Office of the Kansas Governor

TOPEKA–Kansas Governor Sam Brownback has signed seven bills into law.

Bills signed May 27, 2015:

· HB 2106 – amends criminal penalties and procedures under the Kansas Securities Commission Act.

· Senate Substitute for HB 2159 – Changes the fees and time limits for requesting expungement of a DUI or refusal of breathalyzer tests from a person’s record.

· Senate Substitute for Substitute for HB 2170 – the freedom from unsafe restraint and seclusion act states that no student in public schools may be subjected to unwarranted physical restraint or seclusion unless the student presents a reasonable and immediate danger of physical harm to himself or others.

· HB 2233 – provides the secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment with the authority to consider the costs to rate payers when developing a plan for the federal EPA’s Clean Power Plan regulations

· HB 2395 – Increases the threshold for state building projects to $1million before the state building advisory commission becomes involved.

Bills signed May 28, 2015:

· HB 2233 – provides the secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment with the authority to consider the costs to rate payers when developing a plan for the federal EPA’s Clean Power Plan regulations.

· House Substitute for SB 91 — replaces the renewable energy portfolio requirements with a voluntary renewable energy goal, and reduces lifetime property tax exemptions for new properties to 10 years, and excludes individuals or companies that generate electricity from renewable resources from the definition of public utility, unless the taxpayer prefers to remain a public utility, for tax purposes.

The Governor has now signed 75 bills into law this session and vetoed one. By law, the Kansas governor has 10 calendar days to sign the bill into law, veto the bill or allow the bill to become law without his or her signature.