The Governor may call a special session of the Legislature whenever the Governor believes it is warranted. Additionally, a special session must be called when the Governor receives a petition for that purpose signed by at least two-thirds of the members elected to each house. Such sessions nearly always are necessitated by one or two important matters of state that the Governor specifies at the time of the call. However, once in session, the Legislature may act on any matter as if it were in the regular session. Special sessions rarely are convened. Since 1930, for example, there have been 15 special sessions: 1930, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1938, 1958, 1964, 1966, 1987, 1989, 2005, 2013, 2016, 2020, and 2021. There have been only seven special sessions since the Legislature returned to regular annual sessions in 1967. The first special session called as a result of legislative petition occurred in November 2021.
Kansas Legislature Special Sessions
| Year | Dates | Called By | Days | Main Issue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1874 | Sept. 15 – Sept. 22 | Governor | 7 | Grasshopper Relief |
| 1884 | March 18 – March 25 | Governor | 7 | Foot-and-Mouth Disease |
| 1886 | Jan. 19 – Feb. 20 | Governor | 28 | Judicial and Legislative Apportionment |
| 1898 | Dec. 21 – Jan. 9 | Governor | 17 | Railroad Freight Rate Control |
| 1903 | June 24 – June 26 | Governor | 3 | Kaw Valley Floods |
| 1908 | Jan. 16 – Feb. 4 | Governor | 13 | Various State Issues |
| 1919 | June 16 – June 19 | Governor | 4 | Federal Woman Suffrage Amendment |
| 1920 | Jan. 5 – Jan. 27 | Governor | Senate-18 House-20 | Industrial Court Law |
| 1923 | Aug. 6 – Aug. 14 | Governor | 7 | Veterans’ Bonus Legislation |
| 1928 | July 19 – July 21 | Governor | 3 | Road Amendments |
| 1930 | Feb. 27 – March 12 | Governor | 11 | Taxation |
| 1933 | Oct. 30 – Dec. 4 | Governor | 25 | Various State Issues |
| 1934 | March 1 – March 7 | Governor | 6 | Mortgage Foreclosures |
| 1936 | July 7 – July 13 | Governor | 6 | Social Security Act |
| 1938 | Feb. 7 – March 4 | Governor | 22 | Welfare and Taxation |
| 1958 | April 21 – May 9 | Governor | 17 | State Budget |
| 1964 | Feb. 17 – Feb. 24 | Governor | 6 | Legislative Apportionment |
| 1966 | Feb. 15 – March 9 | Governor | 14 | Legislative Apportionment |
| 1987 | Aug. 31 – Sept. 5 | Governor | 6 | State Highway Plan |
| 1989 | Dec. 8 – Dec. 9 | Governor | 2 | Property Tax |
| 2005 | June 22 – July 6 | Governor | Senate-11 House-12 | School Finance |
| 2013 | Sept. 3 – Sept. 4 | Governor | 2 | Sentencing (Alleyne fix of “Hard 50” law) |
| 2016 | June 23 – June 24 | Governor | 2 | School Finance (Gannon response) |
| 2020 | June 3 – June 4 | Governor | 2 | COVID-19 pandemic response; Kansas Emergency Management Act |
| 2021 | Nov. 22 | Governor (Petition)* | 1 | State’s response to certain federal COVID-19 mandates |
Note: Prior to a constitutional change in 1972, only the Governor could call the Legislature into a special session. With the constitutional change, special sessions may be convened by call of the Governor or by petition of two-thirds of the members of each chamber of the Legislature.
*The Governor’s proclamation indicates 86 House and 29 Senate member petition signatures were submitted.