A committee in the Kansas House is contemplating a bill that would allow young teenagers holding farm and restricted licenses to drive to and from religious activities. A 2022 law inadvertently excluded the religious exemption from 14- and 15-year-old drivers with farm permits. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)
TOPEKA — Wallace County Treasurer Christine Smith said it didn’t take long to grasp the flaw in a bipartisan bill adopted in 2022 allowing 15- and 16-year-olds to use a restricted license for driving to and from religious activities.
It passed the Senate unanimously and was endorsed 87-30 in the House, but apparently no one at the Capitol realized the bill applied this privilege to only one of two licenses available to young teens. The bill signed by Gov. Laura Kelly attached the religious exemption to restricted licenses open to people 15 and 16 years of age, but not basic farm permits available to 14- and 15-year-old Kansans.
“I was immediately aware of the inconsistency this new law created,” said Smith, also a driver’s license examiner. “It was also quickly apparent that the addition of this privilege on one type of license only added further confusion for parents as they studied which type of license best suited their teen driver.”