Legislative Update: Senator Ty Masterson - May 15th, 2026

Senator Ty Masterson on a Zoom interview with Lucas Kenney.

Interview with Ty Masterson 5-15-26

6:27

It's time for another legislative update, this time with Kansas Senate Majority Leader Ty Masterson. NWKS Radio News Director, Lucas Kenney, sat down with Masterson to recap the most recent legislative session through his point of view, talk about some of the things he's most proud of from said session, as well as talk a little bit about his campaign for Kansas Governor.

Firstly, Kenney and Masterson had a nice discussion about the most recent legislative session for the Kansas House of Representatives and Senate. One point he made was how productive the session was:

"We’ve been able to stay within our constitutional 90-day limit, which is good, but it does make things move quickly. A lot of bills were worked through and passed," Masterson added. "We ended up overriding 40 vetoes from the governor, so there was some back and forth, but we accomplished a lot."

Lots of things went well during the session, but a few important items fell short, one of which being property tax reform. Senator Masterson recognized the importance of the matter and also touched on the disappointing lack of action on the topic.

"That said, one area where we fell short was property tax reform. The Senate passed a constitutional amendment and a revenue limit to help prevent rapid year-over-year increases, but it didn’t make it through the House."

Kenney then asked the Senator what he was most proud of or excited for that came out of the legislative session, to which he lit up and talked about a tax credit bill for parents that send their kids to public or private schools.

"I’m probably most proud of opting into that education tax credit. I want every child to have access to a world-class education, and I want parents to have the freedom to choose the best path for their kids."

He also mentioned another piece of legislation that has to do with police situations. In summary, the bill enforces a 25-foot barrier between the police and the public when asked to stay back. Masterson had a few words about this bill.

"We passed what’s known as the HALO Act...it requires people to stay 25 feet back from law enforcement officers when directed for safety reasons," Masterson noted. "At the end of the day, the core function of government is safety—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. If you don’t have safety, you can’t have the rest. Supporting law enforcement and keeping our streets safe is a top priority, so I’m very proud of that."

The last thing Masterson and Kenney discussed was his campaign for Kansas Governor. The primary elections are coming up later this year, so if you'd like to know more about his campaign, you can visit his website mastersonforgovernor.com.

Listen to the full interview above!