Brief ⁽¹⁾

Sub. for HB 2540 contains the provisions of four other bills: SB 607, relating to interlocal agreements with certain resident Native American tribes; SB 543, relating to the powers of tribal law enforcement officers; SB 492, relating to the Tribal Gaming Oversight Act; and Sub. SB 492, relating to tribal license plates.

Interlocal Agreements with Native American Tribes. The original SB 607 would amend existing law regarding interlocal agreements to allow local units of government to enter into agreements with resident Native American tribes which have entered into a gaming compact with the State of Kansas. All procedures that currently apply to interlocal agreements would also apply to authorized agreements with Native American tribes.

Tribal Law Enforcement. The original SB 543 would enact a new statute providing tribal law enforcement officers and agencies with the same powers, duties, and immunities held by state, county, or city law enforcement officers or agencies under certain circumstances. The statute would cover those times during which a tribal law enforcement officer or agency is requested by a state, county, or city law enforcement officer or agency to assist that agency.

Tribal Gaming Oversight Act. The original version of SB 492 contains amendments to the Tribal Gaming Oversight Act in five areas. The specific policy changes are summarized below.

• Current law is amended to clarify that State Gaming Agency (SGA) employees are not subject to the Parimutuel Racing Act prohibitions that apply to employees. Among other things, those prohibitions cover gambling at regulated tracks by Commission employees.



• The requirement in current law that the SGA use the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) for background checks of potential enforcement officers is repealed. The change would allow the Director to use either the KBI or existing agency staff to conduct these checks.



• The SGA would be authorized to obtain individual and corporate taxpayer information from the Kansas Department of Revenue in the course of background investigations for tribal gaming license applicants.



• The bill would allow the SGA to share information it has obtained through the license application process with gambling regulatory agencies in other states.



• The bill provides that any appropriation or transfer of moneys from the State General Fund to the SGA for expenses incurred for tribal-state gaming compact oversight would be reimbursed in accordance with the Tribal-State Gaming Compacts. Currently, any use of these funds for this purpose is considered a loan to be repaid with interest.

The Senate Committee amended the bill to delete a provision from the introduced version which would have made the wrongful disclosure of confidential information under the Tribal Gaming Oversight Act a felony; under current law such wrongful disclosure is a misdemeanor. Other Committee amendments are technical in nature.

Tribal License Plates. Added as a floor amendment by the Senate Committee of the Whole, the provisions of Sub. for SB 492 authorize the issuance of distinctive license plates to enrolled members of the resident Native American tribes in Kansas: specifically, the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation of Kansas, and the Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Missouri.

A person who is an enrolled member of one of the four tribes and who is a resident of Kansas may make application for a distinctive license plate. The person would be required to pay a fee of $5.00, in lieu of the regular license fee. Each tribe may impose a fee for the issuance of the distinctive license plate, and may use the revenue from such fees in the manner determined by the tribe.

Each tribe would design its distinctive license plate, with the approval of the Director of Vehicles, and the tribe would pay the initial cost of silk-screening the distinctive license plates. The four tribes would be exempt from the requirement that the initial issuance of a distinctive plate be for at least 500 license plates.

Original Sub. HB 2540. The original Sub. HB 2540, as passed by the House, would have reserved to the state the exclusive right to initiate certain lawsuits against or recover damages from firearms or ammunition manufacturers, distributors, dealers, sellers, or any trade association representing such entities. The Senate Committee struck these provisions.

Background

Tribal Agreements. SB 607 was introduced by the Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations after its work during the 1999 Interim. A copy of the Joint Committee's report can be viewed at:

As introduced, SB 607 addressed interlocal agreements only, and another bill introduced by the Joint Committee, HB 2926, addressed agreements with the state. HB 3033, which is identical to the introduced version of SB 607, was introduced by the House Committee on Federal and State Affairs. A hearing was held on that bill on the day the Senate passed SB 607.

A representative of the Indian Nations in Kansas (a coalition of three of the four resident tribes: the Kickapoo, Potawatomi, and Sac & Fox) presented testimony in support of all three bills at their respective hearings before the House and Senate Committees on Federal and State Affairs. No opponents of the bill presented testimony at either hearing.

The fiscal notes prepared by the Division of the Budget for the introduced versions of both SB 607 and HB 2926 state that enactment would not have a fiscal impact.

Tribal Law Enforcement. SB 543 was introduced as a result of discussions begun by the Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations during the 1999 Interim. The bill's sponsors all serve on the Joint Committee.

Proponents of the bill at the hearing before the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs included the police chief and a detective of the Potawatomi Nation and a representative of the Indian Nations in Kansas. No opponents to the bill presented testimony at that hearing.

The Senate Committee amended the bill to include immunities that would extend to tribal law enforcement officers and agencies when acting at the request of non-tribal law enforcement entities. The other Senate Committee amendment is technical.

The Division of the Budget's fiscal note for the bill states that the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Attorney General, and the Kansas Highway Patrol indicate that no fiscal effect would result from enactment of the bill.

Tribal Gaming Oversight Act. Introduction of the original SB 492 was requested by the Executive Director of the State Gaming Agency, who testified in favor of the bill at the Senate Committee hearing. There was no testimony presented in opposition to the bill.

According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of the Budget, both the Department of Revenue and the State Gaming Agency have indicated that implementation of SB 492 can be accomplished without additional personnel or budget authority.

Tribal License Plates. The provisions regarding the issuance of distinctive license plates for resident tribal members were requested by the Chief Legal Counsel of the Governor's Office, who noted that the state is currently in litigation with one of the tribes over the issuance of tribal license plates. There were no opponents.

The fiscal note on the original version of SB 492 is not relevant to the substitute 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