Brief ⁽¹⁾

SB 242, as amended by the Senate Committee, makes technical adjustments to KSA 50-6a01, et seq., known as the Non-Participating Manufacturer statute (NPM). The bill also changes the effective date from publication in the statute book to publication in the Kansas Register.

Background

The Senior Deputy Attorney General testified that the major tobacco companies maintain that the Kansas NPM statute is materially different from the Model statute contained in the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). Under the terms of the MSA, state NPM statutes must not materially differ from the model statute. If the NPM statute is found not valid, Kansas' share of the tobacco settlement money could be substantially reduced or eliminated. According to the conferee, the technical adjustments included in the bill will provide for compliance with the MSA model statute.

No fiscal note is available.

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/fulltext.cgi