Kansas House Bills

Proposing to amend section 1 of article 11 of the constitution of the state of Kansas to value residential real, commercial and industrial real property and mobile homes property based on the fair market value or average fair market value of the residential portion and providing the legislature the authority to establish valuation limits for any classes or subclasses of property.

Requiring school districts to provide elementary students with a certain amount of daily recess, prohibiting limiting or withholding recess for disciplinary reasons, requiring a Kansas state fitness test and designating required recess time as part of the school term.

Requiring instruction to provide students with an understanding of communist, fascist and socialist regimes and ideologies and that students pass an American civics examination in order to graduate with a high school diploma.

Adding and removing certain substances in schedules I, III and IV of the uniform controlled substances act and making conforming changes to the criminal code definition of fentanyl-related controlled substances.

Senate Substitute for HB 2018 by Committee on Federal and State Affairs - Creating the crime of interference with the conduct of a religious assembly, providing criminal penalties therefor and providing for a civil cause of action for damages.

Authorizing the state historical society to acquire the junior officers' quarters at Fort Dodge and provide for the use, preservation, improvement, control and maintenance thereof.

Requiring members of governing bodies of subordinate service taxing areas to be residents of such taxing areas.

Enacting the speech-language pathology assistant act to provide for the licensure of speech-language pathology assistants.

Specifying that courts shall consider certain factors in determining whether a prior violation of law is comparable to any act described in certain driving under the influence crimes when calculating a person's criminal history score under the Kansas sentencing guidelines act.

Relating to housing code requirements, removing the definition of apartment houses from chapter 31 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, providing requirements for adoption of the international fire code, 2024 edition, and providing that certain state accessibility standards are not applicable to moderate income housing program and Kansas investor tax credit housing act projects.

Enacting the taxpayer agreement act to provide for an alternative method of tax increment financing of municipal economic development projects through taxpayer agreements.

Providing that applicants for a physician assistant license submit to a criminal record check, providing for the collaboration between physicians and physician assistants and requiring the revocation of a physician assistant license under certain circumstances.

Establishing the Kansas digital right-to-repair act to provide the right for persons who purchase digital electronic equipment to obtain the legal authorization and necessary documentation and parts from original equipment manufacturers to diagnose, maintain and repair such equipment.

Requiring the secretary of corrections to assist inmates with obtaining identification and employment-related documentation prior to release from custody.

Requiring a county appraiser to adjust the value of personal property mobile homes, residential and commercial property upon final determination or obtain a fee simple appraisal if the appraised value exceeds 5% increase over five years.

Modifying the municipal lease-purchase protest petition requirements.

Requiring the state board of education to report to the legislature on federal moneys received by the state, ending certain educational reporting requirements and applying expiration dates to other educational reporting requirements.

Providing for the crime victims compensation board to establish fees chargeable for conducting examinations of persons who may be victims of sexual assault, authorizing the board to adopt rules and regulations to administer such fees and to use moneys in the crime victims compensation fund for the payment of such fees and allowing certain exceptions to the confidentiality of records and information given to the board.

Establishing requirements for a portable benefit plan for independent contractors, determining types of contributions to such plans and providing a subtraction modification for Kansas income tax purposes.

Establishing a registry for child abuse and neglect to be maintained by the secretary for children and families, providing for registration and expungement processes that include administrative hearings and opportunities for subsequent appeals, requiring reports of abuse or neglect to include information regarding a custody dispute concerning the child who is the subject of the report and directing the secretary to submit a report to the legislature on such information.

Permitting the secretary of corrections to enter into certain contracts for the production of manufactured or modular homes for a pilot program at the Hutchinson correctional facility under the prison-made goods act.

Substitute for HB 2595 by Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources - Enacting the attorney training program for rural Kansas act, providing stipends to law students who meet certain requirements and agree to practice law in rural areas and providing loan forgiveness to lawyers who meet certain requirements and practice law in rural areas, coordination between the department of commerce and the office of judicial administration.

Requiring that a political subdivision hold an open meeting to discuss a contingency fee contract for legal services before approving such contract and requiring the attorney general to approve such contracts.

Authorizing financial institutions to report suspected financial exploitation of an adult account holder to a designated agency, notify any adult designated as a trusted contact by such account holder of suspected financial exploitation and place a temporary hold on certain transactions or disbursements. Enacting the virtual currency kiosk consumer protection act, providing definitions, and establishing requirements for virtual currency kiosk operators. Prohibiting the office of the state bank commissioner or any other state agency from becoming a receiver for a technology-enabled fiduciary financial institution that becomes insolvent or declares bankruptcy. Providing that earned wage access service registrants are subject to the Kansas financial institutions information security act, and eliminating certain stipulations relating to the payment of negotiable instruments on Saturday afternoons or holidays.

Enacting the Kansas community property trust act to authorize the use of community property trusts during the marriage of settlor spouses and amending the Kansas uniform trust code to allow trustees to reimburse settlors of grantor trusts, authorize the use of designated representatives for trusts and permit the terms of a governing instrument to expand, restrict or eliminate certain general rules applicable to fiduciaries, trusts and trust administration.

Removing the expiration on certain cybersecurity requirements, modifying the duties of chief information security officers and cybersecurity programs, requiring assessment of executive branch agency compliance with cybersecurity requirements, providing for consideration of such compliance by the legislature during the budget process and creating the judicial branch technology oversight council.

Amending statutes concerning the Kansas board of accountancy; relating to licensure requirements for certified public accountants.

Senate Substitute for HB 2571 by Committee on Local Government, Transparency and Ethics - Increasing the cost threshold for when a county shall use the public bidding process in awarding a construction contract.

Permitting the issuance of a special license plate or permanent or temporary placard for a person with a disability based on documentation of satisfactory proof of disability from a physical therapist.

Concerning postsecondary education; authorizing the state board of regents to sell and convey certain real property in the city of Manhattan, Riley county, Kansas, on behalf of Kansas state university, granting authority to state educational institutions regarding transactions involving contracts, easements and the procurement of goods and services, exempting the state educational institutions from statutes governing such transactions and authorizing legislators to request copies of certain documents.

Requiring criminal presentence investigation reports and journal entries to be completed and submitted in the form and manner prescribed and approved by the Kansas sentencing commission.

Authorizing library boards to change from being appointed members to elected members and requiring that the members of the Eudora community library district board of directors be elected to such positions.

Increasing the penalties for the crime of sexual extortion when an offender is 18 years of age or older and the victim is less than 18 years of age or a dependent adult, creating the crimes of aggravated sexual extortion causing great bodily harm and aggravated sexual extortion causing death and requiring the attorney general to prepare and provide educational materials and information concerning such crimes.

Requiring proposed guardians for certain adults who have a cognitive impairment or are diagnosed with a neurological condition to complete training approved by the secretary for aging and disability services prior to appointment as a guardian.

Requiring school districts to provide fentanyl abuse education programs and maintain a supply of naloxone in all schools, requiring the department of education to establish guidelines for active shooter drills conducted by public and accredited nonpublic elementary and secondary schools, regulating active shooter simulations in such schools and modifying the requirements for student cohorts and achievement goals in school district at-risk student accountability plans.

Enacting the occupational therapy licensure compact, respiratory care interstate compact, esthetics licensure compact and athletic trainer licensure compact to provide interstate practice privileges.

Requiring all state board of nursing actions related to certain nonpractice violations be void, allowing for late license renewal for professional, practical and advanced practice registered nurses, setting fees for late license renewal, limiting unprofessional conduct to acts related to the practice of nursing, prohibiting the board from taking retaliatory action against a licensee based on certain lawful actions and creating a civil cause of action for violation thereof, requiring termination of current board members on January 1, 2027 and requiring the governor to appoint interim board members subject to senate confirmation and requiring the board to issue refunds for overpayment or duplicate payment.

Permitting the secretary for children and families to license family foster homes when certain persons reside in such home and creating an appeal process for family foster homes when licenses are not granted.

Increasing the number of allowed residents in a home plus facility from 12 to 16.

Continuing in existence certain exceptions to the disclosure of public records under the Kansas open records act.

Enacting the Kansas transparency in consumer legal funding act.

Permitting moneys received from agricultural production on a state-owned property to be used for the management of all state-owned properties.

Allowing licensed physical therapists to perform certain capillary blood tests, adding advanced practice registered nurse to the definition of healthcare provider for purposes of the healthcare provider insurance availability act, adding an advanced practice registered nurse position to the board of governors of the healthcare stabilization fund and requiring advance practice registered nurses to maintain professional liability insurance as a condition of active licensure.

Removing the requirement for migratory waterfowl stamps to be validated by a signature across the face of each such stamp and increasing the fees for such stamps, authorizing the adoption of certain rules and regulations related to fees, registrations and other charges by the department of wildlife and parks and providing an exception from the disclosure requirements of the Kansas open records act for department of wildlife and parks records regarding the location of any species that is threatened, endangered or in need of conservation.

Prohibiting the assessment of a prepayment penalty against any party more than six months after the execution of a note evidencing a home loan made primarily for personal, family or household purposes secured by a real estate mortgage.

Defining teacher and paraprofessional for purposes of eligibility for a scholarship under the Kansas education opportunity scholarship program.

Authorizing the chief executive officer of the board of regents to negotiate and settle repayment obligations arising under financial aid programs administered by the board, providing requirements for agreements between postsecondary educational institutions and school districts for postsecondary courses taught in secondary schools, directing the governor to approve short-term workforce training programs for Pell grant eligibility, modifying requirements under the every child can read act and prohibiting Kansas promise scholarship awards for remedial hours.

Removing the requirement that the state board of education use a certain exam provider to deliver certain college entrance and career readiness exams and requiring the board to provide for such exams using any provider.

Authorizing electronic monitoring with victim notification as a condition of release prior to trial for certain offenders charged with a domestic violence offense, domestic battery, stalking or violation of a protective order, modifying the culpable mental state required to commit the crime of breach of privacy and increasing the criminal penalties for certain violations of such crime, modifying the elements of the crime of blackmail related to threatened dissemination of any image, video or other recording of another identifiable person who is nude or engaged in sexual activity, describing who is a person in a position of authority for a school for the crime of unlawful sexual relations and increasing the penalties for the crimes of endangering a child and aggravated endangering a child if the child is less than six years of age.

Providing that certain municipalities may designate the entire municipality within a neighborhood revitalization area under the Kansas neighborhood revitalization act.

Prohibiting past convictions or sanctions for failure to comply with a traffic citation that are more than five years old from being considered by courts and the division of vehicles in determining suspended or restricted driving privileges and eliminating certain notice requirements for the division of vehicles.

Enacting the Kansas sports authority act, authorizing STAR bond projects in major amusement park areas and extending the expiration date of the STAR bonds financing act.

Requiring the secretary of health and environment to adopt rules and regulations that allow for the direct and indirect potable reuse of treated wastewater, providing additional requirements for applications to the water technical assistance fund and the water projects grant fund and extending the current expiration date of such funds.

Providing that jail credit when consecutive sentences are imposed shall not apply to more than one case, creating special sentencing rules when a felony is committed by certain offenders while on probation, parole or postrelease supervision for a prior felony and requiring secured minimum bonds for certain defendants who commit a new felony while on probation, parole, postrelease supervision or bond for a prior felony unless the court makes certain findings.

Excluding owners of oil leases from having to file request for exemption with the board of tax appeals for property tax exemptions.

Substitute for HB 2435 by Committee on Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications - Authorizing natural gas public utilities to recover certain growth-related investments in the gas system reliability surcharge, increasing the cap on the amount that the monthly fixed charge may be increased for residential customers and reducing the time for the state corporation commission to act on gas system reliability surcharge filings.

Creating the Kansas motorsports venue protection act to provide immunity to motorsports venues from civil actions for nuisance, taking or similar legal theories.

Enhancing the criminal penalty for an offense committed with the intent to commit transnational repression, requiring the development of transnational repression recognition and response training, providing that theft of livestock or implements of husbandry is a severity level 5, nonperson felony, providing that the theft of grain or hay is a severity level 6, nonperson felony and providing that certain portions of the crime of cruelty to animals do not apply to any person who catches a feral cat to provide vaccination, spaying or neutering and returns such cat back to the location where such cat is caught.

Authorizing the supreme court to impose a charge to fund the costs of non-judicial personnel through June 30, 2030.

Establishing the removal of squatters act, providing a procedure to remove a squatter from a dwelling unit, requiring owners or agents of dwelling units to provide an affidavit to the county sheriff department or police department , requiring notice to vacate by the sheriff, establishing the crime of providing a false affidavit and establishing a civil cause of action for wrongful removal of a person from a dwelling unit, allowing attorney fees and punitive damages.