These new Kansas laws were passed to benefit military veterans. Here's what to know.

The Kansas Legislature and Gov. Laura Kelly enacted several new laws in 2024 designed to benefit veterans.

Here's what to know about the new laws.

Two new specialty license plates

House Bill 2392 authorizes two new distinctive license plates from the Kansas Department of Revenue.

One is for the 1st Infantry Division of the U.S. Army, which is headquartered at Fort Riley.

To be eligible for the plate, drivers would need to be currently serving in any unit of the 1st Infantry Division, the Fort Riley garrison or a unit assigned to the garrison, or to have separated from the military and honorably discharged after serving at least nine months with one of those units at some point in their career.

The other license plate is for the Armed Services Occupation Medal. To be eligible, the driver must be a recipient of either the Army of Occupation Medal or the Navy Occupation Service Medal.

Why changes to definitions matter

House Bill 2760 and HB 2392 made changes to the definitions of "veteran" and "disabled veteran" in state law.

The state uses those terms for certain state benefits, including medals, bidder preferences and permanent hunting and fishing licenses.

"Veteran" is now defined as "a person who served in the active military, naval, air or space service and who was discharged under an honorable discharge or a general discharge under honorable conditions."

That part of the definition also applies to disabled veterans, with the addition that they "received a disability that was incurred or aggravated in the line of duty" and they have service-connected evaluation percentage in line with certain requirements.

Previously, the definitions were inconsistent in different statutes and didn't include the Space Force. They also conferred benefits on people who left military service under "conditions other than dishonorable."

The new law also prescribes what documents the government can require from a disabled veteran for determining their benefits eligibility. Local and state government agencies can't ask for or demand a document not listed in the law. The intent was to reduce the administrative burden on disabled veterans.

Renaming a state agency

HB 2760 also changes the name of the old Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs Office. It is now the Kansas Office of Veterans Services.

The change was intended to better reflect the agency's mission and improve public awareness — and to alleviate any confusion that it was part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Changes for Kansas National Guard

Senate Bill 292 creates law authorizing the adjutant general to appoint a state judge advocate, with the approval of the governor. The adjutant general can also appoint as many assistants to the state judge advocate as deemed necessary.

The Kansas Code of Military Justice was also modernized and updated to comply with the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The Kansas code had undergone only minimal revisions since 1972. Trial by court-martial was also removed from state law.

The new law also creates and amends existing law on death and disability benefits provided to members of the Kansas Air and Army National Guard. Those death and disability benefits were increased. The adjutant general called the old amounts "woefully inadequate."

Separately, Senate Bill 430 updated workers compensation law, including by providing coverage for members of the Kansas National Guard.

Senate Bill 19 establishes EMERGE, which stands for the Kansas National Guard Education Master's forEnhanced Readiness and Global Excellence Program. It provides financial assistance to guard members pursuing master's degrees at Kansas colleges and universities.

No fees for occupational licensing

House Bill 2745 makes changes to state law that provides for reciprocal occupational licensing for military service members and their spouses.

The changes are intended to make it easier and cheaper for military service members and their spouses to get new occupational licenses when moving to Kansas due to being assigned to a new station. By exempting licensing fees for those individuals, several professional licensing boards indicated that they will likely lose thousands of dollars in revenue.

Additionally, Senate Bill 462 codifies existing KDOR practice on the Military Even Exchange Program for commercial driver's licenses that allow a waiver of the knowledge and skills test. It is intended to benefit people who recently left the military after operating the military vehicle equivalent to a CMV.

Tax breaks for disabled veterans

House Bill 2098 enacted several sales tax breaks, including an exemption for disabled veterans.

The sales tax exemption starts July 1, 2026, for certain personal property and services purchased by Kansas residents who are veterans with a 100%, total or unemployable permanent disability rating sustained through military service.

The exemption is capped at $24,000 of taxable sales per year per eligible person.

The bill was vetoed amid the ongoing political dispute over how much in tax cuts is affordable, but lawmakers overrode the veto. That bigger issue of tax cuts also came into play with House Bill 2096, which was vetoed after the Legislature adjourned, meaning there was no chance to override the veto.

That bill included a creating a refundable income tax credit stylized as a property tax relief program for disabled veterans. The idea sparked heated debate at times and went through multiple iterations.

One sticking point was that residents of military communities could see their property taxes raised as an unintended consequence. Representatives of Leavenworth and Riley counties argued the idea would shift the tax burden onto other taxpayers.

Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Military veterans benefit in new laws Kansas lawmakers passed in 2024