelskamp (R) on February 28, 2008, to exempt swing beds within the affected facilities, to eliminate the mandate for local election officials to contact every facility about the new option, and to specify that long-term care units could serve as voting places only if they are hospital based. The amendment passed in the Senate by voice vote on February 28, 2008.
• Passed in the Senate (40 to 0) on February 28, 2008. [Vote Details and Comments]
• Received in the House on February 29, 2008.
  • Referred to the House Elections and Governmental Organization Committee on March 4, 2008.
    • Reported to the House on March 20, 2008, recommending the bill be passed as amended. House committee amendments would make participating facilities subject to the electioneering crime statute, would require posting of proper notice at participating facilities, and would exclude mail ballot elections.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Sheryl Spalding (R) on March 28, 2008, to make changes to some terminology that does not change the substance of the bill as previously described. The amendment passed in the House by voice vote on March 28, 2008.
• Passed in the House (114 to 0) on March 28, 2008, to allow every nursing facility, assisted living facility and long-term care unit to serve as a voting place for its residents. [Vote Details and Comments]
• Received in the Senate on March 28, 2008.
  • Motion by Sen. Tim Huelskamp (R) on March 28, 2008, to not approve the House version of the bill, but to send the bill to a conference committee to negotiate the two chambers' differences. The motion passed in the Senate by voice vote on March 28, 2008.
• Motion by Rep. Mike Burgess (R) on April 3, 2008, to adopt a compromise version of the bill reported by a House-Senate conference committee. The report recommends enactment of the House-passed version of the bill plus the following proposals: to prohibit county election officers from sending mail-election ballots to voters deemed "inactive" under specified circumstances; to change the requirements for holding primary elections for certain local offices by prohibiting primaries that do not involve a sufficient number of candidates and requiring primaries when there are sufficient numbers of candidates; and, to prohibit restrictive covenants for real estate from banning the display of certain political yard signs.
• The motion passed in the House (122 to 0) on April 3, 2008, to change various voting laws by: allowing every nursing facility, assisted living facility and long-term care unit to serve as a voting place for its residents; prohibiting mail-election ballots to certain voters deemed inactive; changing the requirements for holding primary elections for certain local offices; and, prohibiting residential land-use restrictions from banning the display of certain political yard signs. [Vote Details and Comments]
• Motion by Sen. Tim Huelskamp (R) on April 4, 2008, to adopt the conference committee report approved earlier by the House.
• The motion passed in the Senate (39 to 0) on April 4, 2008, approving the conference committee report to change various voting laws by: allowing every nursing facility, assisted living facility and long-term care unit to serve as a voting place for its residents; prohibiting mail-election ballots to certain voters deemed inactive; changing the requirements for holding primary elections for certain local offices; and, prohibiting residential land-use restrictions from banning the display of certain political yard signs. Passage thereby forwards the bill to the governor for her consideration. [Vote Details and Comments]
• Signed by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on April 24, 2008.