Your right to know
Governor signs bills into law
Motorcycles, bicycles can drive through red lights if no oncoming traffic
As of April 19, Gov. Sam Brownback has signed 58 bills into law. Some of the bills reviewed and approved by the Governor of local interest included:
HB 2192: Allows drivers of motorcycles or bicycles to proceed through a red light if it has failed to change green within a reasonable amount of time because the signal has malfunctioned or failed to detect the cycle.
HB 2030: Extends for five years exceptions to the Kansas Open Records Act that is set to expire July 1. The law also clarifies that only documents and records kept or prepared by county riverfront authorities for contract negotiations or civil proceedings to which the individual authorities are a party would be exempt from open records requests.
HB 2008: Makes the penalty for identity theft, identity fraud, and attempt or conspiracy to commit those crimes be presumptive imprisonment when the person being sentenced has a prior conviction of identity theft, identity fraud, or attempt or conspiracy to commit those crimes.
SB 80: Allows microbreweries to raise the content of micro-brewed beer from 8 to 10 percent alcohol by weight. It also allows microbreweries to serve domestic beer, free of charge, at special events monitored and regulated by the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. And it allows county commissioners to issue temporary special event retailer’s permits.
SB 101: Excludes any common interest community that does not own any real property held in common for the benefit of that community from the requirements of the Kansas Uniform Common Interest Owners Bill of Rights Act.
SB 112: Permits county commissioners to hire a county land surveyor who could be a surveyor for more than one county. The law also modifies record-keeping requirements, requirements for replacement of certain monuments, and requirements for survey plats.
SB 122: Authorizes the Director of the Kansas Water Office, after consultation with the Kansas Department of Agriculture, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, and the State Conservation Commission, to negotiate and grant easements on state property for construction and maintenance of conservation projects with cooperating landowners for the expected life of the project.
SB 125: Changes the filing deadline from June 10 to June 1 for candidates for national, statewide, county, and township offices.
SB 152: Amends existing law concerning hunting by allowing persons who have concealed carry license to carry concealed firearms while lawfully hunting and allowing the use of firearms suppression devices while lawfully hunting.
SB 186: Amends current law to allow the Secretary of the Agriculture discretion in suspending a pesticide business license without a hearing until compliance is reached.
SB 210: Establishes a provider tax on entities that provide services to Kansans with developmental disabilities. The proceeds will be used to draw down additional Medicaid federal funds, which would be used to increase provider reimbursement rates.
SB 215: Abolishes the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Advisory Board on July 1.
SB 224: Requires the Kansas Corporation Commission to issue a biennial report on electric supply and demand for all electric utilities for Kansas, beginning Feb. 1, 2013.
HB 2082: Allows limited maintenance on gas piping systems to be performed by hospital maintenance personnel if the gas piping system was installed already. Currently, maintenance can only be performed by individuals licensed as a plumber according to state law and professionally certified as a medical gas installer. This new law applies only to existing systems.
HB 2125: Makes revisions to the Kansas professional Regulated Sports Acts and to the powers of the Athletic Commission.
HB 2132: Authorizes “Families of the Fallen” license plates.