Rep. Doug Patterson
District 28
Leawood and
Chair:
Member: Health and Human Services Committee
Member: Commerce and Labor Committee
Member: Joint Committee on Indian Affairs
Vice_Chair: Judiciary
MAJORITY WHIP
House phone: 785_296_7672
WWW.DougPatterson.org
Patterson@house.state.ks.us
Legislative Newsletter # 8,
Dear Constituent:
Find below a status of some of the bills we have considered
and which have a good chance of final passage:
Bill Status as of
AGRICULTURE
Aggravated Endangering the Food Supply
SB 31 adds "aggravated endangering the food supply" to the list of crimes that are deemed inherently dangerous felonies. By doing so, the bill corrects an oversight in 2002 legislation (SB 395) which made endangering the food supply an inherently dangerous felony, but failed to make the more serious crime of "aggravated endangering the food supply" an "inherently dangerous felony" under KSA 2002 Supp. 21-3436.
Juvenile Justice Code–Amendments
HB 2016 amends the Juvenile Justice Code to accomplish the following:
• Provide the Commissioner of the Juvenile Justice Authority the authority to adopt rules and regulations establishing standards of training and provisions for certifying juvenile corrections officers, which include:
* a course of instruction of not less than 160 hours;
* allowance for certification from another state;
* a provision that a juvenile corrections officer will receive not less than 40 hours of inservice training annually.
• Allow a juvenile corrections officer the powers of a law enforcement officer (both in-state and out-of-state) for the purpose of regaining or maintaining custody, security, and control of any person in the custody of the Commissioner.
• Add a definition of juvenile corrections officer to mean a certified employee of the Juvenile Justice Authority (JJA) working at a juvenile correctional facility assigned by the Commissioner with responsibility for maintaining custody, security, and control of juveniles in the custody of the Commissioner at a juvenile correctional facility.
• Add a
definition of investigator to mean an employee of the JJA responsible for
investigations concerning employees and juveniles in custody of the
commissioner at the juvenile correctional facilities.
Joint Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice
Juvenile Corrections Advisory Board
HB 2089 allows a board(s) of county commissioners to appoint at least three and no more than six additional members to the local Juvenile Corrections Advisory Board, depending upon the number of counties involved.
DUI
Auto Impounding
SB 33 would add impoundment of a person's motor
vehicle to the list of potential penalties for conviction of driving under the
influence of alcohol or drugs. A person convicted of driving under the
influence would be responsible for payment of any associated expenses before
the vehicle would be released. If payment is not made, then the vehicle could
be disposed of or auctioned. Local governments would be authorized to adopt
similar provisions by ordinance or resolution.
Drug Courts
SB 123 makes major changes in the
The bill establishes “a non-prison sanction of certified
drug abuse treatment programs for certain offenders. Typically offenders
arrested for possession where no other crime is involved, such as burglary,
theft, etc. If you are dealing drugs, the
ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT and BUSINESS
STAR BONDS
FOR THE STATE AND SPECIFICALLY FOR
SB 235 would amend tax increment financing (TIF) law
to provide statewide authority for sales tax and revenue (STAR) bonds to be used for special bond
projects of regional or statewide importance until
specifically exclude a project including a gambling casino,
government building, or school from the definition of special bond project. Under
the bill, river walk canal facilities would be included in the list of
redevelopment project costs which could be financed by STAR bonds. This would
include a canal and related water features located adjacent to a river which
flows through a major commercial entertain-ment and
tourism area and related facilities, including pedestrian
walkways and promenades, hotels, retail and commercial
facilities, landscaping, and parking facilities. The bill would allow for the
governing body of a city to establish one or more special bond projects in any
area in the city. Under the bill,
special bond projects would be eligible for financing by
special obligation STAR bonds. However, each special bond project would be
required to be approved by the Secretary of Commerce prior to utilizing STAR
bond financing. This could include a special bond project located in a
redevelopment district established by a city prior to the effective date of the
act. If the project plan involves a redevelopment project in
SUNFLOWER
ORDINANCE PLANT REDEVELOPMENT (Dorothy and TOTO have left the building…forever – OZ is gone, but
a new development is waiting)
SB 237 would allow Johnson and
appointed by the Board of County Commissioners.
Transportation
Development Districts (TDD’s)
SB 178 amends the city general improvement and
assessment law to authorize any one or more municipalities as defined in KSA
12-105a ( cities, counties, school districts, etc.), or any persons or entities
willing to pay the costs of the proposed improvement to petition the governing
body of any city requesting an improvement. The bill also recodifies
the Transportation Development District Act enacted in 2002 to correct problems
pointed out by the Attorney General in Opinion No. 2003-2. This allows
developers to develop infrastructure and fund the same with a self imposed
special assessment as well as sales tax. This will assist cities who hesitate
to issue bonds on such improvements which will pledge the full faith and credit
of the city and thus tie up the city’s credit and bonding capacity.
RESIDENTIAL
CONSTRUCTION DEFECTS
Sub. for HB 2294 deals with
the filing of a lawsuit based on construction defects. The provisions of the
bill will not apply to actions arising from personal injury or death or when
the defect of the construction is substantial enough to be uninhabitable. If an
action by a claimant is filed with no required service of notice,
the action will be dismissed without prejudice, upon the
motion of the contractor filed within 60 days of service of process. An action
cannot be refiled until the parties have complied
with the provisions of the bill. The statute of limitations will be tolled if
the claimant gives notice of the claim within 90 days of the dismissal. If the
statute of limitations would expire during the time period necessary for
parties to comply with the provisions of the bill, the claimant’s notice of
claim will toll the statute of limitations for 180 days after the latest of the
following:
*The date the claimant serves or mails notice of the
claim;
* The date agreed upon for the contractor to make
payments; or
* The date agreed upon for the contractor to
completely remedy the
construction defect.
Other provisions of the bill include the following:
* Before filing can occur the claimant must serve
written notice of claim on the contractor.
* Within 15 days of the notice of claim the
contractor must serve a
copy of the notice to each subcontractor.
* Within 30 days after the notice of claim each
contractor who
received the notice must serve a written response on the
claimant.
The written response must do the following:
* propose to inspect the dwelling, or
* offer to remedy the defect
at no cost to the claimant with a
specification of the date when the work is to begin and a date
when the work will be completed, or
* offer to compromise and settle the claim by
monetary payment,
or
* state that the contractor disputes the claim and
will neither
remedy the alleged defect nor compromise and settle the
claim.
* If the contractor refuses service of notice,
disputes the claim, does
not respond to the notice within the allocated time,
does not begin
or complete work on the defect, or does not make the
payment in
the time allowed, the claimant may bring an action
without further
notice.
* The bill contains the procedure to be followed when
the claimant
accepts or rejects the offers of the contractor.
Cash Basis
Law–Exception for
SB 4 amends the Cash Basis Law by adding an exception for school districts. The exception exempts school districts from the law’s provisions when they experience a shortage of revenue due to late payments of general state aid. The exemption is retroactive and applies to school year 2001-02 and to school years 2002-03 through 2006-07, inclusive.
Published Text of Rules and Regulations
SB 118 deletes the requirement that the State Board of Education publish the full text of all proposed rules and regulations in the Kansas Register when notice of public hearings on the rules and regulations is given. Prior to the enactment of the bill, the State Board was the only state entity that was required to publish a complete copy of all proposed rules and regulations.
Education Professional Development Act
HB 2006 renames the "State Inservice Education
Opportunities Act" (KSA 72-6409, et seq.) the "Education
Professional Development Act" and replaces the words "inservice education" with professional
development" wherever they occur in the Act. (The term
"professional development" is more acceptable to the teaching profession
than "inservice education.")
FUNDING
OF EDUCATION
In a variety of bills, I tried to raise the
Base State Aid Per Pupil (Base) by $68. It didn’t
pass. Rep. Ed O’Malley (R-Mission) tried to raise the Base by $27.That failed.
Rep. Eric Carter (R-Olathe) tried to free up Operating Reserves for BV and SM.
That failed. Sen. Vratil tried to free up reserves in
the Senate and that measure was killed in the Senate. Later in the veto
session, I will offer a liquor tax increase to raise the Base to the amount we
set last year ($3890) before Gov. Graves cut it by $27. Trying to raise money
for schools is very frustrating. BV and SM are perceived as wealthy school
districts not in need of additional funding. We will continue our attempts to raise $$ for schools. I and many of the
Community Colleges–Out-District Tuition
HB 2343 defers the third year of the four-year phase out of out-district
tuition paid to community colleges and Washburn University from FY 2004 to FY
2005. Under the bill, out-district tuition charges would not be fully
eliminated until FY 2006.
Uniform Athlete Agents Act.
SB 61 would enact the Uniform Athlete Agents Act promulgated
by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and would
repeal the existing Kansas Athlete Agents Act enacted in 1996. The term "athlete agent" is
defined to mean an individual who enters into an agency contract with a student-athlete
or, directly or indirectly, recruits or solicits a student-athlete to enter
into
an agency contract. The term includes an individual who
represents to the public that the individual is an athlete agent. The term
"student athlete" is defined as an individual who engages in, is
eligible to engage in, or may be eligible in the future to engage in, any
intercollegiate sport. If an individual is permanently ineligible to
participate in a particular ntercollegiate sport, the
individual is not a
student-athlete for purposes of that sport. See Section 2 for
other definitions. An ndividual may
not act as an athlete agent in this state without holding a certificate of
registration. Before being issued a certificate of registration, an individual
may act as an athlete agent in
(1) You may lose your eligibility to compete as a
student-athlete
in your sport;
(2) If you have an athletic director, within 72 hours
after
entering into this contract, both you and your athlete agent
must notify your athletic director; and
(3) You may cancel this contract within 14 days after
signing
it. Cancellation of this contract may not reinstate
your
eligibility.
Section 15 gives an educational institution a cause
of action against an athlete agent or a former athlete for damages caused by a
violation of this act. Damages of an educational institution include losses and
expenses incurred because, as a result of the conduct of an athlete agent, the
educational institution was injured by a violation of this act or was
penalized, disqualified, or
suspended from participation in athletics by a national
association for the promotion and regulation of athletics, by an athletic
conference, or by reasonable self-imposed disciplinary action taken to mitigate
sanctions likely to be imposed by such an organization.
ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES
HB 2196 amends the Kansas Storage Tank Act to make it unlawful for any person to deposit, store, or dispense any regulated substance into any storage tank which does not comply with the act or the rules and regulations promulgated under the act, after written notice by certified mail has been provided by the Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment indicating that the storage tank or tanks do not comply with the act or the appropriate rules and regulations. The bill also amends the act to make it unlawful for any owner or operator of a storage tank to deposit, store, or dispense any regulated substance into storage tanks which do not comply with the provisions of the act or the rules and regulations promulgated under the act.
In addition, the bill amends a provision of
law which would deem operating a storage tank without a permit a hazard to the
health of persons and to the environment and subject those persons operating
such a storage tank to a variety of actions by the Secretary.
Tort Claim Act–Charitable Dental Care
SB 34 amends the Kansas Tort Claims Act to expand the definition of charitable health care provider to cover free dental services through a community service project. The services must be targeted but not limited to medically indigent persons and may not include oral or maxillofacial surgery or the use of deep sedation or general anesthesia. Charitable health care providers are considered state employees for purposes of tort liability under the Kansas Tort Claims Act.
Residential Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act
Sub. for SB 204 extends the sunset date of the Residential Childhood
Lead Poisoning Prevention Act from
HB 2182 increases the statutory maximum on all categories of fees in the Board
of Barbering’s statutory fee schedule. Big deal.
Licensing
of Physical Therapists
SB 225, as amended, amends a number of the statutes
that make up the act under which physical therapists are registered and physical
therapists assistants are certified by the Board of Healing Arts (Board). In
general, the amendments change the level of credentialing from registration to
licensure without the protection of a scope of practice. The amendments
continue to protect the titles used by physical therapist but do not provide or
protect a physical therapy scope of practice. The licensure provisions of the
bill do not limit, preclude or otherwise interfere with the practices of other
health care providers formally trained and practicing their profession, and,
the provisions of Article 29 of Chapter 65 do not apply to those persons,
specifically exempted in the bill.
NURSING
HOME EMPLOYEES
SB 14 would add the crime of theft to the list of
crimes that are to be included in criminal history information obtained to
screen prospective employees of adult care homes and home health agencies. The
bill simply requires disclosure of theft convictions; it does not prohibit the
hiring of persons who have been convicted of theft crimes as it does for
individuals committing other crimes listed in the law. The House Committee
amendments did the following regarding juveniles:
*Clarified that a juvenile adjudication for theft can
be disclosed.
*Provided that the prohibition of a person from
operating an adult
care home if the person has been found in need of a
guardian or
conservator will not apply to a minor found in need of a
guardian or
conservator for reasons other than impairment.
ABORTION
CLINICS
It just wouldn’t be a true legislative session
without an abortion bill. But this bill is a good safety measure and in fact,
anticipates the adoption of health standards drafted by Planned Parenthood . HB 2176 would establish standards for the
operation of abortion clinics. The Department of Health and Environment would
be authorized to request a court to issue an injunction, restraining order, or
other
order to compel a facility to comply with the regulations.
The bill would specify standards for, Patient areas, private areas, surgical areas,
and recovery and counseling areas; Ventilation and lighting; Cleaning and
sterilizing of rooms and equipment; Nurses and physician assistants; Abortion
procedures, use of anesthesia, and use of intravenous access; Preparation of
written materials for patients regarding possible problems and aftercare; Length
of time that patients remain in the recovery room; Follow-up visits; Supplies
and equipment; Pre- and post-procedure counseling; Physicians and
medical directors must be licensed to
practice medicine and surgery in
SB 26 concerns the preparation and filing of certain reports by insurance
companies with the Insurance Department. The bill updates from
SB 52 corrects technical errors found in the fire insurance premium receipt transfer dates to the Board of Emergency Medical Services pursuant to the passage of 2002 Senate Sub. For SB 508.
Oil and Gas Royalty Distribution Changes
SB 37 amends the Uniform Principal and Income Act regarding the distribution of gross receipts from oil and gas royalties between principal and income interests. The bill reduces the allocated principal amount to 15 percent (prior law was 90 percent) with the remaining 85 percent allocated to income (prior law was 10 percent).
HB 2031 dealing with the construction of wills, repeals KSA 59-624 which applied to one individual, since the provision is no longer useful.
Appointment of Nonjudicial Personnel by Chief Judge
SB 17 authorizes the chief judge of each judicial district to designate nonjudicial personnel for each county within the district and the chief clerk of the court for districts that do not have court administrators. Under former law, the appointments were made by approval of a majority of the district judges.
SB 40 amends the county fire district law to allow a board of county
commissioners to enter into an interlocal agreement
with cities and townships within a fire district to
delegate the authority for appointment of the members of the fire
district board of trustees to a joint board appointed by the cities and
townships. The fire district board of trustees appointed by the joint
board would be given all of the powers provided to the board of county
commissioners under current law regarding fire protection. The bill also
provides that the interlocal agreement established
between the board of county commissioners and the cities and townships within a
fire district is be subject to the provisions of the Interlocal
Cooperation Act.
SB 53 amends a law requiring boards of county commissioners to publish
quarterly financial statements. The law contains a special provision
dealing with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City. The
bill adds to the list of locations in
SB 130 pertains to the registration of converter gears and to the registration of fleet vehicles. The bill allows converter gears to be registered provided the data required for registration is submitted electronically. The Division of Vehicles will assign a unique number for each converter gear and charge an annual fee of $1 for each registration. The bill defines the term "converter gear" to mean "an auxiliary axle assembly having a fifth wheel used for the purpose of converting a semi-trailer to a full trailer. The axle assembly can be used to haul trailers behind a single power unit, also referred to as dollies or bogie".
The bill also allows owner-operators the
option of registering a vehicle in their own name rather than only under the
carrier’s name.
HB 2118 pertains to antique vehicle license plates issued prior to 1921.
Unlike plates issued in 1921 and thereafter, plates issued from 1913 to 1920
were not embossed with the year of expiration. This bill will allow the
display on an antique vehicle of a
HB 2159 amends KSA 8-1,134 to authorize cities, counties, townships, or school districts that lease vehicles to register those vehicles in the same manner as vehicles owned by those units of government.
HB 2193 amends a number of statutes in regard to motor vehicle title fees and disposition of those fees. Specifically, the bill:
• increases the motor vehicle title fee from $8.00 to $10.00;
• increases from $4.50 to $6.50 the fee for a reassignment form;
• repeals a
provision in existing law whereby the title fee would have been reduced from
$8.00 to $3.50 on
• repeals the June 30, 2004, sunset of the transfer of $3.50 of each title fee to the Kansas Highway Patrol Motor Vehicle Fund; and
• increases from $1.00 to $3.00 the amount of each title fee
transferred to the VIPS/CAMA Technology Hardware Fund.
HB 2221 amends KSA 8-1723 to allow the use of "neon ground effect lighting" on motor vehicles. "Neon ground effect lighting" is defined to mean neon tubes placed underneath the motor vehicle for the purpose of illuminating the ground below the motor vehicle creating a halo light effect. Lighting that is allowed by the bill cannot be any shade of red, flash off and on, nor may the neon tube itself be visible. For the life of me, I don’t know why we really needed to authorize this, but some police chief wanted it. I’m all for local control. I think we all need to put blue neon under the mini-van this weekend.
Transfer of Hospital Assets – The Health Mid_West Foundation Act
SB 44 concerns hospitals and provides for the transfer of hospital assets to a
foundation created under the act. The term "Hospital" is
defined to include: those defined in KSA 65-425 that are not-for-profit
pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the Federal Internal
Revenue Code and are licensed by the Department of Health and Environment; or
Health Midwest, Inc. and any other similarly situated hospital holding company;
or a licensed Kansas not-for-profit hospital that is a subsidiary or affiliate
of a domestic or foreign hospital holding company.
The bill requires that, whenever there is a proposed change in control of a not-for-profit hospital by sale, merger, integration, or any other event that may result in a change or loss of the hospital’s federal tax exempt status or forfeiture or amendment of the hospital’s articles of incorporation that alters the original purpose of the hospital, and before there is any transfer or depletion of the hospital’s assets, a new foundation must be formed and all Kansas assets of the hospital must be transferred to the foundation.
The foundation must be a
The bill prohibits any foundation created under the act from making any loans to board members, officers, employees, and any other person or entity employed by or having a contract with the foundation. Further, the foundation shall not engage in any self-dealing for the benefit of any board member, officer, employee, or other person or entity having a contract with the foundation. Finally, the foundation, board members, officers, and employees are prohibited from any direct or indirect engagement in lobbying or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, advocating the nomination, election or defeat of any candidate for public office, or attempting to influence the outcome of any ballot initiative or issue. However, the foundation, board members, officers, employees or grant recipients are permitted to publicize the decisions and actions of the foundation, and to express individually held opinions as long as they are not expressed as being held by the foundation itself.
This was what we told our Attorney General
to get out of the litigation. We also told him to get for
Other
SB 175 makes a one-year change to the statute governing the time in which the State General Fund consensus revenue estimate is made. The bill changes the law which stated that the joint State General Fund revenue estimate shall be prepared on or before April 4 to on or before April 22 during FY 2003 only. The joint estimate of State General Fund revenue is made twice a year by the Director of the Budget and the Director of the Kansas Legislative Research Department. We did this to make sure we get accurate information prior to completing the budget in May.
SB 65 makes several changes to the Capital Formation Company (CFC) Act which are primarily focused on the way in which the tax credits earned by a CFC are claimed. Under prior law, an investor could claim 10 percent of its allowable tax credit each year for ten years. The bill alters this so that an investor is entitled to claim a percent of the allowable tax credit proportional to the amount of certified funds a CFC has invested in qualified Kansas businesses, not to exceed 10 percent each year. Any unused tax credit will roll over to the next calendar year.
The bill deletes current statutory language
requiring a CFC to fully invest its certified capital in qualified
The bill also deletes prior statutory language regarding the recapture of tax credits previously allowed to an investor or transferee if a CFC is decertified.
Finally, the bill removes statutory language
requiring an investigation as to whether a director, trustee, manager, officer,
general partner, beneficial owner, or promoter of a proposed CFC has been
convicted of or pleaded nolo contendere to any criminal offense other than a
misdemeanor involving motor vehicle violations. The bill retains and amends the
requirement of an investigation as to whether the director, trustee, manager,
officer, general partner, beneficial owner, or promoter of a proposed CFC has
been convicted of any felony or misdemeanor in connection with the purchase or
sale of any security or any felony involving fraud or deceit to include whether
the person pleaded nolo contendere
to the crime.
Minors Drivers License form
SB 159 would require the Secretary of Revenue to
implement a vertical format to make drivers’ licenses and identification cards
issued to persons under the age of 21 more readily distinguishable.
Undocumented
Workers (people not legally in this country) Driver’s License
Sub. for
HB 2039 provides that by
Driver’s License Changes–Identity Verification- Identity Theft protections
SB 16 amends the
• All applicants for a driver’s license, permit, or identification cared (ID card) would be required to submit their Social Security number, or a taxpayer identification number if the person does not have a Social Security number or a sworn statement if the application has neither of these numbers stating that fact, to the Division of Vehicles. Applicants will receive a temporary driver’s license, permit, or ID card until the Division verifies the identity of the applicant, at which time a permanent license, permit, or ID card will be issued. The Social Security number or taxpayer identification number can only be placed on the driver’s license if requested by a person in writing.
• Persons are prohibited from possessing both a driver’s license and an ID card.
• After
This bill has been
signed by the Governor.
HB 2191 allows a port authority to borrow money from a private person or entity approved by the port authority and clarifies that a port authority is permitted to borrow money or issue bonds.
SB 133 removes a statutory requirement that the Director of Workers Compensation compile and maintain a database of information on claims characteristics and costs related to open claims for workers compensation. The bill maintains the requirement that such information be compiled and reported for closed claims.
The bill removes vocational rehabilitation providers from the list of entities required to submit closed claims information to the Director of Workers Compensation because they are not payers under the system but instead are payees and subsequently have no closed claims to report.
The bill also removes the statutorily
prescribed information to be included in the closed claim information submitted
to the Director of Workers Compensation, thereby allowing flexibility for the
Director and insurers to collect and report claims costs information in the
most efficient and statistically valid manner.
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As I have done in the past, I hope to get you a report weekly. Please e_mail me or call if you have questions.
ALSO, if you have others who you believe would find these legislative reports of use, Please e_mail me their e_mail addresses and I will add them to my address book.
Respectfully,
Rep, Doug Patterson