SENATE HIGHLIGHTS
Thursday marked a critical deadline known as “turnaround,” marking the official halfway point for the 2024 Legislative session. It was a busy week for the Senate, as we spent two full days debating and voting on and passing out over 40 bills ahead of the Turnaround deadline. After being on the floor all day Wednesday and Thursday, the Legislature will break until February 28th to give clerical staff time to process the significant amount of paperwork resulting from this week. By “turnaround,” a bill, with few exceptions, must have passed its Chamber of origin in order to be considered by the other Chamber before session is over for the year. When the Senate returns on Wednesday, the legislature is scheduled to meet for another month before our April recess. We will then return for a brief period to consider any vetoes prior to final adjournment. The focus for the next month will be to consider bills passed by the House Chamber and bills exempt from the Turnaround deadline. Under legislative rules, most bills must be adopted by one chamber in order to be considered by the other chamber. The major item we must complete prior to adjournment is passing the budget.
SENATE FLOOR ACTION SB 430 would amend workers compensation law to, amongst other things, increase lifetime benefit maximums, provide coverage for members of the Kansas National Guard, and modernize elements of the administrative process. I voted yes. The compromise bill passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 458 would reform the Kansas Standard Asset Seizure and Forfeiture Act. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 36-2.
SB 391 Enacting the constitutional right to health freedom act to regulate the activities of the secretary of health and environment related to public health functions; repealing statutes relating to the secretary's authority to quarantine individuals and impose associated penalties. I voted yes. SB 391 passed the Senate 23-17.
SB 420 would eliminate the element of concealment from the crime of breach of privacy related to installing or using a device to photograph or record a person under or through their clothing, or a person who is nude or in a state of undress. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 455 would authorize electric public utilities to retain certain electric generating facilities in the utility's rate base, prohibiting the state corporation commission from authorizing the retirement of fossil fuel-fired electric generating facilities unless certain requirements are met. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 29-8.
HB 2392 would make updates to the Kansas Code of Military Justice (KCMJ). The bill would consolidate language from various provisions of Chapter 48 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated into new sections of law and repeal those sections that have been consolidated or otherwise removed. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 292 would create law to authorize the appointment of a State Judge Advocate by the Adjutant General; create and amend law related to death and disability benefits provided to Kansas Air and Army National Guard members. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 384 would authorize the Emergency Medical Services Board to grant a permanent variance from a rule and regulation adopted to implement, enforce, or otherwise regulate provisions regarding minimal staffing on each vehicle providing emergency service. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 39-0.
SB 333 would extend the sunset date for the State Use Law Committee, which is organized within the Department of Administration, to July 1, 2029. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 38-2.
SB 352 would establish the John D. Springer patient's bill of rights to require hospitals to allow in-person visitation, adopt visitation policies and procedures and creating a civil cause of action for violation of such rights. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 26-13.
SB 387 would provide for the continued enrollment of students who attend a school district of non-residence pursuant to the school district open enrollment law and authorizing an appeals process for denial of an open enrollment application. It would also specify that no school district shall be required to provide transportation to non-residents. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 37-3.
SB 431 would require the Capitol Preservation Committee to approve plans to place a permanent memorial honoring the life of Emil Joseph Kapaun. Father Emil Joseph Kapaun was born in Pilsen, Kansas, and served as a U.S. Army Chaplain in World War II and the Korean War, where he became a prisoner of war (POW). He was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously in 2013. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 381 would amend law concerning the appointment of district coroners to allow a county in a multiple county judicial district to appoint, at the county’s expense, a district coroner, regardless of the county’s population. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 359 would authorize issuance of five license plates on and after January 1, 2025 - Kansas City Chiefs, Sporting Kansas City, Sedgwick County Zoo, Kansas City Royals, and the Kansas City Current. I voted yes. The bill passed 36-2.
SB 162 would create the Riley County Unincorporated Area Nuisance Abatement Act and the Crawford County Unincorporated Area Nuisance Abatement Act. The acts would not apply to land, structures, or equipment used for agricultural activity or oil and gas exploration and development activity. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 34-5.
SB 190 would amend the Kansas Code of Criminal Procedure to require a magistrate to order, as a condition of release for any person charged with a felony that the person execute a waiver of extradition. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 31-6.
SB 272 would increase transfers from the State Highway Fund to the Public Use General Aviation Airport Development Fund from $5.0 million to $15.0 million annually, starting July 1, 2024. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 36-4.
SB 318 would amend law in the Kansas Code of Procedure for Municipal Courts governing fingerprinting for municipal convictions and the prosecution of cases by the city attorney in municipal court. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 338 would amend provisions pertaining to certain financial reporting requirements on group-funded liability and group-funded workers compensation pools. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 339 would amend the effective date specified in the Insurance Code for the risk-based capital instructions promulgated by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners for property and casualty companies and for life insurance companies. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 340 would remove automobile club from the definition of person for purposes of enforcing penalties for violations of insurance law. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 345 would create the Commercial Financing Disclosure Act pertaining to certain commercial financing transactions between a provider and a business. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 38-2.
SB 356 would amend provisions governing examination fees and compensation for examiners in the Insurance Code to establish a tiered-fee structure for financial examinations of insurance companies and societies based on the gross premiums received by such entities. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 362 would remove the expiration date of July 1, 2024, on the Sedgwick County Urban Area Nuisance Abatement Act. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 34-5.
SB 398 would authorize the Commissioner of Insurance to set the amount of fees and fines for applications, licenses, license renewals, certificates of authority, and other required filings by certain insurance entities and public adjusters under the jurisdiction of the Commissioner. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 405 would amend the Kansas Uniform Securities Act to address violations of the Act by a control person and subject the control person, in certain circumstances, to administrative and civil enforcement action. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 29-10.
SB 406 would repeal and replace the Kansas Money Transmitter Act with the Kansas Money Transmission Act. The bill would require the State Bank Commissioner to provide oversight of the electronic transmission of money. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 391 this act would remove the authority of the Secretary of Health and Environment to designate infectious or contagious diseases by rules and regulations. As in past years, it also removes the Department of Agriculture’s ability to monitor or take action to prevent highly infectious zoonotic disease such as avian bird blue and hoof and mouth disease if they spread to humans or from humans back to livestock which in our large rural districts would be problematic. I voted no. The bill passed the Senate 23-17.
SB 423 would grant the Commissioner of Insurance the ability to decrease the number of appointed board members on certain boards that fall under the Commissioner’s appointing authority. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 39-1.
SB 433 would clarify the practice privileges of institutional license holders who are employed by the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) or the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC), or by a third party contracted by the institution. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 39-1.
SB 417 would remove the secretary of wildlife and park's authority to exercise the right of eminent domain. An amendment on the Senate floor removed the Ag committee’s work on the bill – it will need to be reviewed on the House side to find a compromised approach to the current agency’s duties. I voted no. The bill passed the Senate 25-14.
SB 434 would exempt the practice of hair removal by sugaring from the definition of cosmetology. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 38-1.
SB 462 would authorize the Director of Vehicles to waive the knowledge and skills test for driving a commercial motor vehicle for an applicant who qualifies for a waiver under the military Even Exchange Program. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 467 would expand and make changes to membership on the Council on Travel and Tourism as well as make changes to the Department of Commerce’s matching grant program for the promotion of tourism. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 39-1.
SB 473 Authorizing a notice to appear that meets certain requirements to serve as a lawful complaint under the Kansas code of criminal procedure. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 39-1.
HB 2105 would create the Kansas Earned Wage Access Services Act and authorize the Office of the State Bank Commissioner to regulate earned wage access services providers. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 34-6.
S Sub for HB 2247 would remove and relocate mortgage-related provisions from the Kansas Uniform Consumer Credit Code (UCCC) to the Kansas Mortgage Business Act (KMBA), add law supplemental to the KMBA and to the UCCC, amend contract rate law, and make several amendments to the UCCC. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 33-6.
SB 491 would create and amend law to standardize language pertaining to criminal history and record check fingerprinting requirements for all requesting entities and identify what criminal history records may be released to various agencies for the purpose of verifying a person’s identity, criminal history, qualifications, and fitness for employment. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 481 would rename the Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus to Kansas State University Salina. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 39-1.
HB 2545 would make changes to the Self-Service Storage Act, specifically concerning sales of property after a notice of termination or non-renewal; non-delivery of rental agreements; and electronic signatures and delivery of rental agreements. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 438 would eliminate the requirement to subtract other aid from the state payment in the Accelerating Opportunity: Kansas (AO-K) Program. The bill would also limit the payment provided for each student to no more than $500 over the lifetime of the student. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 363 would amend law regulating the practice of barbering and would create a new senior status license and add a written examination on the applicant’s knowledge of state laws and regulations pertaining to the practice of barbering to the requirements for licensure. I voted yes. The bill passed the Senate 40-0.
A full description of each bill can be found at www.kslegislature.org as well as the Final Action vote on each measure.
PAGES FOR THE SENATE – February 8, 15, and 22
On February 8th, Hadlee Brown and Journey Windscheffel from Russell; on February 15th, Norman Jurgensen and Kaylee Songer from Marysville; and on February 22nd, Madex Swisher, Bennington, and Colyer Rensink, Minneapolis, served as pages for the Kansas Senate. The pages spent their day with us at the Capitol running errands, working in my office, attending committee meetings, and taking a historical tour of the Capitol as well as the dome tour.
LEGISLATIVE TOWNHALLS
Several legislative townhalls have been scheduled throughout the 36th Kansas Senate District with more scheduled in the upcoming few weeks. On Tuesday, February 27th, Representative Lisa Moser and I will be starting the day with a townhall in Mankato at 8:00 am at Possibilities. Next, Representative Troy Waymaster and I will be in Smith Center at 10:30 am at 2 Cup Café; and, then we will go to Osborne at 2:00 pm at The Hideout. On March 2nd, Representative Waymaster and I will be in Russell for a townhall at 9:30 am at the Russell Historical Museum. On March 9th, Representative Susan Concannon and I will be in Bennington at 9:30 am at Westside Ventures. On March 16th, Representative Moser and I will be in Marysville at 8:30 at Landoll Lanes. Next, we will be in Washington at 11:00 am at the Sale Barn Café. Then, we will go to Belleville at 1:30 pm at the Belleville Public Library.
THANK YOU FOR ENGAGING
Thank you for all of your calls, emails, and letters regarding your thoughts and concerns about happenings in Kansas. I always encourage you to stay informed of the issues under consideration by the Kansas Legislature. Committee schedules, bills, and other helpful information can be easily accessed through the legislature’s website at www.kslegislature.org . For those who want to pursue a more in-depth analysis of bills, go to and pull up “Bills & Laws,” then “Senate Bills,” before scrolling to the desired number and hitting “SN” (Supplemental Notes) for a general explanation which is written by the Legislative research & reviser staff. You are also able to ‘listen in live’ or watch session at this website as well as reviewing past committee meetings and sessions.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with your thoughts, concerns, and suggestions. An email is the best at this point in the session.
Thank you for the honor of serving you!
Senator Elaine Bowers
Kansas State Capitol Building
Room 223-E
300 SW 10th St.
Topeka, KS 66612 [email protected]
785 296-7389 https://elainebowers.com/ www.kslegislature.org