News From Kansas Senator Elaine Bowers
SENATE SCENE 2024 LEGISLATIVE WRAP-UP
KANSAS LEGISLATURE ADJOURNS SINE DIE ON APRIL 30TH
On April 30th, the Kansas Legislature wrapped up the 2024 regular session. Known in the legislature as Sine Die, it officially marks the final adjournment for the 2024 Legislative Session and ended on Day 88. The Senate sent 53 bills to the governor. There were 233 Senate bills introduced in 2024 for a total during this last two-year cycle of 559. Barring a special session, the full legislature will return on January 13th, 2025.
SENATE FLOOR ACTION
On Tuesday night, the Kansas House and Senate passed SB 37, a bi-partisan compromise plan that reduces taxes for every Kansan. It fully repeals the state income tax on Social Security benefits, cuts property taxes, eliminates the state sales tax on food on July 1st, and simplifies and lowers income taxes. The passage of SB 37 comes closely on the heels of the Senate coming within one vote of overriding the governor’s veto of HB 2036. This latest compromise plan is nearly identical to HB 2036, with tweaks to reduce the fiscal note to address the governor’s stated reason for vetoing the bi-partisan bill. Specifically, the bill would:
·Restructure and simplify individual income tax brackets from three to two;
·Lower the two brackets from their current levels;
·Exempt Social Security income from the individual income tax;
·Dramatically increase the personal exemption while also increasing the standard deduction;
·Reduce privilege tax rates;
·Abolish the Local Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund;
·Exempt $100,000 of appraised value of residential property exempt from the statewide property tax and reduces the statewide mill levy to 19.5 mills; and
·Accelerate the elimination of the state sales tax on food to July 1st.
Current law provides for three income tax brackets:
o 3.1%: $0 - $15K ($30K joint)
o 5.25%: $15K - $30K ($30K-60K joint)
o 5.7%: $30K+ ($60K-joint)
SB 37 simplifies the tax code into two lower brackets:
o 5.2%: $0-$23K ($0 - $46K joint)
o 5.57%: $23K+ ($46K+ joint)
SB 37 passed the House 108-11 with a bi-partisan super majority as well as the Senate 25-9 with a bi-partisan majority. I voted yes.
HB 2096 would enact the Veterans’ Valor Property Tax Relief Act, make changes to the Homeowners’ Property Tax Freeze Program, create property tax exemptions for certain businesses subject to government competition and certain personal property, limit transactions that can be considered valid sales for property tax purposes, and modify law related to property valuation notices and appeals. HB 2096 passed the Senate 23-11. Having also passed the House 91-26. I voted yes and it is headed to the governor.
HB 2551 as recommended by the Conference Committee on House Appropriations and Senate Ways and Means, contains funding for selected adjustments in FY 2024 through FY 2027. Expenditures for the Kansas State Department of Education reflect expenditures in the Conference Committee Report on SB 387. Additionally, total expenditures reflected throughout this report include both SB 28, the mega appropriation bill, and SB 438, relating to the Kansas blueprint for literacy. For the purposes of this report, expenditures related to the Kansas State Schools for the Blind and Deaf, State Historical Society, and State Library are included within the higher education function of government. HB 2551 passed the Senate 22-12 and also passed the House 71-49. I voted yes and the bill is headed to the governor.
SB 387 would make appropriations for the Kansas State Department of Education for FY 2024, FY 2025, and FY 2026. SB 387 passed the Senate 35-2. Having passed the House 115-2. I voted yes and it is headed to the governor.
HB 2097 would enact the Kansas Film and Digital Media Production Development Act, which would create nonrefundable income tax credits and a sales tax exemption for qualifying film production activities to incentivize and promote the growth of film and digital media production and industry in Kansas. HB 2097 passed the Senate 32-5. Having also passed the House 102-22. I voted yes and it is headed to the governor.
HB 2784 would transfer authority for certification of continuing care retirement communities from the Kansas Insurance Department to the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS). It also would amend law regarding the certification of Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers (CCBHCs) and would prohibit the State Fire Marshal and the Marshal’s representatives from wearing or operating an audio or video recording device during an on-site inspection in certain facilities. The Senate passed HB 2784 39-0. Having also passed the House 122-0. I voted yes and it is headed to the governor.
SB 500 would amend law pertaining to restricted driving privileges for certain individuals who violate the misdemeanor offense of failure to comply with a traffic citation. The bill would take effect on January 1, 2025. SB 500 passed the Senate 36-1. Having also passed the House 120-0. I voted yes and it is headed to the governor.
SB 287 contains several bills related to improving health care law in Kansas. It would require parental consent to health care services for a minor child provided in a school facility. It would also establish the No Patient Left Alone Act, which would specify that when providing end-of-life care, a patient care facility would not be able to act to prevent a patient from receiving in-person visitation from any person designated by the patient if the patient has the capacity to make such designation. If the patient does not have the capacity for such designation, the patient’s agent for health care decisions established by a durable power of attorney would be allowed to designate visitors. It would amend law regarding the licensure of rural emergency hospitals and amend law concerning emergency medical services (EMS) to add provisions allowing distribution of nonprescription, over-the-counter medications, as approved by the EMS medical director, to the list of interventions that emergency medical responders may provide. SB 287 passed the Senate 26-10. Having also passed the House 111-10. I voted yes and it is headed to the governor.
SB 414 would amend the elements of the crime of aggravated endangering a child by adding fentanyl to the list of drugs for which causing or permitting a child to be in an environment where the person knows or reasonably should know the drug is present would constitute the crime. It removes a loophole in the law concerning breaches of privacy to ensure people cannot be recorded in their private state without their knowledge, whether or not the breach is done secretly or not. The bill also amends law in the Kansas Code of Procedure for Municipal Courts governing fingerprinting for municipal convictions; amend provisions in sentencing law regarding computation of time served; and update terms and conditions of supervision for certain offenders. The Senate passed the bill 36-0. Having passed the House 114-0. I voted yes and it is headed to the governor.
SB 419 would provide immunity from prosecution for possession of a controlled substance or certain drug paraphernalia if the person seeks medical assistance while under the influence of a controlled substance or provides medical assistance to a person who is under the influence of a controlled substance and needs medical assistance. The Senate passed SB 419 36-0. Having passed the House 114-0. I voted yes and it is headed to the governor.
SB 420 would establish criteria to permit juvenile offenders in the custody of the Secretary of Corrections to leave the juvenile facility for certain programming. The bill would authorize the Secretary to establish work release and educational release programs for juveniles and would specify a juvenile may attend such release programs outside the facility without a staff member or designated adult when the juvenile meets appropriate classification as defined KDOC policies and procedures. The Senate passed SB 420 36-0. Having also passed the House 113-1. I voted yes and it is headed to the governor.
SB 291 would create and amend law concerning the administration and organization of information technology (IT) and cybersecurity services within each branch of state government. The Senate passed SB 291 27-9 and passed the House 113-1. I voted yes and it is headed to the governor.
HB 2176 would create the Arkansas City Area Public Library District Act and the Udall Area Public Library District Act. HB 2176 passed the Senate 32-3 and passed the House 120-0. I voted yes and it is headed to the governor.
HB 2531 would establish the Kansas Purple Alert Plan. The Purple Alert Plan would be established and implemented by the Office of the Attorney General, in collaboration with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Kansas Highway Patrol, local law enforcement agencies, and other public and private agencies and organizations. Under the Purple Alert Plan, public notice of a missing individual could be promptly broadcast, and a search could be timely undertaken with the cooperation of local law enforcement, news media, and the general public in order to locate the individual. Citizens included are 18 years of age or older who have been diagnosed with an intellectual disability and are believed to be in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death because of their disability and unable to return to safety without assistance. HB 2531 passed the Senate 36-0 and passed the House 120-0. I voted yes and it is headed to the governor.
HB 2047 would make clarifying amendments to the Farm Animal and Field Crop and Research Facilities Protection Act. HB 2047 passed the Senate 34-2 and passed the House 108-12. I voted yes and it is headed to the governor.
HB 2392 would modify the definition of “veteran” and “disabled veteran” to clarify the discharge status (or characterization of service) a member of the Armed Forces must receive to be eligible for certain benefits in Kansas. The bill would also authorize issuance of a 1st Infantry Division and an Armed Service Occupation Medal distinctive license plates. HB 2392 passed the Senate 36-0. Having passed the House 120-0. I voted yes and it is headed to the governor.
SB 339 would prohibit the distribution of State Foundation Aid moneys within the budget of the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) to a school district that has no students enrolled in and attending a school of such district. The bill would also provide that, if students who are residents of such school district are enrolled in and attending any other school district, such students shall be counted as regularly enrolled in and attending school in such other school district and not counted in the school district of residence. SB 339 passed the Senate 34-3. Having passed the House 117-2. It is headed to the governor. I voted yes.
HB 2530 would make changes to how the members of the Kansas Wildlife and Parks Commission are appointed to provide for differing perspectives on a commission that regulates hunting and fishing. The Senate passed the bill 21-18. I voted no. Having also passed the House 78-45, it is now headed to the governor.
SB 318 would amend the Code of Evidence to specify how a statutory or common law presumption or inference against a criminal defendant is to be construed and to establish a permissive inference when a person is found to possess certain quantities of a controlled substance. The House voted 122-0. The Senate passed the bill 39-0. I voted yes and it is headed to the governor.
SB 232 which would amend law regarding child support guidelines to require the courts to adopt rules that consider the direct medical and pregnancy-related expenses for the mother of an unborn child and the unborn child. The bill would specify the maximum amount of ordered child support of an unborn child is not to exceed the direct medical and pregnancy-related expenses of the mother of the unborn child, excluding any costs related to an elective abortion. SB 232 passed the Senate 25-12. Having also passed the House 82-38. I voted yes and it is headed to the governor.
SB 172 would create the Kansas Land and Military Installation Protection Act. The bill would prohibit foreign principals from countries of concern from acquiring any interest in non-residential real property located within 100 miles of the boundary of any military installation located in Kansas or an adjacent state. The Act would not apply to a de minimis interest in such real property; transactions approved by the Committee of Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS); and foreign principals who hold a national security agreement with CFIUS or the U.S. Department of Defense. The Senate passed SB 172 24-14, having also passed the House 86-39. I voted yes. It now heads to the governor.
VETO OVERRIDES
HB 2098 would create a sales tax deduction for certain motor vehicle transactions, provide for manufacturer’s coupons to be excluded from sales price for sales tax purposes, and create several sales tax exemptions. On the override vote, HB 2098 passed the Senate 37-0. Having also passed the House 99-20, the veto was overridden. I voted yes to override.
HB 2436 would make it a crime to unlawfully coerce a woman to obtain an abortion, engaging in coercion with both the knowledge a woman is pregnant and the intent to compel such woman to obtain an abortion when such woman has expressed her desire to not obtain an abortion. The veto was overridden in the Senate by a vote of 28-10. With the House also having overridden the veto by a vote of 85-40, he bill will now become law. I voted yes to override.
HB 2465 would provide a tax credit for certain contributions to certain pregnancy resource centers and residential maternity facilities and enact a sales tax exemption for pregnancy resource centers and residential maternity facilities. It also enacts the Adoption Savings Account Act that would establish adoption savings accounts and dramatically expand the adoption tax credit. By a vote of 29-7 in the Senate, the legislature overrode the governor’s veto of this bill. I voted yes. Having also passed the House 85-40, it will become law.
HB 2583 increases the criminal penalty for harming or killing certain dogs and horses and requires restitution for such crime - including veterinary medical treatment, funeral and burial expenses and replacement of such animal. The Senate overrode the veto by a vote of 29-10. Having also passed the House 105-20. I voted yes to override. The bill will now become law.
HB 2648 would generally prohibit the adoption of any rule or regulation that the economic impact statement indicates $1.0 million or more in implementation or compliance costs are reasonably expected to be incurred by or passed along to businesses, local governments, or individuals during the initial five-year period following the adoption of the rule or regulation, unless the rule or regulation has been ratified by the legislature by the enactment of a bill authorizing such rule or regulation. It would also require the Director of the Budget, in reviewing the economic impact statements for proposed rules and regulations, to conduct an independent analysis to determine the agency has complied with the requirements for economic impact statements and review the agency’s determination of the amount of implementation and compliance costs reasonably expected to be incurred by or passed along to businesses, local governments, and individuals over the initial five-year period following adoption of the rule or regulation. The Senate voted to override the veto 27-12. I voted yes to override. Having also passed the House 87-38, it now becomes law.
SB 473 contains a number of provisions concerning crimes, punishment, and criminal procedure. This includes a notice to appear that meets certain requirements to serve as a lawful complaint, requiring a minimum appearance bond premium in district court, providing reasons for suspending or terminating authorization of a compensated surety, and authorizing the chief judge of a judicial district to require a compensated surety to submit to a state and national criminal history record check. The override of the veto on SB 473 passed the Senate 27-12. I voted yes. Having also passed the House 87-38, it now becomes law.
HB 2749 would provide for the written report of pregnancies lawfully terminated to be submitted by medical care facilities and persons licensed to practice medicine and surgery to the Secretary of Health and Environment, and also requires abortion providers to ask patients for the primary reason for obtaining the abortion. This is strictly voluntary and confidential. The Senate overrode the veto by a vote of 27-10. I voted yes to override. Having also passed the House 84-41, it now becomes law.
The legislature successfully overrode the line-item veto of the Pregnancy Compassion Awareness Program in the budget, which provides funding to pregnancy resource centers to help women in crisis pregnancies. This line-item veto was overridden by the Senate 28-11. Having also been overridden in the House 86-39. I voted yes to override. The bill will now become law.
The legislature overrode the governor’s line-item veto of a provision in the budget capping the number of individuals on the state’s Intellectual and Development Disability and Physical Disability wait lists to receive services. By a vote of 28-12 in the Senate and a vote of 116-9 in the House, this line-item veto was overridden. I voted yes to override. The bill will now become law.
The Kansas Senate overrode the governor’s line-item veto of funding to send the Kansas National Guard to Texas to help Governor Abbott secure the border. This line-item veto was overridden by the Senate 28-12. Having also been overridden in the House 84-41, the provision is now law. I voted yes to override.
The legislature overrode the governor’s veto of a one-time $2.2 million appropriation for an osteopathic service scholarship and $750,000 for the KUMC Wichita residency program. The veto was overridden by a vote of 27-13 in the Senate and 97-28 in the House. I voted yes.
SB 233 would enact the Forbidding Abusive Child Transitions Act, or the Help Not Harm Act, which would have prohibited “gender” surgeries and procedures on minors, including puberty blockers and chemical castration. While the Senate overrode the governor on SB 233 27-13, it failed in the House by a vote of 82-43, so the veto is sustained. I voted yes.
SB 271 would prohibit government agencies from purchasing or acquiring drones whose critical components were produced in a country of concern, or whose critical components were produced or owned by a foreign principal. The bill would also prohibit state agencies from entering into a contract or agreement to procure final or finished goods or services from certain foreign principal. SB 271 failed in the Senate 21-16, the veto is sustained. I voted yes.
HB 2618 was the bill requiring legislative oversight of “Bidenbucks” by amending provisions of election law regarding the Transparency in Revenues Underwriting Elections Act to ensure legislative approval and direction of any funds received by the federal government in elections. The bill also contained other fixes to election-related law. The House overrode the governor’s veto 84-41, but failed in the Senate 26-11 and the veto is sustained. I voted yes.
SESSION END
WATCH RE-RUNS OF LEGISLATIVE CHAMBER AND COMMITTEE ACTION
If you would like to review the past session - Senate and House floor activity or watch committee hearings from each Chamber – you are able to find many choices at Kansas Legislature YouTube and Kansas Legislature Audio.
OFF SESSION CONTACT INFORMATION
The 2025 Kansas Legislative Session will begin January 13th at 2:00PM when we will be back in our offices at the Capitol in Topeka. Over the summer and fall, I may be reached at my legislative email at elaine.bowers@senate.ks.gov or my work email elaine@concordiaautomart.com. My work address in Concordia is 212 E. 6th St., Concordia, KS 66901 and if you are in Concordia, drop by. My daytime work number is 785 243-3325x2 or email me questions, concerns, or ideas for legislative bills for the next session. Visit the Kansas Legislature website in the off session at www.kslegislature.org which has extensive information on legislators, committees, bills, past sessions, historical data, internships, and pages for next year. It is an honor to serve you in the 36th Kansas Senate District and please feel free to contact me anytime.
Senator Elaine Bowers
Kansas State Capitol Building
Room 223-E
300 SW 10th St.
Topeka, KS 66612
785 243-3325x 2 or 785 296-7389
