TAKING STOCK AT KAIA ' s LEGISLATIVE DAY by Beth Smoller, KAIA
KAIA’ s 2026 Legislative Day may not have been defined by fast-moving legislation or many urgent calls to action, but its value was no less significant. The day provided an opportunity to reflect on the session, connect with legislative leaders, and look ahead to what’ s next. As always, it reinforced a simple truth: strong relationships remain the foundation of effective advocacy, no matter where we are in the legislative cycle.
Legislative Day often comes with a sense of urgency with key issues at stake and important conversations unfolding in real time as legislators hold hearings, debate policy, and cast votes. But KAIA’ s 2026 Legislative Day, held March 10 at the KAIA office in Topeka, offered something a little different. With most of the insurance industry’ s priority bills already decided or off the table, the focus shifted to giving attendees an opportunity to take stock of the 2026 session thus far, because for many of our priority issues, the answer was essentially“ done or dead.”
Like last session, legislative leaders plan to run on a 90-day calendar, with plans to adjourn in early April, giving legislators time to focus on fundraising and campaigning, as all 125 House seats and all statewide offices are up for election.
We were delighted to welcome an array of speakers from both sides of the aisle to join our agents and carrier partners. Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins( R-Wichita), House Minority Leader Brandon Woodard( D-Lenexa), Senate President Ty Masterson( R-Augusta), Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes( D-Lenexa), and Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt( R-Topeka) all joined us to provide a legislative overview from their respective perspectives.
This year’ s setting at KAIA’ s office allowed for more direct interaction between the speakers and our attendees. Members had the opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations, ask questions, and gain insights that are often harder to capture in a larger,
12 KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER