April 19, 2006
Governor toughens penalties for terrorism
SB 25 among 7 bills signed today
Today, Governor Kathleen Sebelius signed into law a bill that will strengthen homeland security in Kansas and toughen penalties for those who commit acts of terrorism.
“First and foremost we hope we never have to deal with acts of terrorism in our state,” Governor Sebelius said. “However, these steps ensure we have the ability to appropriately deal with anyone who commits these heinous actions.”
The bill, SB 25, creates three new crimes—the crime of terrorism, with a penalty of life imprisonment; the crime of illegal use of weapons of mass destruction, with a penalty of life imprisonment; and the crime of furthering the commission of the crimes of terrorism or illegal use of weapons of mass destruction, with a penalty between 147 months to 653 months. There is no statute of limitation for the crimes of terrorism and illegal use of weapons of mass destruction. It also extends the electronic surveillance law to cover these two crimes.
This bill will take effect after publication in the statute book.
Governor Sebelius also signed six other bills into law. The Governor has signed 150 bills into law and vetoed 2 bills.
Greater protection and restriction of the use of personal information and amends identity theft law
SB 196 enacts new law allowing for protection and restriction of certain personal information and amends existing identity theft law and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The new language makes possession or use of scanning devices illegal, implements protections for personal identifying information and notification requirements associated with a breach of security of computerized data. It also allows for protections associated with security freezes on consumer reports, and identifies procedures for the destruction of data. The amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act allow a consumer who is the victim of identity theft to request a security freeze on their consumer report. This bill takes effect after publication in the statute book.
Elimination of discriminatory language in homeowners associations’ covenants
HB 2582 requires the elimination of discriminatory language based on race, religion, color, sex, disability, familial status, national origin or ancestry in a restrictive covenant which is in connection with the sale or rental of real property or real estate loans. Changes must be made within 60 days of the act’s effective date. Additionally, the bill requires homeowner’s association board meetings to be open and budgets to be adopted and sent to members. This bill will take effect after publication in the statute book.
Enact the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act in Kansas
SB 336 enacts the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act in Kansas, providing that if a law requires, as a condition for recording, that a document be an original, paper document or other tangible medium, or be in writing, the requirement would be satisfied by an electronic document and an electronic signature would satisfy any law requiring a document be signed. A 15-member Electronic Recording Commission would be created to develop electronic recording standards. This bill will take effect after publication in the statute book.
Establish qualifications and guidelines for directors of improvement districts
SB 497 requires directors of improvement districts to either own land or reside in the improvement district in order to serve in that position, distinguish between regular and special meetings of improvement district boards of directors and authorize improvement district boards of directors to set board members’ compensation. This bill will take effect after publication in the statute book.
Allowing State Board of Indigents’ Defense Services electronic court records at no charge
SB 505 exempts the State Board of Indigents’ Defense Services from paying user fees to access electronic court records. Whenever it’s determined that electronic access to court records is necessary to present a defendant’s cause adequately and is further determined that the defendant is indigent, the court shall order that the records be supplied to the defendant, at no charge, by the electronic access service. The bill also expands the use of the Judiciary Technology Fund to include the operation and maintenance of a free statewide system of electronic remote access to court records that are otherwise open. This bill takes effect after publication in the statute book.
Authorization of land transactions
SB 553 authorizes several land transactions, including: land from the Kansas State Historical Society in Wabaunsee County to the Audubon of Kansas; land from SRS in Miami County to the City of Osawatomie; and land from Kansas State University to the Kansas State University Foundation. The bill also outlines procedures for the Secretary of Wildlife and Parks when acquiring any property. The Secretary would be required to: certify a plan for controlling and managing noxious weeds on the property; make payments in lieu of taxes for the property; develop a management plan for the property; and require acquisitions of land areas greater than 480 acres to be approved by the legislation. The Secretary would also be restricted in the disposition and sale of land and must first offer the land to the Board of County Commissioners of the county where the land is located. If the Commissioners decline, the land would be offered for sale at a public auction with notice of intent to sell appearing in a local newspaper. This bill will take effect after publication in the Kansas Register.
