Brief(1)
S.B. 22 would add an additional provision to the Kansas Act Against Discrimination (KAAD) (K.S.A. 44-1002 and 44-1009). The bill would add genetic screening or testing to the list of unlawful employment practices. Genetic screening and testing is defined as a laboratory test of a person's genes or chromosomes for abnormalities, defects, or deficiencies, including carrier status, that are linked to physical or mental disorders or impairments, or that indicate a susceptibility to illness, disease, or other disorders, whether physical or mental.
Background
The bill was introduced by the Special Committee on Information Management who conducted a hearing on this topic during the 1998 interim. The recommendation of the Committee was to include genetic screening and testing in the provisions of the KAAD. Representatives Phill Kline and Jim Garner, members of the interim Committee, testified in support of the bill. William Minner of the Kansas Human Rights Commission also provided written testimony in support of S.B. 22. Jim Hall of the American Council of Life Insurance addressed the bill and offered an amendment. Mr. Hall's amendment would make K.S.A. 40-2259 exempt from S.B. 22 and continue to allow genetic information to be available for life insurance, long-term care insurance, and disability insurance purposes.
A similar bill was introduced in the House Committee on Business, Commerce and Labor by Representative Garner in 1995. The bill received consideration but was not passed.
In 1997, the Kansas Legislature passed S.B. 204 which enacted new provisions that restricted the use of genetic information by an insurer to a diagnosed condition related to the information. Exemptions from this statute include: an insurer writing life insurance, disability income insurance, or long-term care insurance coverage.
The fiscal note indicates a cost of $750 for FY 2000.
1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/bill_search.html.