Session of 1999
HOUSE BILL No. 2578
By Representative Johnston
8-4
10 AN ACT
concerning state officers and employees; relating to govern-
11 mental ethics;
amending K.S.A. 46-215 and K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 46-237
12 and repealing the
existing sections.
13
14 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the
State of Kansas:
15 Section
1. K.S.A. 46-215 is hereby amended to read as follows: 46-
16 215. As used in K.S.A. 46-215
to through 46-280, inclusive, and
any
17 amendments thereto, and
K.S.A. 46-248a and K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 46-237a,
18 and amendments thereto, unless the
context otherwise requires, the words
19 and terms defined in K.S.A. 46-216
to through 46-231, inclusive, and
any
20 and amendments thereto, shall have
the meanings therein ascribed
21 thereto.
22 Sec.
2. K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 46-237 is hereby amended to read as
fol-
23 lows: 46-237. (a) No state officer or
employee, candidate for state office
24 or state officer elect shall accept, or
agree to accept any economic op-
25 portunity, gift, loan, gratuity, special
discount, favor, hospitality, or service
26 having an aggregate value of $40 or more in
any calendar year from any
27 one person known to have a special
interest, under circumstances where
28 such person knows or should know that a
major purpose of the donor is
29 to influence such person in the performance
of their official duties or
30 prospective official duties.
31 (b) No person
with a special interest shall offer, pay, give or make
32 any economic opportunity, gift, loan,
gratuity, special discount, favor, hos-
33 pitality or service having an aggregate
value of $40 or more in any calendar
34 year to any state officer or employee,
candidate for state office or state
35 officer elect with a major purpose of
influencing such officer or employee,
36 candidate for state office or state officer
elect in the performance of of-
37 ficial duties or prospective official
duties.
38 (c) No person
licensed, inspected or regulated by a state agency shall
39 offer, pay, give or make any economic
opportunity, gift, loan, gratuity,
40 special discount, favor, hospitality, or
service having an aggregate value
41 of $40 or more in any calendar year to such
agency or any state officer
42 or employee, candidate for state office or
state officer elect of that agency.
43 (d) Hospitality
in the form of recreation, food and beverages
or in
2
1 the form of recreation provided by
a person qualified as a nonprofit or-
2 ganization under paragraph (3) of
subsection (c) of section 501 of the
3 internal revenue code of 1986, as
amended, is presumed not to be given
4 to influence a state officer or
employee, candidate for state office or state
5 officer elect in the performance of
official duties or prospective official
6 duties, except when a particular
course of official action is to be followed
7 as a condition thereon. For the
purposes of this subsection, the term
8 recreation shall not include the
providing or the payment of the cost of
9 transportation or lodging.
10 (e) Except when a
particular course of official action is to be followed
11 as a condition thereon, this section shall
not apply to: (1) Any contribution
12 reported in compliance with the campaign
finance act; or (2) a commer-
13 cially reasonable loan or other commercial
transaction in the ordinary
14 course of business.
15 (f) No state
officer or employee shall accept any payment of honoraria
16 for any speaking engagement except that a
member of the state legislature
17 or a part-time officer or employee of the
executive branch of government
18 shall be allowed to receive reimbursement
in the preparation for and the
19 making of a presentation at a speaking
engagement in an amount fixed
20 by the commission prior to the acceptance
of the speaking engagement.
21 Nothing in this section shall be construed
to prohibit the reimbursement
22 of state officers and employees for
reasonable expenses incurred in at-
23 tending seminars, conferences and other
speaking engagements.
24 (g) The
provisions of this section shall not be applicable to or
prohibit
25 the acceptance of gifts from governmental
agencies of foreign nations
26 except that any gift accepted from such
foreign governmental agency,
27 having an aggregate value of $100 or more,
shall be accepted on behalf
28 of the state of Kansas.
29 (h) No legislator
shall solicit any contribution to be made to any or-
30 ganization for the purpose of paying for
travel, subsistence and other
31 expenses incurred by such legislator or
other members of the legislature
32 in attending and participating in meetings,
programs and activities of such
33 organization or those conducted or
sponsored by such organization, but
34 nothing in this act or the act of which
this act is amendatory shall be
35 construed to prohibit any legislator from
accepting reimbursement for
36 actual expenses for travel, subsistence,
hospitality, entertainment and
37 other expenses incurred in attending and
participating in meetings, pro-
38 grams and activities sponsored by the
government of any foreign nation,
39 or any organization organized under the
laws of such foreign nation or
40 any international organization or any
national, nonprofit, nonpartisan or-
41 ganization established for the purpose of
serving, informing, educating
42 and strengthening state legislatures in all
states of the nation, when paid
43 from funds of such organization and nothing
shall be construed to limit
3
1 or prohibit the expenditure of funds
of and by any such organization for
2 such purposes.
3 Sec. 3. K.S.A. 46-215 and
K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 46-237 are hereby
4 repealed.
5 Sec. 4. This act
shall take effect and be in force from and after its
6 publication in the statute book.