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Read. Follow. Verify.Kansas bill proposes raising state minimum wage to $16 an hour and covering federally regulated workers
Last action · April 10, 2026: Died in CommitteeSponsor: Cindy Holscher
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What This Bill Proposed
Senate Bill 471 proposes increasing the Kansas state minimum wage to $16 per hour and removing the exemption that excludes employers and employees covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act from state minimum wage rules.
The measure alters pay floors for Kansas workers by setting a $16 hourly rate and extending state wage requirements to federally covered employment sectors.
- Kansas sets state-level labor standards under the Kansas minimum wage and maximum hours law, codified at K.S.A. 44-1201 et seq. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Kansas employees
Kansas employees experience a change in their statutory minimum wage rate to $16 an hour and an expansion of state wage law coverage to those previously covered under federal rules.
Kansas employers
Kansas employers must adjust wage payments to comply with the $16 per hour minimum and adhere to state wage requirements for federally covered workers.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What would the new minimum wage be under Senate Bill 471?
Does the bill change how tipped employees are paid?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died in committee.
Procedural history
3 actions- Apr 10, 2026SenateDied in Committee
- Feb 4, 2026SenateCommitteeReferred to Senate Committee on Commerce
- Feb 3, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Removal of Federal FLSA Exemption
The bill bridges state and federal labor law scopes by explicitly bringing federally covered employers and employees under Kansas minimum wage provisions.
Sources
www.kslegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy80Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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