The Legislature closed out the 2025 veto session by overriding a number of vetoes by Gov. Laura Kelly. Most notable were several line-item vetoes from this year’s budget, including a section providing bonding authority for a state veterinary diagnostic laboratory.
The governor signed the budget during the April recess, but line-item vetoed roughly 30 provisions in the legislation. One item of importance was the bonding authority of $128 million for a veterinary diagnostic laboratory on Kansas State University’s Manhattan campus. The construction also would require an additional $2 million from private funds in both FY 2026 and FY 2027. A state veterinary diagnostic laboratory is essential in ensuring the health of Kansas’ livestock and the stability of agriculture, food security and communities throughout the state. KLA staff supported the veto override of this line item according to member-adopted policy in favor of constructing a new state-of-the-art veterinary diagnostic laboratory.
The Senate bundled all the line items together and successfully overrode the veto with a vote of 30-10. The House chose to take a smaller bundle of 15 line items and, while the first vote was unsuccessful, ultimately the House overrode the vetoes with a vote of 88-34 after a motion to reconsider the initial override vote. The override included the funding authority for the veterinary diagnostic lab.