Brief⁽¹⁾

H.B. 2429 would reauthorize a charter commission to propose and submit to the voters a charter for the Johnson County government. (Currently, Johnson County is the only statutory urban county in the state.) The Commission would be established by a resolution of the County Commission. The composition of the Commission and the appointing authority for each member would be established by the bill. The bill would prohibit establishment of a new Charter Commission any more frequently than every four years. The Commission would have to submit its final report to the County Commission within a year of the Charter Commission's organization.

The County Commission would be required to submit any proposed new charter to the voters at the general election following receipt of the report. Any proposed charter submitted to the voters that would change the size or structure of the Johnson Board of County Commissioners would have to be a separate ballot question from other elements of the proposed new charter. The Charter Commission would continue in existence for an unspecified length of time in order to conclude its affairs after its report is submitted to the County Commission.

The Charter Commission would consist of 25 members appointed as follows:

• �six members by Johnson County legislators (three each by the House and Senate members; each Commissioner appointed by the legislative delegation must reside in a different state senate district);

• �four members by the governing bodies of the Johnson County Republican and Democrat central committees (two from each party);

• �eight members by the Johnson Board of County Commissioners (one from each county commission district and the remainder to represent the county at large);

• �two members by the Johnson County Chamber Presidents' Council;

• �three members by the Johnson and Wyandotte Counties Council of Mayors (a mayor appointed to the Commission could appoint a designee to attend Commission meetings); and

• �two members by the Johnson County Planning Commission (those members must be residents of an unincorporated area in the County.)

No state or county elected officials could serve on the Charter Commission. Commission members would have to be appointed within 21 days after creation of the Commission. The Commission would have to conduct at least one public hearing within 30 days following its organization and at least one hearing on its preliminary report. The Commission would be authorized to conduct other hearings.

Background

Representative Ray and representatives of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners, Citizens Visioning Committee, Johnson County Board of Realtors, and the Intergovernmental Relations Coordinator testified or submitted written testimony in support of H.B. 2429. At the request of the Johnson County Commission, the House Committee on Governmental Organization and Elections amended the bill regarding membership of the Commission. No opponents testified on the bill.

The Division of Budget fiscal note stated that the passage of the bill would have no state fiscal impact.

The House on final action made technical amendments to the bill.

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