Sebelius signs election reforms into law
Bill requires “robo calls” to identify who paid for them

So-called “robo calls” will now have to state who paid for the call – that’s part of an election reform bill signed today by Governor Kathleen Sebelius.

The bill also allows candidates to file campaign finance reports electronically, which will speed their release to the public.

“Our state has a history of encouraging openness in our elections, and these reforms will help our laws keep up with the advance in technology.  Kansans will now know who is paying for automated calls.  They’ll also be able to review candidates’ spending reports sooner thanks to electronic filing.  These are both positive steps forward,” said Sebelius.

Sebelius did express concern, however, about a portion of the bill that changes rules regarding the current ban on solicitation of lobbyists during the legislative session.  She issued a signing statement outlining her concerns and urging the Legislature to address the issue.

A description of the bill – Senate Substitute for HB 2081 – and the text of her signing statement appear below.

This bill was one of 18 signed today by Governor Sebelius.  Signed bills go into effect after their publication in the statute book, unless otherwise noted. To date, the Governor has signed 138 bills and vetoed three during the 2007 Legislative Session.

Increasing openness in Kansas elections

Automated phone calls:  Senate Sub. for HB 2081 defines telephonic communication advocating the nomination, election or defeat of a specific candidate, but does not include a “Paid for by” tag, as a class C misdemeanor.

Campaign finance reports: This bill clarifies that the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission must prescribe and provide forms for all reports filed under the Campaign Finance Act. This bill allows any information filed in accordance with this requirement after January 10, 2008, to be filed electronically with the Secretary of State, and allows the candidate to sign a campaign finance report, in lieu of the treasurer. This bill also increases the threshold amount for reporting in-kind contributions from $50 to $100.

Solicitation of lobbyists:  This bill amends the prohibition on legislators and others from soliciting contributions during the legislative session to ban “knowingly” soliciting such contributions.

Notice requirements: This bill also changes the time frame for the county counselor, county attorney or district attorney to furnish a written opinion regarding an election petition from five calendardays to five businessdays. It amends the time frame and delivery provisions of the recall law to “within” 30 days of the completion of the review of the adequacy of the recall petition and requires the notice of decision to be delivered to the subject of the recall.

Staffing of polling places: This bill permits a county election officer to allocate staffing resources by utilizing partial shifts, so long as at least two workers, including the supervising judge, are on duty for the entire time the polls are open.

Election security: This bill requires the supervising judge to ensure that the number of available ballots equals the number of voters shown on the poll book. If there is a discrepancy, the supervising judge must report it, in writing, to the county election officer.

Voting machines: Concerning electronic voting machines, this bill removes provisions authorizing a county’s voters to petition and vote on whether to adopt a system using optical scanning, electronic or electromechanical equipment in the county. The elimination of this provision places the decision to the board of county commissioners and the county election officer.

The bill also requires that optical scanning equipment and related systems are approved by the Secretary of State, provide notification when the voter has cast more votes than authorized, and meets the requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) and other related federal laws and regulations.

Finally, this bill authorizes the Secretary of State to acquire electronic voting systems only to assist counties in meeting the HAVA requirements.

Governor’s signing statement for HB 2081:

“Our democratic system cannot function properly without openness and disclosure.  That’s why Kansas has a long tradition of promoting sunshine in elections and government, and it’s why I support most provisions of HB 2081.

“This bill requires so-called ‘robo calls’ to disclose who is paying for the message, and it promotes openness by requiring that campaign finance reports be filed electronically so they can be made public sooner.  Both of these measures will help voters make more informed decisions.

“I am concerned, however, by a provision of the bill that has the potential to open a loophole that legislators and state officials could exploit to solicit money from lobbyists during the legislative session.  I would hope that all elected officials would act in good faith and not find ways to use this potential flaw to circumvent the spirit of the law, and I also ask the Legislature to revisit this issue in the future to ensure accountability is maintained.”

Requirements for insurance companies doing business in Kansas

HB 2112 removes the requirement of an insurance company seeking to do business in Kansas to include a corporate seal on their application for authentication. The bill also allows any insurance company to unite, merge, or consolidate with another company engaged in a similar business, including health maintenance organizations (HMOs). Additionally, the bill amends the current filing requirements for the payment of taxes and fees by insurance companies conducting business in Kansas by saying that they must be “generated by or at the direction of company officers under penalty of KSA 21-3711.” KSA 21-3711 includes the crime of making false information.

Exemptions to the definition of child care facilities

SB 202 exempts the homes of prospective adoptive families for children in the custody of SRS from the definition of child care facilities.

Waiving certain requirements for licensure from the Board of Healing Arts

SB 284 allows the Board of Healing Arts to waive the examination and education requirements for licensure if the applicant is certified by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists, the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board or another recognized national voluntary credentialing body whose examinations are at least as stringent as those established by the board. This bill repeals a previous statute that dealt with similar education and examination requirements.

Enacting the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act

HB 2010 enacts the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (RUAGA), replacing the Kansas Uniform Anatomical Gift Act of 1968.  Key elements within the new act include provisions to comply with federal law, new definitions to clarify and expand the opportunities for anatomical gifts and the inclusion of anatomical gifts on donor registries. Additionally, the act makes transplantation and therapy a higher priority than research and education and allows a document of gift to specify a person to whom a part passes. A document of gift can also be amended or revoked under this bill. This bill provides immunity for “good faith” efforts to comply with the bill. It also creates the crimes of purchasing or selling body parts, intentionally falsifying, forging, concealing, defacing or obliterating a document of gift or an amendment or revocation of a document of gift, and refusal of a gift in order to obtain financial gain.

Regulating scrap metal dealers

S. Sub 2035 establishes conditions under which it is legal for persons who are not scrap metal dealers to sell regulated scrap metal for over $25. This bill applies only to scrap metal dealers who operate from a fixed location and deal in “regulated scrap metal,” which includes wire, cable, bars, ingots, wire scraps, pieces, pellets, clamps, aircraft parts, pipes, connectors made from aluminum, catalytic converters containing platinum, palladium or rhodium, any form of copper, titanium, tungsten and nickel.

Managing property willed to a university

HB 2073 allows the Board of Regents to transfer the title of willed property to the investing agent of a university, such as an endowment association, to manage the property for the use and benefit of the university.

Allowing state employees to eat meals at certain events

HB 2080 allows a state officer or employee to accept a free or special discount meal from outside state government when the meal is provided at an event or meeting where the person’s presence serves a legitimate state purpose or interest and the person’s employer agency authorizes their attendance. This bill will allow these state officers or an employee to accept any meal valued at $25 or less, and allows the Governor’s spouse and immediate family members to accept meals provided at an event or meeting when their presence serves a legitimate state purpose or interest.

Clarifying lender practices and real estate provisions

HB 2111 clarifies that a lender may not disclose the amount of a proposed real estate loan with the intent to influence the preferred or required value of any real estate to secure such loan.  The bill also requires lenders to provide a copy of the sales contract for use by the appraiser in accordance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. It authorizes counties to allow cities to make repairs to unoccupied, residential real estate being sold for delinquent taxes, special assessments or both in order to bring the property into compliance with housing code standards during the redemption period.

Amending allowable practices of dentists, dental hygienists

HB 2214 authorizes the Kansas Dental Board to issue a sedation permit to a licensed dentist who meets the qualifications set by the board.  Additionally, the board may deny, revoke, suspend or limit a sedation permit, or assess a fine in an amount not exceeding $10,000 in lieu of, or in addition to, any other action against the permit holder.

This bill also extends the circumstances in which certain dental hygienists who have qualified for an extended care permit may practice without being under the direct or general supervision of a licensed dentist. This bill outlines the requirements a hygienist must meet to qualify for an extended care permit if they have not been in active practice for three years. Additionally, this bill expands the settings in which services may be provided and authorizes certain hygienists with extended care permits to apply topical anesthetics, as well as allowing them to administer services to persons who are 65 years old or who are developmentally disabled. Finally, the bill authorizes licensed dental hygienists to carry out fluoride applications in a school or community-based setting.

Tax exemptions for repairing certain damages

HB 2240 extends the existing sales tax exemption for repair of certain facilities damaged by natural or man-made disasters to include repairs necessitated by windstorms, ice loading, attendant winds and terrorism. These exemptions now extend to the buildings, facilities and electric distribution and transmission lines of cooperatives, as well as municipal and quasi-municipal corporations. For electric transmission and distribution lines owned by an independent transmission company, independent transmission cooperative, the Kansas Electric Transmission Authority or a natural gas or electric public utility the sales tax exemption now covers damages caused by fire, flood, tornado, lightning, explosion, earthquake, windstorm, ice loading, attendant wind and terrorism.

Clarifying the security interest of a vehicle

HB 2283 clarifies that a security interest is perfected in a vehicle when the surrendered title has been delivered and the application has been submitted with the required fee to the Division of Motor Vehicles.

Education requirements for CPA applicants

HB 2314 requires that certified public accountant applicants have a baccalaureate or higher education degree and completed at least 150 semester hours concentrating in accounting from a college or university approved by the Board of Accountancy. This bill also authorizes the board to issue rules and regulations regarding the type and amount of credit required.

Saving the state a half million dollars each year by improving payment methods

HB 2316, in the spirit of the Governor’s BEST initiative, allows the Department of Labor to make unemployment benefit payments by commercially accepted means approved by the Secretary, including debit cards or direct deposit. In a situation where a person does not indicate a bank or financial institution, the state may issue a rechargeable payroll card. This measure is estimated to save the state $500,000 annually, by not printing and mailing checks to beneficiaries. The agency will implement this change as part of its UI Modernization project. This bill also allows the use of payroll cards in the private sector.

Allowing the issuance of resident big game permits to certain family members

S. Sub 2437 allows members of a landowner’s or tenant’s immediate family who are domiciled with the landowner or tenant to apply to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) for resident big game permits as landowners or tenants. The total number of landowner or tenant regular hunt-on-your-own-land permits issued for each big game species can not exceed one permit per every 80 acres owned or operated by a tenant. This bill requires evidence of ownership or tenancy if requested by the KDWP.

The KDWP may also issue a special hunt-on-your-own-land deer permits to a landowner or tenant’s siblings and lineal ascendants or descendants and their spouses, with the total number of such permits to equal, or be less than, one deer permit for each 80 acres owned or operated by a tenant.

The Secretary of KDWP can issue resident deer hunting permits on a limited basis and valid for a designated species and sex in designated units. The bill would provide that the Secretary of KDWP issue deer hunting permits to nonresidents, subject to certain limitations.

Registering ammonium nitrate dealers

HB 2487 requires the registration of ammonium nitrate dealers with the Secretary of Agriculture and establishes a registration fee in an amount not to exceed $25 per year. Custom blenders of fertilizer who also are ammonium nitrate dealers are exempt from the registration fee. Under the provisions of the bill, ammonium nitrate storage will need to have reasonable protection against vandalism, theft and unauthorized access. In addition, this bill requires ammonium nitrate dealers to obtain information regarding any sale of ammonium nitrate. Authority is given to ammonium nitrate dealers to refuse to sell to any persons purchasing out of season, in an unusual quantity or under suspect purchase patterns. This bill subjects ammonium nitrate dealers to denial, suspension or revocation of their registration for violations.

Measuring mercury deposits in Kansas

HB 2526 requires the Secretary of Health and Environment to establish a statewide network to measure mercury deposition in the state.  The network will consist of at least six sites where samples and related data can be collected on a weekly basis. At least two of the sites will measure the deposition of mercury from prevailing winds. The Secretary will contract a laboratory to analyze the samples and provide reports which will be provided to the public through a Web site and via a national database designated by the Secretary. In addition, the Secretary will provide data and analyses specifically to Kansas-based research institutes and scientists, as well as to the Governor and leaders of the Legislature.

Redirecting funds from adult care home license fees

HB 2535 directs funds collected from license fees from the operation of adult care homes into a newly created State Licensure Fee Fund instead of into the State General Fund. The fund will be administered by the Kansas Department on Aging.

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