Whitney Damron's blog

Legislative & Political Update

December 3, 2018

     On November 6, 2018, State Senator Laura Kelly (D-Topeka) was elected to be the next Governor of the State of Kansas. She will be sworn into office on Monday, January 14, 2019, which is the date in which all constitutional officers are sworn in along with members of the Kansas House.

     Within a week of her election, Governor-elect Kelly announced her transition team to help her review state government agencies and programs in advance of naming her own cabinet members and senior agency officials.

  The Kansas Legislature reached First Adjournment this morning shortly after midnight.  Attached is a general legislative report on the session to date.

  I included comments on the CSA bill and the deer bill.  SB 301, which proposed to require outfitters and guides to register with the KDWP&T passed the Senate, but was not taken up by the House nor incorporated into a conference committee report and should be done with for the session.

  Legislators return to Topeka on Thursday, April 26 to begin the Veto Session.

Governor Colyer signed HB 2558.  Next year the CSA Season will end on April 30 instead of March 31.

Best regards,

W

--
Whitney Damron
919 South Kansas Avenue
Topeka, Kansas 66612-1210
(785) 354-1354(O) - (785)224-6666 (M)
www.wbdpa.com 

FYI,

  Of note... see the section on Wildlife and Parks bills and take note of a likely attempt to amend a tax bill on Monday with a repeal of certain sales tax exemptions... will see if gamebirds are a part of that effort.

W

-- 
Whitney Damron
Whitney B. Damron, P.A.
919 South Kansas Avenue
Topeka, Kansas  66612-1210
(785) 354-1354 (O)   -   (785) 224-6666 (M)
www.wbdpa.com
 

  As you recall, our bill to extend the CSA season from March 31 to April 30 sailed through the House on a vote of 121-0.  It was considered so non-controversial it was placed on the consent calendar and not even debated on the floor.

  Hearings were held in the Senate Ag committee yesterday and things should have gone the same... However, Wildlife, Parks and Tourism came to the committee and appeared neutral on the bill, as they did in the House, but they asked for an amendment to purchase 400 acres in south-central Kansas from Duck's Unlimited. 

We have reached the halfway point of the session.  Attached is a general update on activities of the 2018 Legislature to date.

Please let me know if you have questions over matters highlighted in this report or specific issues of interest not mentioned herein.

KSHA:

  Yesterday the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources held hearings on S 301, which was introduced by Senator Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick to require those who hold themselves out as outfitters and guides to register with the KDWP&T.  She is frustrated with people seeking hunting privileges on her property without a way to confirm whether they are simply seeking access as an individual or guiding for pay for other parties, among other concerns.

Our CSA bill extending the season to April 30 is HB 2448.

  Yesterday I appeared before the House Agriculture Committee and requested introduction of a bill to extend the CSA season from ending on March 31 to April 30.  If passed, the bill would not become effective until July 1, so this is a 2019 season issue.  There are ways to get a bill into the statute book sooner, but even under the best of circumstances, I doubt we could get this done in time for 2018.

  Senator Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick, requested introduction of S 301, which would require outfitters and guides to register with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.