Gov. Laura Kelly on Monday announced the signing of a dozen bills, including one toughening the penalties for hit-and-run drivers and another that sets out a new way for foster children 16 and older to choose a caregiver.
She has now signed 53 bills and allowed one to become law without her signature. She has vetoed seven bills, including one that was sustained on taxes.
House Bill 2665: Increases criminal penalties for drivers who leave the scene of a crash that results in a fatality if the driver knew that the crash resulted in an injury or death. The bill stemmed in part from the death of Levi Ward – a television storm tracker – who was killed Easter weekend in 2022 in a hit-and-run crash. The bill passed unanimously in both chambers. Under current law, leaving the scene of an injury or fatal crash is classified as a level 5 person felony if the person knew or should have known that an injury or fatality resulted from a crash. The bill would increase the penalty to a severity level 4 person felony if one death occurred in a crash. It also sets a new penalty for crashes resulting in the death of more than one person as a severity level 3 person felony.
House Bill 2536: Establishes the Support, Opportunity, Unity, and Legal family legal permanency option, a fourth pathway for foster children 16 years and older to obtain legal permanency via a custodian of their choice. Previously, children in custody of the Kansas Department of Children and Families had three pathways for permanency: adoption, reintegration and appointment of a custodian. Now, children will have the ability to choose someone they trust to raise them as they enter adulthood.
The “SOUL Family concept” allows Kansans currently in foster care, age 16 and older, to choose one or more primary caregivers and additional adults to be their “SOUL Family.” The primary caregiver and other adults with supportive roles would commit to forming a legally recognized, lifelong relationship with the young person. Forming a SOUL Family would not sever the young person’s biological family ties.
“The SOUL Family permanency option means that young people who are aging out of foster care will be empowered to select the circle of caring adults who will help them as they move into adulthood,” said Laura Howard, secretary for the Kansas Department of Children and Families.
“It is a culmination of more than two years of collaborative efforts that placed those with lived experiences at the center of the discussion in their efforts to ensure that youth coming after them had options beyond permanent custodian or another planned permanent living arrangement.”
Senate Bill 462: Intended to create additional workforce opportunities for veterans by allowing qualified military drivers to waive certain tests to obtain a commercial driver’s license. The bill also provides authority to the director of vehicles to adopt rules and regulations to ensure the state stays in compliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Program. The bill passed 38-1 in the Senate and 122-1 in the House. The bill was backed by the Kansas Motor Carriers Association, which testified that the bill might help alleviate a shortage of truck drivers. The trucking group said the bill would allow the commercial driver’s license office to schedule other drivers for tests who are applying for permits as well as saving military personnel time and money by not taking unnecessary tests.
House Bill 2634: Allows the chief engineer to provide flexibility regarding water allocations when issuing water conservation orders. Passed unanimously in both chambers. The Department of Agriculture testified for the bill, saying it would provide flexibility for water users who might already be limited in the amount of water they can divert because of allocations set by an Intensive Groundwater Use Control Area or a Local Enhanced Management Area. The law would allow water users that have multiyear allocations to use water in excess of a water right’s annual authorized quantity in any given year as long as the overall use of water is reduced during the term of the IGUCA or LEMA.
House Bill 2545: Creates a process for which a self-storage operator can require a renter to vacate property, including notice and disposition of any property that’s not retrieved by the renter. The bill is intended to address instances when a self-storage operator might have to ask a renter to leave – either through a lease lapsing or nonrenewal of an existing contract – because of disruptive and threatening behavior or illegal activity. The bill passed 121-1 in the House and unanimously in the Senate.
House Bill 2615: Modernizes the process for publishing the Kansas Administrative regulations and allows state officials to opt in to receive physical copies of Kansas Statutes Annotated. The secretary of state said the bill would save money and reduce government waste by better aligning the supply of state lawbooks required to be printed with demand. Instead of automatically distributing Kansas Statutes Annotated to legislators, the state lawbooks will be distributed on request, reducing waste and storage space of the publications. The bill passed 119-1 in the House and unanimously in the Senate.
House Bill 2660: The secretary of state says the bill improves customer service by simplifying business filings and eliminating unnecessary filing requirements for Kansas business owners. It passed unanimously in both chambers. Among other things, the bill requires that all 12 types of entities file the biennial information report in the same time period. The secretary of state’s office said this “vastly simplifies” the administration of information report filings. It also allows a homeowner to remove their address as the publicly listed resident agent for an entity if they aren’t the resident agent.
House Bill 2675: Creates a legal framework to allow nonparents acting as a child’s caregiver to petition the court for visitation rights to the child. Passed both chambers unanimously. Supporters said the bill provides a more comprehensive and standardized act to govern nonparent visitation than the current more open-ended statutes. The bill was is designed to be compatible with existing custody, residency, and parenting plan statute.
It also was intended protects parents’ fundamental rights while recognizing that third-party visitation is necessary for children in certain situations
House Bill 2549: Changes the lists of persons who are required to be given notice of a hearing on a petition for adoption and limits a petition to terminate parental rights to adoption proceedings. Passed unanimously in the Senate and 119-1 in the House. The bill specifies that a petition to terminate parental rights may only be filed as part of a petition for adoption or as a separate action in connection with a petition for adoption. Current law provides that a petition to terminate parental rights may be filed as an independent action, which led to some parents improperly using the law to terminate the parental rights of the spouse when no adoption is contemplated.
House Bill 2690: Replaces the 911 coordinating council with the state 911 board. Passed 114-5 in the House and 39-1 in the Senate.
House Bill 2790: Transfers registration requirements and related compliance oversight and enforcement authority for professional employer organizations from the commissioner of insurance to the secretary of state. Passed unanimously in both chambers.
House Bill 2629: Requires the Kansas Department of Health and Environment secretary to provide a death certificate of a child to the state child death review board, aligning statute with current practice. Passed unanimously in both chambers.
