TOPEKA (KSNT) – Lawmakers successfully passed more than a hundred new laws for Kansas this year with many set to become active at the start of July. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly approved 101 new laws for the Sunflower State in the previous Legislative session. An additional 10 laws passed without the benefit of the governor’s […]
TOPEKA (KSNT) – Lawmakers successfully passed more than a hundred new laws for Kansas this year with many set to become active at the start of July.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly approved 101 new laws for the Sunflower State in the previous Legislative session. An additional 10 laws passed without the benefit of the governor’s signature or were vetoed but passed with supermajority approval. This was after lawmakers introduced more than 600 bills in the Kansas Senate and House.
Some of these laws are controversial in nature such as SB 394 which requires the use of age-verification technology when accessing adult content websites like Pornhub or HB 2105 which prohibits colleges from using diversity, equity and inclusion in the hiring process for staff and admissions.
Many of these new laws will go into effect on July 1, 2024 or will become active in the near future. The list below contains a full account of the laws which were approved in 2024 sorted by categories:
Tax and Insurance
SB 15 – Increases the maximum amount of yearly income tax credits available for purchases under the Disability Employment Act from qualified vendors. It also establishes a grant program to facilitate transitions by employers to minimum wage employment for people with disabilities and creates the Kansas Sheltered Workshop Transition fund. In effect after publication in the Kansas Register.
SB 19 – Establishes the Kansas National Guard Educational Master’s for Enhances Readiness and Global Excellence (EMERGE) program and the EMERGE program repayment fund. Also requires school districts to establish requirements for cardiac emergency response plans. The Adjutant General will select 100 eligible National Guard members who have applied to EMERGE to receive assistance on or before July 1 each academic year. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 27 – Reconciles multiple amendments to certain statutes. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 356 – Updates certain terms, definitions and conditions relating to the requirements of certain insurance reports, examinations and transactions. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 360 – Allows a taxpayer to elect the taxable year in which a subtraction modification for contributions to a 529 program account, ABLE account or first-time home buyer savings account would be applied and authorizes the Kansas state treasurer to appoint a 529 program advisory committee. In effect after publication in the Kansas Register.
SB 405 – Holds a control person liable for violations of the Kansas Uniform Securities Act by an individual subject to discipline under the act unless the control person was unaware and could not reasonably have known of the violations of such individual. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 430 – Provides Workers Compensation Act coverage for the Kansas National Guard, limiting benefit reductions for retirement benefits, increasing dependents death benefits and reduces certain functional impairment requirements. It also increases compensation for certain disability categories and for treatment without authorization, raises the evidentiary standard for future medical treatment and limits certain procedures for post-award medical benefit claims. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2176 – Creates the Arkansas City Area Public Library District Act and the Udall Area Public Library District Act. Requires an election for the creation of such districts and authorizes unified school districts No. 470 and 463 to levy a tax on behalf of these library districts. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2561 – Authorizes domestic credit unions to operate outside of the state, provides civil penalties for certain violations, allows the administrator to enter into informal agreements, removes requirements regarding duplicate filings and establishes appeals procedures for suspended credit and supervisory committee members. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2562 – Enacts the Protect Vulnerable Adults from Financial Exploitation Act, authorizes the Real Estate Commission to issue cease and desist orders in under certain circumstances and regulates contract for deed transactions. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2760 – Prescribes documentation requirements to determine eligibility for any benefit derived from a service-connected disability, requires that federal disability determinations for veterans be probative and establishes the Kansas Office of Veterans Services. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2787 – Updates certain definitions, terms, conditions and provisions related to the Kansas Insurance Guaranty Association Act and Kansas Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association Act. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2711 – Enacts the Countries of Concern Divestment Act and increases the statutory alternative investment percentage limitation for the KPERS trust fund. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2098 – Provides a deduction from sales or compensating use tax when selling or buying different motor vehicles within 120 days, providing an exemption for certain purchases by disabled veterans of the armed forces of the U.S., excluding manufacturers’ coupons from the sales or selling price for sales tax purposes and more. In effect July 1, 2024.
Federal and State Affairs
SB 431 – Directs the capitol preservation committee to approve plans for a memorial honoring Emil Joseph Kapaun. In effect July 1, 2024.
Senate Sub for HB 2124 – Permits beer and hard cider sales by microbreweries to retailers, public venues, clubs, drinking establishments, holders of temporary permits and caterers and allows such sales at special events to customers. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2358 – Relates to the Uniform Vital Statistics Act; regarding certification of individual causes of death and permits cause of death certifies to provide certification. In effect July 1, 2024. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2615 – Provides for the publishing, printing and distributing of state laws and administrative rules and regulations. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2783 – Prohibits any state agency, city or county from regulating or restricting the use or sale of motor vehicles based on the energy source used and allows state agencies and local governments to establish purchase policies regarding the energy source for vehicles. In effect July 1, 2024.
Finance
SB 345 – Enacts the Commercial Financing Disclosure Act. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 410 – Reduces penalties for the late filing of or the failure to file statements listing personal property for assessment and the discovery of escaped personal property and reporting changes after initial assessment. In effect July 1, 2024.
Senate Sub for HB 2247 – Modifies certain terms, definitions, deadlines and provisions contained in the Uniform Consumer Credit Code and transfers mortgage provisions from the code to the Kansas Mortgage Business Act. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2483 – Eliminates the requirement to conduct a recurring 911 implementation audit, a recurring KPERS audit and certain economic development incentive audits. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2491 – Abolishes the Law Enforcement Training Center Fund. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2545 – Provides for the sale of property not retrieved by an occupant after notice, allows electronic signatures and delivery for rental agreements. Also defines property that has no commercial value, provides for the deemed effectiveness of rental agreements not signed or delivered by an owner or occupant and specifies custody of abandoned or towed property under the Self-Service Storage Act. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2560 – Enacts the Kansas Money Transmission Act and the Kansas Earned Wage Access Services Act. In effect July 1, 2024.
Substitute for House Bill 2570 – Defines benefit year, temporary unemployment, wages and other terms in the Employment Security Law and more. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2577 – Provides discretionary authority to the Kansas state treasurer to transfer moneys certified as equivalent to the aggregate net amount of received for unclaimed property to the KPERS board and to liquidate such moneys for further investment by the Pooled Money Investment Board or for necessary payments to owners of unclaimed property. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2745 – Provides that military spouses of active military servicemembers shall be exempted from all occupational licensing, registration and certification fees. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2790 – Transfers registration requirements and related compliance oversight and enforcement authority for professional employer organizations from the Kansas commissioner of insurance to the Kansas secretary of state by Jan. 1, 2025. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2465 – Enacts the Adoption Savings Account Act allowing people to establish adoption savings accounts with certain financial institutions and provides eligible expenses, requirements and restrictions for such accounts. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2648 – Requires the director of the budget to independently determine costs of compliance and implementation for all proposed rules and regulations and authorizes the director of budget to disapprove proposed rules and regulations. In effect July 1, 2024.
Courts and Juvenile Justice
House Sub for SB 73 – Requires school district enrollment to be determined using the current school year or preceding school year enrollment under the Kansas School Equity and Enhancement Act. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 307 – Adds for-profit private entity to the definition of “qualified applicant” in the Kansas Fights Addiction Act. In effect July 1, 2024.
House Sub for SB 318 – Creates an inference of an intent to distribute a controlled substance based on the quantity of the substance possessed instead of a rebuttable presumption. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 414 – Requires individuals on a third or subsequent conviction of driving under the influence to participate in a multidisciplinary model of services for substance use disorders and removes the requirement that municipal courts collect fingerprints from those convicted of violating certain municipal ordinance provisions. It also amends the crime of aggravated endangering a child to increase the penalties when bodily harm to the child results and when a child is in certain environments associated with fentanyl-related controlled substances. In effect after publication in the Kansas Register.
House Sub for SB 419 – Provides immunity from prosecution for certain drug crimes when people seek or provide medical assistance related to the use of a controlled substance. In effect July 1, 2024.
House Sub for SB 420 – Allows juvenile offenders in the custody of the Kansas secretary of corrections to leave the juvenile correctional facility for certain programming and educational opportunities when approved by the secretary. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2583 – Increases the criminal penalties for harming or killing certain dogs and horses and requires restitution for such offense to include certain expenses. In effect July 1, 2024.
Judiciary
SB 18 – Enacts the Kansas Campus Restoration Act to address deferred maintenance and demolition of facilities at higher education institutions. It also establishes the Kansas Campus Restoration fund with the Kansas State Treasurer. Requires the Director of Accounts and Reports to transfer $32.7 million from the state general fund to this new fund annually from July 1, 2025 to July 1, 2030. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 292 – Updates statutes related to the Kansas Army and Air National Guard, provides for the appointment of a state judge advocate, provides for the adjustment of death and disability benefits and updates the Kansas code of military justice relating to certain definitions, unlawful acts and punishment requirements thereof. In effect July 1, 2024.
House Sub for SB 349 – Continues in existence certain exceptions to the disclosure of public records under the Open Records Act. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 379 – Provides a longer time for notice to creditors by publication when a petition for administration or probate of a will is filed, changing the process for transferring personal property by affidavit in small estates and modifying time requirements for notice by publication related to sales at public auction in the Kansas probate code. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 458 – Specifies that certain drug offenses do not give rise to forfeiture under the Kansas Standard Asset Seizure and Forfeiture Act. Also provides limitations on state and local law enforcement agency requests for federal adoption of a seizure under the act. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 491 – Standardizes criminal history record check fingerprinting language and defines who may be fingerprinted for a criminal history record check. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 500 – Provides restricted driving privileges for certain individuals who fail to comply with a traffic citation and authorizes certain individuals with revoked driving privileges to be eligible for restricted privileges. In effect Jan. 1, 2025.
Senate Sub for HB 2144 – Creates the crimes of encouraging suicide and organized retail crimes. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2353 – Increases the amount of time a person may be held for treatment and adds criteria for when continued treatment may be ordered under the Care and Treatment Act for mentally ill people. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2549 – Changes the lists of people who are required to be given notice of the hearing on a petition for an independent or stepparent, private agency or public agency adoption and limits a petition to terminate parental rights to adoption proceedings and sets requirements for such petitions filed separately from petitions for adoption. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2557 – Expands the definition of “peer support counseling session” in the rules of evidence. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2604 – Increases the dollar amount for a small claim to $10,000. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2605 – Increases the maximum rate paid to appointed counsel for an indigent person. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2632 – Expands membership of the Law Enforcement Memorial Advisory Committee to include a representative of the Kansas Chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors to be appointed by the governor. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2660 – Modifies requirements related to certain business entity filings with the secretary of state, authorizes a change of registered office address by a current occupant under the Business Entity Standard Treatment Act and changes the information required in an amendment to the articles of incorporation for a cooperative. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2665 – Increases criminal penalties for a driver who leaves the scene of a vehicular accident when the accident results in the death of any individual or more than one person, if the driver knew or reasonably should have known that such accident resulted in an injury or death. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2675 – Enacts the Uniform Nonparent Visitation Act. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2781 – Allows compensation from the Crime Victims Compensation Board t be awarded for criminally injurious conduct and increases the amount that can be transferred from the Crime Victims Compensation fund to the Crime Victims Assistance fund in each fiscal year. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 394 – Requires the use of age-verification technology to permit access to internet websites containing material that is harmful to minors. 27 News confirms with a Pornhub spokesperson this law will impact access to the adult site in Kansas. In effect July 1, 2024.
Senate Sub for HB 2436 – Creates the crime of coercion to obtain an abortion and provides enhanced criminal penalties for offenses committed with the intent to coerce a woman to have an abortion. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 473 – Authorizes a notice to appear that meets certain requirements to serve as a lawful complaint under the Kansas Code of Criminal Procedure, requires a minimum bond premium in district court and provides reasons for suspending or terminating authorization of a compensated surety. In effect July 1, 2024.
Child Care
SB 115 – Establishes the Office of the Child Advocate as an independent state agency and prescribes some powers, duties and functions thereof. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2536 – Establishes the SOUL Family Legal Permanency Option for children over the age of 16. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2628 – Requires the secretary for the Kansas Department of Children and Families to release certain information related to a child fatality when criminal charges are filed alleging that a person caused such a death. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2629 – Requires the secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to provide a death certificate of a child to the state Child Death Review Board, increases the number of board members, allows for compensation and provides for the disclosure of certain records to certain individuals for securing grants. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2703 – Includes placement in foster care as a criteria for a student to be eligible for at-risk programs and services. In effect July 1, 2024.
State Government
SB 28 – Concerns and makes supplemental appropriations for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 and appropriations for fiscal years 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028 for several state agencies. In effect after publication in the Kansas Register.
SB 333 – Provides hiring, promotion and retention preferences for persons with disabilities for certain state executive branch positions and extends the expiration provision for the state use law committee. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2530 – Grants appointment authority to multiple state officers and authorizes the election of the chairperson for the Kansas Wildlife and Parks Commission. In effect May 16, 2024.
HB 2531 – Establishes the Kansas Purple Alert Plan to provide public notice of missing persons 18 years old or older who have been diagnosed with an intellectual disability and are in certain dangerous circumstances. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2551 – Makes and concerns appropriations for fiscal years 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028 for various state agencies. In effect May 30, 2024.
HB 2784 – Prohibits the Kansas state fire marshal from wearing or operating a body camera during an on-site inspection at a licensed facility, transfers authority for certification of continuing care retirement communities to the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services and more. In effect July 1, 2024.
Local Government
SB 362 – Repeals the expiration provisions of the Sedgwick County Urban Area Nuisance Abatement Act. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 381 – Authorizes the board of county commissioners of any county that is not the most populous county in a multiple-county judicial district to appoint a coroner to serve as the district coroner for the county at the expense of the county. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 384 – Create the Riley County Unincorporated Area Nuisance Abatement Act and the Crawford County Unincorporated Area Nuisance Abatement Act to establish procedures for the removal and abatement of nuisances in the unincorporated areas of such counties and the assessment of the costs for such abatement and specifying personnel requirements for ambulances making interfacility transfers in rural counties. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2587 – Authorizes the Board of Directors for a drainage district to hold a meeting in executive session in accordance with the open meetings act. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2588 – Authorizes certain telecommunications and video service providers to operate in county public right-of-way and limits the fees and costs that a county may impose upon such providers for such activities. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2661 – Requires vacancies in county commissioner districts created by an increase in the number of commissioner district be filled at the next general election and provides for staggered terms for such newly elected county commissioners. In effect April 18, 2024.
HB 2754 – Authorizes counties to use home rule powers to exempt from conducting school sanitary inspections. In effect July 1, 2024.
Transportation
House Sub for SB 143 – Updates the Elevator Safety Act provisions for the definitions of elevator, mechanic and contractor employee licensing requirements, inspection, testing and accident reporting requirements and exceptions. Also permits inspections by insurance companies and licensed elevator mechanics and establishes educational and testing options for elevator inspector licensing. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 359 – Provides for the Kansas City Chiefs, Sporting Kansas City, Sedgwick County Zoo, Kansas City Royals, Kansas City Current, Topeka Zoo, Support the Troops and the First City of Kansas distinctive license plates. Also requires certain license plates to have the county of registration for the motor vehicle identified on the license plate. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 399 – Requires vehicle dealers and salvage vehicle dealers to file monthly reports by the 25th day of the month. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 424 – Provides for geographic positions or locations of points within the state of Kansas under the Kansas Plane Coordinate System Act. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 462 – Authorizes the director of vehicles to adopt rules and regulation for participation in the federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse program. Also authorizes the director of vehicles to waive the commercial driver’s license knowledge and skills test for an application who provides evidence that such applicant qualifies for the Military Even Exchange program. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2392 – Provides for the 1st Infantry Division and the Armed Services Occupation Medal distinctive license plates. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2481 – Designates parts of various Kansas highways to different individuals and organizations. Also names the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe #3415 as the official state steam locomotive and the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad as the official state heritage railroad for the state of Kansas. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2498 – Increases the transfer from the State Highway fund to the public use general Aviation Airport Development fund. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2501 – Requires railroads operating in Kansas to maintain minimum distances from the near-edge of railroad crossings to the storage of certain rolling stock on sidings. In effect July 1, 2024.
Education
SB 195 – Authorizes the Children’s Cabinet to form a 501(c)(3) for fundraising for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library Book Gifting program. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 339 – Prohibits the Kansas State Department of Education from distributing or expending state foundation aid moneys in fiscal year 2025 to a school district that has no students enrolled in and attending school in such school district in school year 2024-2025. In effect after publication in the Kansas Register.
House Sub for SB 387 – Makes appropriations for the Kansas Department of Education for fiscal years 2024, 2025 and 2026. Also enacts, revises and abolishes certain statutes relating to the educational system. In effect after publication in the Kansas Register.
SB 438 – Establishes the Kansas blueprint for literacy and a literacy advisory committee, directing the Kansas Board of Regents to appoint a director of literacy education, requiring the Board of Regents and Kansas Board of Education to collaborate on a literacy micro-credential, providing university presidents and deans of education oversight over postsecondary literacy courses and more. In effect after publication in the Kansas Register.
SB 481 – Renames the Kansas State University Polytechnic campus as Kansas State University Salina. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2105 – Prohibits higher education institutions from taking certain actions regarding admission applicants, applicants for employment and faculty concerning diversity, equity or inclusion, exceptions, providing for civil remedies and penalties, submitting a report to the legislature and posting information on the Kansas Board of Regent’s website. In effect July 1, 2024.
Utilities
SB 455 – Prohibits public utilities from exercising eminent domain for the siting or placement of solar generation facilities. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2527 – Authorizes electric public utilities to recover certain depreciation and construction work in progress expenses and limits the time that such recovery may be implemented.
HB 2590 – Updates the maximum penalties that may be imposed by the Kansas State Corporation Commission for pipeline safety violations to comply with requirements of the federal pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2690 – Abolishes the 911 Coordinating Council and establishes the state 911 Board. In effect after publication in the Kansas Register.
Health
House Sub for SB 287 – Prohibits a healthcare provider from administering medication, diagnostic tests or conducting ongoing behavioral health treatments to a minor in a school facility without parental consent. Enacts the No Patient Left Alone Act which requires medical care facilities to allow in-person visitation in certain situations. Also expands licensure of rural emergency hospitals that meet criteria between January 2015 and December 2020 and authorizes emergency medical responders to distribute non prescription over-the-counter medications. In effect July 1, 2024.
SB 433 – Clarifies practice privileges of institutional license holders. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2453 – Enacts the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact to provide interstate practice privileges for dentists and dental hygienists. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2484 – Enacts the Social Work Licensure Compact to provide interstate practice privileges for social workers. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2547 – Authorizes schools to maintain stock supplies of emergency medication kits for certain life-threatening conditions and adds and removes certain substances in schedules I, II, IV and V of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act and makes conforming changes to the criminal code definition of fentanyl-related controlled substances. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2749 – Requires medical care facilities and providers to report the reasons for each abortion performed at such facility or by such provider to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. In effect July 1, 2024.
Technology
House Sub for SB 291 – Transfers all cybersecurity services under the chief information technology officer of each branch of government and creates the chief information security officers within the judicial and legislative branches. Requires a chief information security officer to be appointed by the Kansas attorney general, Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Kansas secretary of state, Kansas state treasurer and Kansas insurance commissioner. In effect July 1, 2024.
Water
SB 331 – Removes the definition of lead-free and an exception for leaded joints in the public water supply systems law and updates terminology related to hazardous waste generated by some people. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2525 – Provides for additional sources of revenue for the Water Program Management fund and creates additional fees for the regulation of underground injection control wells. In effect July 1, 2024.
Agriculture and Environment
SB 336 – Removes the requirement for underground storage tank operating permits to be obtained annually. In effect July 1, 2024.
Senate Sub for HB 2047 – Requires approval of livestock brand applications by the animal health commissioner, increases the maximum amount for brand registration and renewal fees and prohibits entering or remaining on and knowingly making false statements to enter animal facilities and field crop production areas. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2477 – Increases the maximum reimbursement from the Kansas Agricultural Remediation fund from $200,000 to $300,000 for an eligible person and from $400,000 to $600,000 when both a buyer and a seller or a lessee and a lessor are responsible for remediation. Also increases the amount available to the Kansas Agricultural Remediation Board for administrative overhead expenses from $150,000 t $175,000. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2607 – Amends the Kansas Pesticide Law to expand the applicability of civil and criminal penalties and updates requirements for training and supervision, proof of financial responsibility, pesticide applications in the sodium cyanide predator control category and record retention by government agencies. In effect July 1, 2024.
HB 2634 – Provides an additional corrective control provision for the chief engineer to consider when issuing orders of designations for local enhances managements areas and intensive groundwater use control areas. In effect July 1, 2024.
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