2024 Kansas Legislature Summary

2024 Kansas Legislature Summary

By Taylor Williamson, KCGA Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs

The 2024 Kansas Legislative season is basically complete with a Veto Session convening on April 29. Overall, it was a much busier session than normal.

Below are the notable bills that got the most attention, as well as what KCGA testified on and where they stand.

Notable Bills

HB 2036 passed the House unanimously and with a strong vote in the Senate. This session's key tax bill includes several reductions, notably a significant cut in the statewide mill levy for K-12 education to 19.5 mills, marking the first broad-based tax relief in years. Although there was a strong push for deeper property tax cuts, budget constraints limited the reduction to 0.5 mills this year. Various agricultural and business groups have been advocating for these broad-based property tax reliefs included in the legislation.

SB 455 passed both the House and Senate unanimously. This was a big push from the Kansas Farm Bureau and Kansas Livestock Association to protect private property rights against the acquisition of land by companies through eminent domain, particularly for constructing solar-powered electric generation facilities.

HB 2098 is a bundle of sales tax provisions, including providing a sales tax exemption for custom meat processing services, a sales tax deduction for private motor vehicle transactions, and exemptions for numerous pieces of business equipment.

S Sub for HB 2047 contains other agriculture bills that were heard previously in the session. One part of the bill would prohibit an individual from making false statements to gain access to an animal or crop facility, which is something KLA has pushed for during multiple sessions. Another part, which increases the fees to fund the brand program in the KDA to ensure they can operate a robust program across the state. The conference committee for the House and Senate Agriculture committees met and agreed to the changes but ran out of time to work the bill in each chamber. The issues will need to be approved by the full chambers during the upcoming Veto Session.

Kansas Corn Testimonies

HB 2607, updating the Kansas Pesticide Act in accordance with EPA regulations, passed the Senate 39-1 and the House 118-2. The bill differentiates the penalties for individuals and businesses but retained the maximum fine of $500 for an individual, retains the ability for producers to barter for services with fellow producers, and brings the age for a minor to apply pesticides under the supervision of a family member in line with EPA requirements. Of most importance for agriculture, and the main reason Kansas Corn was a staunch proponent of it, it keeps primacy within the state of Kansas for pesticide regulation. Agricultural interests worked to ensure the bill did not overregulate farmers and ranchers while maintaining the aforementioned state primacy.

H Sub for SB 172 which would create the Kansas Land and Military Installation Protection Act passed the House but fell short of the constitutionally required 21 votes in the Senate to pass a bill. The Senate then voted to send the bill back to conference for it to be further debated during the Veto Session as several senators were absent for the vote. The bill would prohibit foreign principals from countries of concern from holding any interest in certain property in the state within 150 miles of a military installation. Business and agriculture groups were successful in previously amending the bill to allow businesses operating under the federal process with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to maintain their operations in the state of Kansas, provided they have received clearance through the CFIUS process. There are agricultural businesses in Kansas that provide benefits to farmers and ranchers through research and market opportunities that would have been forced to divest under the original bill. Many business and agriculture groups have worked and will continue to work to ensure this legislation does not have a negative impact on the agricultural and business community in the state. Kansas Corn provided testimony on a version of this bill in the Senate early in the cycle. That testimony was aimed at the stricter regulations and requirements put forward in that early proposal.

HB 2634 addresses water resource management in Kansas, specifically focusing on the management of groundwater through the designation of Intensive Groundwater Use Control Areas and Local Enhanced Management Areas. It allows the chief engineer to issue orders based on the findings of public interest and existing water conditions, including allowing flexibility in the use of water rights similar to multiyear flex account. This bill is awaiting the Governor's signature.

HB 2477 increased the financial limits for reimbursements from the Kansas Agricultural Remediation Fund. Specifically, the bill raises the maximum reimbursement from $200,000 to $300,000 for a single eligible individual, and from $400,000 to $600,000 when both a buyer and a seller or a lessee and a lessor are responsible for remediation. Kansas Corn supported in a joint testimony with the other commodities as our members are often either stakeholders in agriculture retailers and grain elevators, or customers of one. The bill passed both Houses and was signed into law.

HB 2800 increased the funding caps and matching requirements for the distribution of conservation funds to conservation districts. It enhanced the state match of county funding up to two to one, with a state cap of $50,000. This increase would allow Conservation Districts to provide more competitive pay to employees as well as increase work benefits. Keeping good staff employed at Conservation Districts is of utmost importance to Kansas farmers that need to implement conservation practices. The bill passed the House but did not receive action in the Senate.

HB 2459 focused on water rights management. Specifically, the bill seeks to prohibit any changes to the point of diversion of a water right if such a change would result in exceeding the safe yield of the water supply source. Kansas Corn was a staunch opponent as it was an overly restrictive measure that would have had numerous unintended, and potentially unforeseen, consequences. The language was far too broad and could be seriously detrimental to farmers that are doing nothing but maintenance on existing water wells. Farmers needing to drill a new well due to a breakdown or move to a different corner of a field could have their application denied based on the new language. The bill died after the first hearing, never receiving markup.

HB 2678 focuses on enhancing the management of groundwater resources through the state's water bank system. Specifically, the bill proposes to extend the period that a groundwater right can be deposited in a water bank. Kansas Corn was a proponent as extending the life of the deposit gives growers additional flexibility to meet their water needs. It would allow for better long-term management of water usage and better enable farmers to work through longer drought periods. The bill passed the House but did not receive action in the Senate.

The legislature will convene their Veto Session on April 29^th.