Topeka – Kansas Governor Sam Brownback has signed additional 14 bills into law, bringing the total signed so far to 82. The following are brief descriptions of the new laws. You can find additional information about these new laws at www.kslegislature.org.
SB 123: This new law allows the Secretary of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) to directly set fees for the use of cabins owned or operated by the KDWP. The law also lowers the aggregate threshold amount that would require approval by act of the Legislature from 640 acres to 320 acres of land purchased by KDWP. It amends the exception that currently allows for a purchase of land without such legislative approval from a private individual if the purchase price is less than the appraised value of the land. The bill would allow the KDWP to continue to purchase land under this exception as long as the land totals less than 640 acres. And it allows the State Finance Council to give approval of land purchases when the Legislature is not in session.
Sub, SB 124: This new law makes changes in the Kansas Groundwater Management District.
SB 170: This new law creates the Portable Electronics Insurance Act to regulate the licensing and sale of or offer of coverage for portable electronic devices.
SB 213: This new law defines a “lightweight roadable vehicle” as a vehicle that may be driven on public roadways and also is required to be registered with, and flown under the direction of, the Federal Aviation Administration. The law excludes this type of vehicle from the definition of “aircraft” in the statute that exempts business aircraft from property taxes.
HB 2020: This new law allows revenues from rents, boarding fees, and other charges related to university student housing at state universities, to go to either the Housing System Suspense Fund or directly to the Housing System Operations Fund, at the discretion of the university. It also allows interest earned from the Housing System Operations Fund and Housing System Repairs Fund to be transferred into those funds. The law also sets procedures involving the interest earnings from the Johnson County Education Research Triangle sales tax. And it continues the new categories and fee levels established for FY 2011 that the Board of Regents may charge private and out-of-state postsecondary educational institutions in order to carry out the Board’s statutory and regulatory responsibilities through July 1, 2012.
HB 2076: This new law makes amendments to certain statutory time requirements specified for municipal pools and group-funded workers compensation pools; extends the sunset provision that allows anti-fraud plans to remain confidential from July 1, 2011 to July 1, 2016; enacts the Surplus Lines Insurance Multi-State Compliance Compact; and makes amendments to the current law governing the allocation of surplus lines’ premium tax revenue.
HB 2119: This new law prohibits a municipality from charging an accident response service fee to persons receiving emergency services inside or outside the municipality, except for the actual costs of providing emergency services in response to a motor vehicle accident.
HB 2133: This new law modifies how water litigation moneys recovered by Kansas from Nebraska and Colorado through disputes under the Arkansas River Compact and the Republican River Compact are deposited in the State Treasury and how the moneys may be spent on various projects.
The law also changes the way reductions in tax revenue allotted for local public health departments is handled.
HB 2135: This new law revises employment security law regarding the process used to determine the misclassification of employees as independent contractors, the communication of confidential taxpayer information between the Departments of Revenue and Labor, and penalties for repeated violations of employee misclassification.
HB 2195: This new law establishes the Organized Collection Service Act, the purpose of which is to provide for a time-sensitive transition between private and public solid waste and recyclables collection services in counties, cities, townships and other political or taxing subdivisions having solid waste collection authority. The bill would be effective upon publication in the Kansas Register.
HB 2240: This new law deals with cemetery corporations, the trust funds they maintain, and a new fee fund relative to these functions.
HB 2271: This new law amends various provisions of the Kansas Plant Pest Act and clarifies authority given to the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary’s designee.
HB 2282: This new law changes existing law regarding the licensure and inspection of lodging establishments. It consolidates the Food Service Inspection Reimbursement Fund and the Food Inspection Fee Fund into the Food Safety Fee Fund, as well as establishes the Lodging Fee Fund, with both funds being administered by the Food Safety and Lodging program in the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA). Inspection of lodging establishments would occur upon the application for a new license or the filing of a customer complaint with KDA. The bill would raise the rates on license and application fees and establish new maximum fee levels.
HB 2392: This new law allows the Director of Accounts and Reports to enter into agreements with the U.S. Treasury Department that provide for offsetting various federal and state payments authorized by law. Both the U.S. Treasury Department and the Director are authorized to deduct fees relative to the offset payments collected. Additional language clarifies that current disclosure prohibitions and confidentiality statutes do not affect the ability of the U.S. Treasury Department, the Kansas Department of Administration, and debtors to accomplish and effectuate the provisions of the law.