photo by: Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector

Rep. Brooklynne Mosley, a Lawrence Democrat, says a House bill that would benefit a Lawrence landlord will leave low-income renters without a place to live. She is seen here during a Jan. 28, 2026, House session.

TOPEKA — Democratic Rep. Brooklynne Mosley told Kansas House members she would pray for those who favor corporate landlords over renters, lashed out at a Republican who complained about “filthy” renters, and told another Republican she was sorry for putting him to sleep with her passionate speech.

Mosley spoke for five minutes during debate Tuesday about her concerns with House Bill 2504, which she said would ignore the lack of affordable housing in Lawrence, where she lives. The city passed an ordinance three years ago that prevents landlords from denying rent to someone solely because they receive government assistance. The legislation, which is tailored for a prominent Lawrence landlord, would eliminate such ordinances.

“When you do this, you’re going to put people out of housing,” Mosley told House members. “There’s multiple people, even in your community — some of the poorest communities are your communities. There’s people right now who are full-time workers who cannot afford housing. There is no place in this state that someone who is making minimum wage can rent a place.”

Stan Weber, whose company manages 540 rental units in Lawrence and 1,400 in Kansas, pushed lawmakers to support the bill during committee hearings earlier this month. He claimed he would leave the state if the bill doesn’t pass.

His company, Tower Properties, sued Lawrence in January over the ordinance. Landlords of Lawrence previously fought the challenge in court and lost.

Rep. Chuck Smith, a Pittsburg Republican, said he understood both those who support and oppose the bill. But, he said, his views were shaped by his personal experience as a landlord, having rented a couple of houses in the 1970s.

“I can’t tell you how ugly it was when it moved out, when they moved out,” Smith said. “I have never, never seen anything so ugly in all my life. And I sure didn’t want to — it was so filthy, I didn’t want to clean it.”

He added: “My mom was maybe the poorest people in the country, and she always told me, ‘Chuck, you can’t stop being poor, but you can always be clean.’ ”

Mosley followed Smith in speaking about the bill.

“Assuming that people who receive vouchers are filthy, and to align them with that comment, it was very inappropriate,” Mosley said. “And you can say I’m impugning or whatever, but that just feels really gross to hear someone talk about how filthy people who are renters are for the last minute and a half plus.”

Mosley, who is an Air Force veteran, recalled a conversation she had with an homeless friend in Lawrence who is a Marine veteran. She was surprised to learn he had a job but still couldn’t afford rent, even with a housing voucher. When the city adopted its ordinance, she said, “that policy changed his life.”

She paused to call attention to “a friend in seat 47 who’s asleep.”

“I’m sorry that I am boring you, sir, but what I’m saying right now is this is a really dangerous thing,” Mosley said.

The seating chart shows Rep. Jason Goetz, a Dodge City Republican is assigned to seat 47.

Mosley said the House bill would protect the corporate landlords who have priced people out of housing. She said landlords have the power to raise rent and not take care of a property. The Lawrence ordinance, she said, is the only protection renters have.

“If you think there’s something wrong with that, I want to pray for you tonight,” Mosley said.

After debating the bill Tuesday, the House passed it by an 84-40 vote with five Republicans opposed: Rep. Mark Schreiber of Emporia, Rep. Webster Roth of Winfield, Rep. Ken Collins or Mulberry, Rep. Leah Howell of Derby and Rep. Jesse Borjon of Topeka.

One Democrat, Rep. Henry Helgerson of Eastborough, voted in favor of the bill.

In explaining of her vote, Mosley said the House had done nothing to address the struggles of low-income workers or the affordable housing crisis. Instead, she said, the House was focused on taking away local control from communities searching for answers to a growing homeless population.

She invoked the scripture of Mathew 25:40.

“When you see policy, I see parents who are trying to help their families. I see seniors and I see veterans who are using benefits,” she said. “As I look out at folks who have practiced their religious faith for a man who walked with people who struggled, I want to say, ‘What you do to the least amongst us you also do to him.'”

• Sherman Smith is a journalist with the Topeka-based news service Kansas Reflector.