Governor Sebelius signs bill to help military children

Governor Kathleen Sebelius has signed House Bill 2714 enacting the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. The compact is intended to remove barriers to educational success imposed on children of military families caused by frequent moves and deployment of their parents.

“Changing schools and making new friends can be hard on children whose parents are in the military,” Sebelius said. “This bill will help ease the transition between schools by seamlessly transferring records.”

The compact will instantly transfer records and facilitate the student placement process, including qualification and eligibility for enrollment, student participation in extracurricular activities, scheduling, grading, and assessments.

The bill applies to children of active members of the military, including those members severely injured and medically discharged and those retired for a period of up to one year after retirement.

Governor Sebelius signed an additional nine bills today, bringing the total number of bills signed during the 2008 Legislative Session to 74. One bill has been vetoed. 

Prohibiting the Possession of Ecstasy

Sub for HB 2545 adds specific hallucinogenic drugs such as ecstasy to the list of substances that are illegal to possess or have under one’s control.

Regarding Adoption Home Assessments

HB 2570 would expand the pool of people eligible to conduct adoption home assessments. The bill also would require that anyone performing adoption assessments have a minimum of two years experience in adoption services, or be supervised by someone with that experience. Current law allows only court-appointed licensed social workers to conduct adoption home assessments.

Amending the Guardian and Conservator Act

HB 2644 amends existing law regarding the Guardian and Conservator Act by requiring that petition for a guardian or conservator contain additional information including the age, date of birth, gender, place of employment, relationship to the petitioner and any personal or agency interest of the proposed conservator that may be perceived as self serving or adverse to the position or best interest of the proposed conservatee.

Enacting the Property and Casualty Actuarial Opinion Letter Law

HB 2688 enacts the Property and Casualty Actuarial Opinion Letter Law, a law requiring every property and casualty insurance company doing business in the state of Kansas, unless exempted by the Insurance Commissioner, to annually submit to the commissioner the opinion of an appointed actuary entitled “Statement of Actuarial Opinion.”

Prohibiting Law Enforcement from Requesting Polygraphs from Victims

HB 2726 prohibits law enforcement personnel from requesting or requiring an alleged victim of sex offenses including incest or aggravated incest to submit to a polygraph examination or similar device.

Training Requirements of Corrections Officers set

HB 2740 formally sets in statute the minimum requirement for annual in-service training for correctional officers. This minimum requirement was first set in 2006 with a budget bill proviso and keeps Kansas’ training requirements in line with other states.

Adding Members to Shawnee County Fair Association

HB 2804 adds three members to the board of directors of the Shawnee County Fair Association, to be elected at-large from the residents of Shawnee County.

Creating the Kansas Emergency Communications Preservation Act

HB 2805 creates the Kansas Emergency Communications Preservation Act regarding federally licensed amateur radio service communications. The bill would prohibit a city or county governing body from taking any action that precludes federally licensed amateur radio service communications, or that does not conform to federal regulations related to amateur radio antenna facilities.

Establishing Security Liaisons for Capitol Complex

HB 2905 requires each state agency housed in the Capitol, the Kansas Judicial Center, and the Docking, Landon, Curtis, and Eisenhower State Office Buildings to designate a security liaison. The security liaison’s duties would include working with the Kansas Highway Patrol’s Capitol Police office to facilitate communication on security issues.

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