The Kansas Senate overrode a veto by Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly on a bill that prohibited biological men from using women’s bathrooms in government buildings. “Today the Kansas Senate restored sanity and overrode Laura Kelly’s dangerous veto of SB 244 that would have forced our mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters to share their bathrooms with biological men in government buildings,” Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson said. “Kansas Democrats are for They/Them. I will continue to fight for you, and protect women and girls across our state,” he added. Today the Kansas Senate restored sanity and overrode Laura Kelly’s dangerous veto of SB 244 that would have forced our mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters to share their bathrooms with biological men in government buildings. Kansas Democrats are for They/Them. I will continue… pic.twitter.com/NS8jMsmLDF — Ty Masterson (@TyMastersonKS) February 17, 2026 KSNT has more: Senators in the Kansas Statehouse voted 31-9 in favor of overriding Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of the controversial ‘bathroom bill’ on Feb. 17. Representatives in the House will next take up debate on the bill and determine whether the legislature defeats Kelly’s veto and the bill becomes law. “Although it was said that this is to bring clarity, having the definitions of male, female and gender be the same brings not clarity, but confusion,” said Senator Marci Francisco (D-Douglas County) prior to the Senate vote on SB 244 on Feb. 17. “There has been no evidence that having preferred identities on driver’s license[s] brings not clarity, but confusion.” Kelly vetoed House Substitute for Senate Bill 244 on Friday, Feb. 13. She condemned the legislation, calling it a “poorly drafted bill,” and sending it back to the legislature for further debate. “Last week, Governor Laura Kelly vetoed Senate Bill 244, commonsense legislation to protect the privacy, safety, and dignity of Kansas women and girls,” Kansas Family Voice commented. “This vote sends a strong message: Kansas families expect their elected officials to stand for privacy, fairness, and the rights of women and girls. It will now move over to the House,” it added. Last week, Governor Laura Kelly vetoed Senate Bill 244, commonsense legislation to protect the privacy, safety, and dignity of Kansas women and girls. Today, the Kansas Senate took decisive action. By a vote of 31 to 9, the Senate voted to override the Governor’s veto and… pic.twitter.com/B77PE6uKrZ — Kansas Family Voice (@KSFamilyVoice) February 17, 2026 In her veto, Kelly criticized the bill for having other “significant consequences” beyond prohibiting biological men from using women’s bathrooms. “Under this bill: if your grandfather is in a nursing home in a shared room, as a granddaughter, you would not be able to visit him,” Kelly said, according to The Kansas City Star. “If your wife is in a shared hospital room, as a husband, you would not be able to visit her,” she added. Kansas governor vetos anti-trans bill, says bathroom usage shouldn’t be policed https://t.co/ttdAXyBffC — The Kansas City Star (@KCStar) February 16, 2026 The Kansas City Star explained further: Republican supermajorities in the House and Senate adopted the measure late last month after employing a series of legislative maneuvers to expedite its passage without providing an opportunity for public feedback on key provisions, including the requirement that people use public restrooms and other private spaces in accordance with their sex assigned at birth. It’s the latest in a series of bills the Kansas Legislature has passed in recent years limiting the rights of transgender residents. Each has been enacted into law over Kelly’s veto. Last year, GOP lawmakers banned trans minors from receiving gender-affirming care and established harsh penalties for physicians caught providing it. In 2023, trans athletes were prohibited from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. Republicans framed the bathroom and driver’s license bill as an addendum clarifying the intent of a separate 2023 bill barring trans women from accessing female-only spaces. “I believe the Legislature should stay out of the business of telling Kansans how to go to the bathroom and instead stay focused on how to make life more affordable for Kansans,” Kelly said in her veto statement. Within minutes of her veto, House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, released his own statement saying, “Kansans expect their laws to reflect reality and protect privacy.” “It’s hard to wrap my mind around why the Governor would veto something so fundamentally common sense,” said Hawkins, who is running for state insurance commissioner. “SB 244 simply recognizes biological reality in state law and ensures that single-sex spaces, such as restrooms and locker rooms in public buildings, are designated accordingly.”