![\"Speaker](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/D52Y7BGO7NC3JHHX52EEMMAHJQ.jfif.jpeg\")
Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins and Senate President Ty Masterson taking questions from the media as the Republican response to Gov. Kelly\u2019s State of the State Address(KCTV\/Chandler Watkins)<\/p>\nTOPEKA, Kan. (KCTV) – From the state\u2019s economy to a focus on bipartisanship, Governor Laura Kelly\u2019s final State of the State Address covered a lot. <\/p>\n
She started her speech by highlighting bringing the Kansas City Chiefs to the Sunflower State.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir world-class stadium, which opens five years from now, will make Kansas a sports and entertainment mecca,\u201d said Kelly. \u201cWe\u2019ll compete to host Super Bowls, Final Fours, concerts, and so much more. Thousands of new jobs and billions in new economic activity.\u201d<\/p>\n
KCK Mayor Christal Watson, Mayor of Olathe John Bacon, and the president of the Chiefs Mark Donovan attended the State of the State Address and were recognized by Kelly.<\/p>\n
The governor noted this was not only a \u201cmassive win\u201d for Kansas, but for the entire region. She stated it, among other things, was made possible by bipartisanship in negotiations between the state and the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince the beginning of my administration, by using this approach, we\u2019ve been able to enact into law 587 bipartisan bills,\u201d said Kelly. \u201cThat\u2019s 587 times coming together, across the aisle \u2013 in today\u2019s politics. That\u2019s something we should all be proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly also highlighted the work done to cut taxes for Kansans, budget responsibly, and grow the state\u2019s economy. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn total, new businesses have invested over $30 billion in Kansas,\u201d said Kelly. That\u2019s 30 billion dollars. And created over 80,000 new good-paying jobs. These are careers that Kansans can build their lives around. And it happened because we worked together.”<\/p>\n
Looking ahead to what will be her last legislative session as governor, Kelly noted items she will be focusing on, including funding in her budget proposal for free meals for students across the state, a bipartisan proposal to ban cell phone use during the school day that she supports, more resources towards mental health, and a long-term strategy for the water crisis in western Kansas.<\/p>\n
Main messages in her last State of the State Address focused on bipartisanship and civility.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must have the courage to treat each other with respect, regardless of the intensity of debate and discourse,\u201d said Kelly. \u201cWe must have the courage to put what\u2019s right ahead of what\u2019s politically expedient. We must have the courage to put compromise ahead of party purity. This moment in our politics requires it. And make no mistake, it\u2019s also what the people of Kansas want.\u201d<\/p>\n
She ended her speech by saying Kansas has made a positive name for itself in the last few years, but there\u2019s more work to be done. She added it will take civility to continue facing challenges down the road. <\/p>\n
\u201cBig things are happening in our small state,\u201d said Kelly. \u201cAnd there are more big things to come if we work together. We must live up to our state motto, Ad Astra Per Aspera, and show America that civility in our politics is still possible. That civility is what brings us together. And that civility is a winning formula. For governing. And for life itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the Republican response, Senate Leader Ty Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins took questions from the media. Masterson commented on Kelly\u2019s statement on balancing the state\u2019s budget, saying the state received billions of dollars in COVID relief. He added his concerns with the state\u2019s budget going forward with no additional pandemic funds from the federal government.<\/p>\n
Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins and Senate President Ty Masterson taking questions from the media as the Republican response to Gov. Kelly\u2019s State of the State Address(KCTV\/Chandler Watkins)<\/p>\n
\u201cOur expenses are up; inflation is way up,\u201d said Masterson. \u201cThe hard part wasn\u2019t then. She\u2019s the luckiest governor I think I\u2019ve ever seen. She was handed billions of dollars. I feel sorry for whoever is governor next.\u201d<\/p>\n
Masterson said the main items they will be focusing on this legislative session are the budget and property taxes. He says that was a number one priority for a majority of Kansans he\u2019s spoken to across the state.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, state legislators to discuss a proposed constitutional amendment. It aims to keep property taxes down, by putting a 3% limit on assessment value increases. Masterson believes a constitutional amendment is the best approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is ultimately something that is going to have to be decided by the people,\u201d said Masterson. \u201cThe way property is assessed right now can\u2019t be solved by a statute. We have to address the constitution. That\u2019s why we\u2019re hoping to get something on the ballot this year that allows the people to vote on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Kelly\u2019s message of civility, both agreed with the sentiment, adding they\u2019ve addressed it with lawmakers years ago and have good working relationships with the minority leaders in both chambers. With the exception of a few \u201cincidents\u201d, Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins believes the chambers are civil. <\/p>\n
\u201cTy and I addressed it three years ago,\u201d said Hawkins. \u201cIf you look back years before us, not even the Senate President and the Speaker of the House got along. In the last three years, you\u2019ve seen two leaders who are always talking towards a solution, and our (legislative) bodies have followed along. Does that mean we agree on everything? No, but we work through those.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the proposed bill banning cell phones during the school day, they both expect it to pass through both chambers quickly. Hawkins added they would likely look at \u201cclamping down\u201d on social media accounts for children.<\/p>\n
State lawmakers are back at the Capitol on Wednesday. Governor Kelly is also expected to release her budget proposal on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
KCTV\u2019s Chandler Watkins is in Topeka and will have updates following the address Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TOPEKA, Kan. (KCTV) – From the state\u2019s economy to a focus on bipartisanship, Governor Laura Kelly\u2019s final State…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":676408,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2063],"tags":[346,7,118,110,2438,2437,82349,98606,6,98605],"class_list":["post-676407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-kansas-city-chiefs","tag-chiefs","tag-football","tag-kansas-city","tag-kansas-city-chiefs","tag-kansascity","tag-kansascitychiefs","tag-laura-kelly","tag-laura-kelly-state-of-the-state","tag-nfl","tag-state-of-the-state-kansas"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115893158494176217","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=676407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/676408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=676407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=676407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=676407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}