Kansans and the nonprofits they support will soon have a little extra protection for their First Amendment rights, thanks to bipartisan reforms to state law. Governor Laura Kelly (D) signed H.B. 2206 on April 7, amending the state’s campaign finance statutes to reign in the authority of abuse-prone regulators and ensure that free speech and donor privacy rights are protected.

Kansas is the second state to complete a review of its campaign finance laws for constitutional and practical deficiencies in recent years. Following the Supreme Court’s 2021 ruling in Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta, many state laws that threaten to expose nonprofit donor information to the public may be unconstitutional. In 2023, West Virginia reformed its campaign and lobbying laws to meet the standards of AFPF v. Bonta. Idaho lawmakers also began the process of considering a cleanup of their state campaign finance laws this year, and Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) convened a task force that recommended many First Amendment-friendly changes to state law.

Like most states, Kansas has long required candidates, political parties, and political committees to publicly report their campaign expenditures and the names and addresses of their major donors. However, due to poor wording and overzealous regulators, the law ensnared nonprofit groups for whom political speech is not their primary purpose. When non-political groups are subjected to the rigors of campaign finance law, important voices can be silenced. This is not mere conjecture. This year’s reforms were spurred by recent litigation successfully challenging existing law for stifling nonprofit advocacy.

To rectify the situation, the updated Kansas law makes a simple but impactful change to clarify that only organizations with “the major purpose” of making campaign contributions or expressly advocating for the election or defeat of candidates can be regulated as political committees. That gives nonprofits, who spend most of their time and resources serving their communities, the leeway they need to occasionally speak to the public about issues in the state capitol that affect their members or their mission. It also brings Kansas law into line with the Supreme Court’s ruling in AFPF v. Bonta.

As PUFPF wrote to the Kansas Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs last month:

“Campaign finance rules and regulations consistently produce many of the most perilous threats to the privacy of nonprofit members and supporters. These laws also threaten to silence the nonprofit community during important policy debates relevant to their missions. As PUFPF has documented, state lawmakers across the country have exploited campaign finance laws to target nonprofits and their supporters for their beliefs.”

The passage of H.B. 2206 into law makes Kansas a safer place for free speech and donor privacy. Congratulations to Governor Kelly, a bipartisan contingent of lawmakers, and First Amendment advocates in Kansas and nationally who helped make it happen.