The drama of Kansas Senate Bill 180

This seems to have worked to some high degree as Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez said her office will not be prosecuting any case under SB 180.

Loud Light, a leftist organization that updates people about bills in the Kansas Legislature—sometimes spreading misinformation, such as falsely claiming the ‘Fairness in Women’s Sports Act’ legalized “genital inspections” on minors—has also been working to rally and protest against bills like SB 180 as well. On July 1, they will kickoff “Pride Never Ends” with Mainstream Coalition and Equality Kansas to “host protests against the Legislature’s harmful bills across the state.”

July 1 is the date when SB 180 and the ‘Fairness in Women’s Sports Act’ will go into effect as well. Attorney General Kris Kobach has been butting heads with Gov. Kelly on the issue of SB 180 for sometime. On Monday, June 26, Kobach released a formal opinion providing guidance on SB 180.

“State records must be accurate and reflect the truth as defined in state law. A birth certificate is a record of what happened at the moment a baby came out of the womb. That baby weighed a specific amount and was a specific sex,” Kobach said. “Similarly, a driver’s license is a state document reflecting a state database for state purposes. It is not a canvas on which a person can paint one’s expression and preferences.”

According to a press release, the Attorney General opinion requires the Kansas Department of Revenue to list individuals’ biological sex at birth on driver’s licenses. It requires the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to list a person’s biological sex at birth on birth certificates, and it requires that only biological females be housed in a specific portion of the Topeka Correctional Facility.

“Just as I must defend every Kansas law whether I agree with it or not, the governor must execute the law whether she agrees with it or not,” Kobach said. “We expect the Governor’s office and her agencies to conform to the law.”

However, Gov. Kelly seems to disagree with the execution of the law, releasing the following statement on Thursday:

“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.”

Allowing the gender marker changes defies Kobach’s analysis of the bill, and he responded with the following 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.”

Senate President Ty Masterson (R) also weighed in on the issue.

“Article I of the Kansas Constitution says the governor ‘shall be responsible for the enforcement of the laws of this state.’ That includes the laws her radical base does not support like the Women’s Bill of Rights. The clear intent of the supermajority of the people’s representatives was to stop the indefensible and unscientific practice of changing vital statistics and legal identification,” said Masterson, who added, “Accordingly, I support aggressive action by our attorney general to uphold the law and hold this administration accountable. Their oaths were to the Kansas Constitution, not the radical ideology of the extreme left.” 

Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins (R) also released a statement:

“The Kelly/Toland Administration seems to have forgotten that the legislature is elected by the people of Kansas to make laws and it is not up to their administration to decide which ones they enforce. It’s very concerning that as Governor, Laura Kelly believes herself to be above the law.

”I support Attorney General Kobach and his interpretation of SB180 and trust his efforts to ensure the law is enacted properly.”

The question here becomes, “What does SB 180 actually say about changing your sex on licenses and other government documents?”

This answer is most likely going to depend on the interpretation of section 1(c) of the bill, which states:

“Any school district, or public school thereof, and any state agency, department or office or political subdivision that collects vital statistics for the purpose of complying with anti-discrimination laws or for the purpose of gathering accurate public health, crime, economic or other data shall identify each individual who is part of the collected data set as either male or female at birth.”

This is referenced in Kobach’s formal opinion regarding the listing of a person’s biological sex on their birth certificate.

“…Because KDHE collects vital statistics, SB 180 requires it to “identify each individual who is part of the collected data set as either male or female at birth.” Birth certificates maintained by KDHE, and copies of those certificates issued by KDHE, therefore must indicate the person’s biological sex at birth.

“As with driver’s licenses, this raises questions about birth certificates that have previously been modified by KDHE to list a gender identity different that the person’s biological sex at birth. Section (1)(c) of SB 180 indicates an ongoing requirement—the “data set” maintained by the agency “shall identify each individual” who is part of that data set as male or female at birth. Accordingly, if KDHE has previously modified a birth certificate to list a sex different than the individual’s sex at birth, SB 180 requires KDHE to change the birth certificate back to reflect the individual’s sex at birth.”