Article 2--Legislative

§ 1: Legislative power. The legislative power of this state shall be vested in a house of representatives and senate.
 
§ 2: Senators and representatives. The number of representatives and senators shall be regulated by law, but shall not exceed one hundred twenty-five representatives and forty senators. Representatives and senators shall be elected from single-member districts prescribed by law. Representatives shall be elected for two year terms. Senators shall be elected for four year terms. The terms of representatives and senators shall commence on the second Monday of January of the year following election.
 
§ 3: Compensation of members of legislature. The members of the legislature shall receive such compensation as may be provided by law or such compensation as is determined according to law.
 
§ 4: Qualifications of members. During the time that any person is a candidate for nomination or election to the legislature and during the term of each legislator, such candidate or legislator shall be and remain a qualified elector who resides in his or her district.
 
§ 5: Eligibility and disqualification of members. No member of congress and no civil officer or employee of the United States or of any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof shall be eligible to be a member of the legislature. Any member of the legislature who accepts any appointment or election contrary to the foregoing shall be disqualified as a member of the legislature.
 
§ 8: Organization and sessions. The legislature shall meet in regular session annually commencing on the second Monday in January, and all sessions shall be held at the state capital. The duration of regular sessions held in even-numbered years shall not exceed ninety calendar days. Such sessions may be extended beyond ninety calendar days by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house. Bills and concurrent resolutions under consideration by the legislature upon adjournment of a regular session held in an odd-numbered year may be considered at the next succeeding regular session held in an even-numbered year, as if there had been no such adjournment.
 
The legislature shall be organized concurrently with the terms of representatives except that the senate shall remain organized during the terms of senators. The president of the senate shall preside over the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives shall preside over the house of representatives. A majority of the members then elected (or appointed) and qualified of the house of representatives or the senate shall constitute a quorum of that house. Neither house, without the consent of the other, shall adjourn for more than two days, Sundays excepted. Each house shall elect its presiding officer and determine the rules of its proceedings, except that the two houses may adopt joint rules on certain matters and provide for the manner of change thereof. Each house shall provide for the expulsion or censure of members in appropriate cases. Each house shall be the judge of elections, returns and qualifications of its own members.
 
§ 9: Vacancies in legislature. All vacancies occurring in either house shall be filled as provided by law.
 
§ 10: Journals. Each house shall publish a journal of its proceedings. The affirmative and negative votes upon the final passage of every bill and every concurrent resolution for amendment of this constitution or ratification of an amendment to the Constitution of the United States shall be entered in the journal. Any member of either house may make written protest against any act or resolution, and the same shall be entered in the journal without delay or alteration.
 
§ 12: Origination by either house. Bills and concurrent resolutions may originate in either house, but may be amended or rejected by the other.
 
§ 13: Majority for passage of bills. A majority of the members then elected (or appointed) and qualified of each house, voting in the affirmative, shall be necessary to pass any bill. Two-thirds (2/3) of the members then elected (or appointed) and qualified in each house, voting in the affirmative, shall be necessary to ratify any amendment to the Constitution of the United States or to make any application for congress to call a convention for proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
 
§ 14: Approval of bills; vetoes.

(a) Within ten days after passage, every bill shall be signed by the presiding officers and presented to the governor. If the governor approves a bill, he shall sign it. If the governor does not approve a bill, the governor shall veto it by returning the bill, with a veto message of the objections, to the house of origin of the bill. Whenever a veto message is so received, the message shall be entered in the journal and in not more than thirty calendar days (excluding the day received), the house of origin shall reconsider the bill. If two-thirds of the members then elected (or appointed) and qualified shall vote to pass the bill, it shall be sent, with the veto message, to the other house, which shall in not more than thirty calendar days (excluding the day received) also reconsider the bill, and if approved by two-thirds of the members then elected (or appointed) and qualified, it shall become a law, notwithstanding the governor's veto.
If any bill shall not be returned within ten calendar days (excluding the day presented) after it shall have been presented to the governor, it shall become a law in like manner as if it had been signed by the governor.

(b) If any bill presented to the governor contains several items of appropriation of money, one or more of such items may be disapproved by the governor while the other portion of the bill is approved by the governor. In case the governor does so disapprove, a veto message of the governor stating the item or items disapproved, and the reasons therefor, shall be appended to the bill at the time it is signed, and the bill shall be returned with the veto message to the house of origin of the bill. Whenever a veto message is so received, the message shall be entered in the journal and, in not more than thirty calendar days, the house of origin shall reconsider the items of the bill which have been disapproved. If two-thirds of the members then elected (or appointed) and qualified shall vote to approve any item disapproved by the governor, the bill, with the veto message, shall be sent to the other house, which shall in not more than thirty calendar days also reconsider each such item so approved by the house of origin, and if approved by two-thirds of all the members then elected (or appointed) and qualified, any such item shall take effect and become a part of the bill.

§ 15: Requirements before bill passed. No bill shall be passed on the day that it is introduced, unless in case of emergency declared by two-thirds of the members present in the house where a bill is pending.
 
§ 16: Subject and title of bills; amendment or revival of statutes. No bill shall contain more than one subject, except appropriation bills and bills for revision or codification of statutes. The subject of each bill shall be expressed in its title. No law shall be revived or amended, unless the new act contain the entire act revived or the section or sections amended, and the section or sections so amended shall be repealed. The provisions of this section shall be liberally construed to effectuate the acts of the legislature.
 
§ 17: Uniform operation of laws of a general nature. All laws of a general nature shall have a uniform operation throughout the state: Provided, The legislature may designate areas in counties that have become urban in character as "urban areas" and enact special laws giving to any one or more of such counties or urban areas such powers of local government and consolidation of local government as the legislature may deem proper.
 
§ 18: Election or appointment of officers; filling vacancies. The legislature may provide for the election or appointment of all officers and the filling of all vacancies not otherwise provided for in this constitution.
 
§ 19: Publication of acts. No act shall take effect until the enacting bill is published as provided by law.
 
§ 20: Enacting clause of bills; laws enacted only by bill. The enacting clause of all bills shall be "Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:". No law shall be enacted except by bill.
 
§ 21: Delegation of powers of local legislation and administration. The legislature may confer powers of local legislation and administration upon political subdivisions.
 
§ 22: Legislative immunity. For any speech, written document or debate in either house, the members shall not be questioned elsewhere. No member of the legislature shall be subject to arrest -- except for treason, felony or breach of the peace -- in going to, or returning from, the place of meeting, or during the continuance of the session; neither shall he be subject to the service of any civil process during the session, nor for fifteen days previous to its commencement.
 
§ 24: Appropriations. No money shall be drawn from the treasury except in pursuance of a specific appropriation made by law.
 
§ 27: Impeachment. The house of representatives shall have the sole power to impeach. All impeachments shall be tried by the senate; and when sitting for that purpose, the senators shall take an oath to do justice according to the law and the evidence. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the senators then elected (or appointed) and qualified.
 
§ 28: Officers impeachable; grounds; punishment. The governor and all other officers under this constitution, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
 
§ 30: Delegation of powers to interstate bodies. The legislature may confer legislative powers upon interstate bodies, comprised of officers of this state or its political subdivisions acting in conjunction with officers of other jurisdictions, relating to the functions thereof. Any such delegation, and any agreement made thereunder shall be subject to limitation, change or termination by the legislature, unless contained in a compact approved by the congress. End of Article 2.  Go on to Article 3.
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