Feb. 16
Topeka
Last week’s work continued on the budget. All budget and subcommittees have reported out to the full Senate Ways and Means committee and all proposed provisos that were accepted were put into the budget bill. We had planned on finishing the budget bill on Friday; however, the House Budget committee was already scheduled to work all day, and staff would have had to be split in half to finish the committee work. We then rescheduled our committee meeting for Monday, February 16. This week will be spent working bills on both the Senate and the House floor before Turn Around.
SB 300 will prohibit 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.
SB 358 is a strong measure for victim protection because it requires individuals convicted of serious felonies, such as off grid crimes, high severity nondrug felonies (levels1-4), or serious drug felonies (levels1-2) to be held without bond in county jail until sentencing. Under current law, judges can sometimes allow these convicted offenders to stay out on bond pending sentencing, but this bill eliminates that discretion; if they were free on bond before trial, it gets revoked immediately upon conviction, and they are remanded to jail; if already in custody, their status shifts to no bond. This change directly helps victims by ensuring dangerous offenders cannot walk free in the community after a guilty verdict, reducing the risk of intimidation, retaliation, or further trauma while victims await final sentencing and begin to heal.
SB 364 requires the Department of Wildlife and Parks to offer a discounted resident senior combination hunting and fishing license to residents of Kansas who are 65 years of age or older and increases the maximum age to qualify for the Kansas kids’ lifetime combination hunting and fishing license, decreases the maximum fee, and removes the expiration of such license.
SB 355 would amend the Kansas Cigarette and Tobacco Products Act to require electronic cigarette manufacturers to be licensed in the state and regulate electronic cigarette products in a fashion like that for other nicotine products. The bill would prohibit the sale of electronic cigarette products marketed and advertised to minors and would make other technical and conforming changes.
I am honored and grateful to represent the 40th Senate District in Kansas. Please do not hesitate to contact me by email: rick.billinger@senate.ks.gov or call me with your questions or concerns. My office number is 785-296-7399 or my cell number is 785-899-4700. If you are in Topeka, stop by my office at 545-S.