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- Topeka Buzz: Wednesday, January 22
Topeka Buzz: Wednesday, January 22
Well, it was another busy start to the week–15 new bills filed in the House, 16 in the Senate. Due to space and time constraints, this issue is focused just on the scope of those bills and skips the committee calendars.
Jason Anderson
January 22, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 34 minutes
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Introducing the 🐝 Rating System
To help you quickly understand the potential significance of proposed legislation, we've introduced the 🐝 Rating System. Each bill is evaluated based on four key factors: Scope of Impact, Financial Impact, Urgency, and Controversy. These factors are weighted to reflect their influence on the bill's overall importance. Here's how the ratings break down:
🐝 Minimal Impact: Legislation with limited reach or lower urgency and controversy.
🐝🐝 Moderate Impact: Proposals with a broader or more notable influence, addressing issues of medium urgency or financial significance.
🐝🐝🐝 High Impact: Bills with widespread consequences, urgent needs, or significant public and political attention.
Daily Legislative Update 🐝
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Below is today’s morning update on published activities in the Kansas Legislature.
Table of Contents
Top Stories of the Day
Economic Development Takes Center Stage
Kansas is doubling down on economic innovation with major legislative efforts like HB 2038 and SB 52, which establish the Kansas Film and Digital Media Production Development Act. These bills provide substantial tax incentives and exemptions for film and digital media projects, with a $10 million annual cap on tax credits. Designed to attract major productions while bolstering local industries, this initiative could significantly impact Kansas’s economic and cultural landscape by drawing in new business and creating job opportunities statewide.
Strengthening Oversight and Modernizing Insurance Practices
Both the House and Senate are advancing measures to overhaul Kansas's insurance regulations. High-impact proposals include HB 2047 and SB 42, which introduce real-time, web-based motor vehicle insurance verification systems. These bills aim to enhance compliance, reduce uninsured motorists, and modernize administrative processes. Additionally, HB 2044 seeks to improve financial oversight of third-party administrators, mandating stricter fiduciary controls and enhanced transparency.
Education Reform in Focus
With measures like SB 48 and SB 49, Kansas lawmakers are aiming to reshape education accountability and transparency. SB 48 proposes stricter accreditation requirements, mandating measurable academic improvements and compliance with state standards, while SB 49 requires school districts to conduct annual needs assessments and align budgets with student achievement goals. These reforms emphasize performance, transparency, and strategic allocation of resources to improve educational outcomes statewide.
Bills and Resolutions
New Bills Introduced
House Bills:
🐝 HB 2035: Adds trail rides to the list of ranching activities eligible for agritourism classification, impacting agricultural land property tax valuations.
🐝 HB 2036: Creates a state income tax exemption for military service members' compensation up to the level of pay for a senior enlisted member.
🐝 HB 2037: Expands the Council on Travel and Tourism membership and revises tourism grant allocation rules to equalize funding distribution between private, public, and nonprofit entities.
🐝🐝 HB 2038: Creates the Kansas Film and Digital Media Production Development Act to provide tax incentives and exemptions for qualifying film, video, and digital media production projects in Kansas.
🐝 HB 2039: Amends the Kansas Credentialing Act to clarify that entities providing physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology services are not considered home health agencies when not reimbursed by Medicare Part A.
🐝🐝 HB 2040: Extends the time period for the Kansas Corporation Commission to make final decisions on electric transmission line siting permits from 120 to 180 days, affecting utility infrastructure development and property rights.
🐝🐝🐝 HB 2041: Requires electric utilities to demonstrate completion of a competitive bidding process for transmission line projects before receiving siting permits, aiming to ensure lower electric rates for Kansas consumers.
Insurance-Related Bills:
🐝🐝 HB 2042: Updates title insurance regulations by requiring audit reports on request rather than annually, standardizing surety bond requirements at $100,000, and eliminating controlled business exemptions in certain counties.
🐝🐝 HB 2043: Strengthens insurance industry oversight by requiring faster response times to commissioner inquiries and modifying rules for rebate pilot programs.
🐝🐝 HB 2044: Strengthens financial oversight of third-party insurance administrators by requiring separate fiduciary accounts for each payor and mandating immediate disclosure of bankruptcy filings.
🐝 HB 2045: Streamlines insurance oversight by reducing board membership and meeting requirements for various insurance-related committees.
🐝 HB 2046: Allows insurers to file certain travel insurance policies under either the accident and health line or inland marine line of insurance, providing greater flexibility in policy classification.
🐝🐝🐝 HB 2047: Establishes a web-based system for real-time verification of motor vehicle liability insurance coverage in Kansas.
🐝 HB 2048: Streamlines insurance commissioner duties by eliminating outdated reporting requirements and clarifying regulatory definitions.
🐝🐝 HB 2049: Strengthens licensing requirements and enforcement procedures for insurance agents and public adjusters, including expanded grounds for license denial, suspension, or revocation.
🐝🐝 HB 2050: Authorizes the Insurance Commissioner to set certain fees and requires their publication in the Kansas Register, while making various technical amendments to insurance regulations.
Senate Bills:
🐝🐝 SB 40: Requires elected officials to close their campaign accounts within 90 days after leaving office or losing an election.
🐝🐝 SB 41: Expands the definition of healthcare provider under the Healthcare Provider Insurance Availability Act to include advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) with prescriptive authority.
🐝🐝🐝 SB 42: Establishes a real-time web-based system for verifying motor vehicle liability insurance coverage, modernizing the state's insurance verification process.
🐝🐝 SB 43: Updates concealed carry regulations, including provisions for provisional licenses, license surrender requirements, and privacy protections for off-duty law enforcement officers.
Education Related Bills:
🐝🐝 SB 44: Expands the Kansas Promise Scholarship program by including additional postsecondary educational institutions and clarifying eligibility requirements.
🐝🐝 SB 45: Modifies how virtual schools calculate their graduation rates by excluding students who transfer to homeschooling or nonaccredited private schools.
🐝🐝 SB 47: Enhances school board transparency and public participation by requiring public listing of board member contact information, guaranteeing public comment periods, and expanding board member access to school properties.
🐝🐝🐝 SB 48: Establishes stricter school district accreditation requirements, mandating measurable academic improvement and compliance with federal and state regulations, with specific performance targets starting July 2026.
🐝🐝🐝 SB 49: Enhances school district accountability by requiring comprehensive needs assessments and detailed budget allocation tracking to improve student academic performance.
🐝🐝 SB 50: Establishes uniform 5% interest rate for state scholarship repayment programs and streamlines collection procedures under the Board of Regents.
🐝🐝🐝 SB 46: Establishes the Blind Information Access Act to provide on-demand digital content access services for blind, visually impaired, deafblind, and print disabled Kansans, funded through the Kansas Universal Service Fund.
🐝🐝🐝 SB 51: Provides sales tax exemptions for construction, equipment, and operations of qualified data centers investing at least $250 million in Kansas.
🐝🐝 SB 52: Establishes the Kansas Film and Digital Media Production Development Act to provide tax credits and sales tax exemptions for eligible film and digital media projects produced in Kansas. The bill aims to incentivize industry growth, with an annual cap of $10 million for tax credits.
🐝 SB 53: Modifies the appointment process for county law library boards and allows for certain fee utilization by chief judges to enhance district court functions.
🐝🐝🐝 SB 54: Establishes new regulations for third-party litigation funding agreements, requiring disclosure and reporting while limiting discovery of such agreements in certain circumstances.
Senate Resolutions:
🐝 SR 1704: Adopts the procedural rules for the Kansas Senate for the 2025–2028 legislative terms. The resolution outlines Senate meeting times, committee structures, and legislative procedures.