Brief ⁽¹⁾

HB 2133 would amend the Kansas Multipurpose Small Lakes Program Act by adding definitions for "future use public water supply storage" and "renovation." "Future use public water supply storage" would mean storage space which the Kansas Water Office determines will be needed within the next 20 years for use by public water supply users in an area but for which there is no current sponsor. "Renovation" would mean repair or restoration of an existing lake which contains water storage space for use as a public water supply and which has either recreational purposes or flood control purposes, or both.

The bill also would amend the act to:

Permit future use public water supply storage as a component in any multipurpose small lakes project;

Allow the Kansas Water Office to adopt rules and regulations relative to the inclusion of public water supply storage in proposed projects under the act and the disposition of state-owned water rights and associated public water supply storage space;

Provide for the same interest rate to be charged on state costs in providing public water supply storage in any of the three classes of projects provided for in the act;

Add language clarifying that in all classes of projects the state may pay up to 100 percent of the engineering and construction costs of flood control and public water supply storage;

Amend the act so that in all classes of projects the state would not participate in the costs of public water supply storage in a renovation project unless the Kansas Water Office determines that renovation is the most cost effective alternative for the storage (the state would be authorized to pay only up to 50 percent of the engineering and construction costs of public water supply storage in a renovation project); and

Eliminate language which appears to conflict with the amount of state participation in the engineering, construction, and land rights costs associated with any recreation features in any class of project in the act.

Background

At the hearing on the bill, the House Environment Committee heard from Representative Tom Sloan, a representative of the Kansas Water Office, the Director of the State Conservation Commission, and an individual from Lake Wabaunsee appeared on the bill.

The fiscal note on the original bill indicates that the Kansas Water Office and the State Conservation Commission state there would be no fiscal effect from the passage of this legislation in FY 2002.

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