Brief⁽¹⁾

S.B. 68, as amended, would exempt certain organizations from the soliciting prohibitions under the governmental ethics laws. The bill also makes a technical amendment to K.S.A. Supp. 46-236 to delete references to two repealed statutes and replace them with the correct citation.

The bill would exempt national nonprofit nonpartisan organizations which served, informed, and educated state legislatures or statewide executive branch officials, from the current ethics laws. These laws prohibit solicitation of anything of value by state officers, employees, candidates, or state officer-elect from special interest groups.

Background

The Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission requested S.B. 68, as introduced, in its 1998 annual report and recommendations. A representative of the Commission testified that K.S.A. 17-1740, which defined the types of charitable organizations that state officers, employees, candidates, or state officer-elect could solicit anything of value on behalf of, was repealed in 1989. These statutes were replaced by K.S.A. 17-1761 and K.S.A. 17-1762, but K.S.A. 46-236 was not amended to reflect those changes.

An independent lobbyist appeared as a proponent to the bill, as introduced. No opponents appeared before the Committee.

The fiscal note indicated that the passage of S.B. 68, as introduced, would have no fiscal impact on state revenues or expenditures.

The Committee amended the bill to include national, nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations in the solicitation exemption to allow solicitations to offset expenses of holding meetings of organizations such as the National Conference of State Legislatures and similar organizations.

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.