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24 May

Posted at 16:29h in Industry News, Regulatory
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The Kansas Water Office (KWO) plans to hold meetings aimed at generating broad, and continued, legislative interest in fully funding the state water plan. Similar to the regional planning sessions Kansas Dept. of Transportation held when putting together the Kansas Highway Plan, the state’s vision is to put conduct similar regional/consult listening meetings across the state to receive feedback on funding priorities for the new state water plan funds. June 17 | 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Colby June 18 | 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Dodge City June 20 | 2:00...

20 May

Posted at 15:06h in Advocacy
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Before adjourning the 2024 Kansas legislative session earlier this month, the legislature sent Governor Laura Kelly a comprehensive tax relief bill and an omnibus budget bill. Yesterday, as was predicted, Governor Kelly announced her veto of the tax bill and multiple line-item vetoes in the budget bill. The Governor also announced she intends to call the legislature back in for a, “Special Session,” - likely following the Memorial Day weekend – to seek passage of a new tax package. Because the 2024 legislative session has adjourned, no bills would carry over from...

08 May

Posted at 12:43h in Advocacy, Industry News, Regulatory
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Renew Kansas Biofuels Association submitted a comment to the California Air Resources Board regarding proposed Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) amendments. The association’s comment acknowledged low carbon biofuels have been among the largest contributors to the success of the LCFS program and pointed to the vital role approval of higher blend biofuels such as E15 and E85 could play in assisting California meet its ambitious climate goals. Renew Kansas did, however, have concerns regarding the proposed sustainability certification, pointing out costly requirements on biofuels producers and farmers if enacted. In closing its comments,...

03 May

Posted at 13:11h in Advocacy
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On Friday, April 26, 2024, the Kansas legislature gaveled back in to begin its brief, “Veto Session,” where the legislature can attempt to override vetoes by the governor. Lawmakers worked Monday and Tuesday of this week before adjourning sine die around 12:30 a.m., on Wednesday morning, officially concluding the regular 2024 legislative session. As this is the second year of the legislative biennium, any bill that was not passed is no longer a live bill. Throughout the interim at the beginning of the month, Governor Laura Kelly vetoed at least 15...

10 Apr

Posted at 12:59h in Advocacy
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The legislature worked late into the night on Friday, April 5, adjourning around 3:15 a.m., on Saturday morning to wrap up the regular legislative session for 2024. A few items, however, were referred to conference committee where additional action may be taken when legislators return on April 29 for a brief, “Veto Session,” – a time when legislators generally consider taking action to override bills vetoed by the governor. There was much activity this week, with the legislature taking final action on dozens of bills. Of note, the legislature passed a...

03 Apr

Posted at 14:28h in Regulatory
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On Tuesday, April 2, the Biden-Harris Administration announced its rule to generally require a second crewmember on all trains. In finalizing this rule, FRA reviewed and considered over 13,500 written comments received during the 146-day comment period—in addition to the testimony from a one-day public hearing. “Common sense tells us that large freight trains, some of which can be over three miles long, should have at least two crew members on board - and now there’s a federal regulation in place to ensure trains are safely staffed,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete...

29 Mar

Posted at 23:52h in Advocacy
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With Friday, March 28 being the last day for activity on most bills, the 2024 Kansas legislature has only one week of regular session remaining. The Legislature is in recess over the Easter weekend and will reconvene on Monday, April 1 for one final week of action. After-which, the Legislature will break until April 29 when they will reconvene to consider any bills vetoed by Governor Laura Kelly. Leadership in both the House and Senate have stated their intention for final adjournment on April 30. Next week, the Legislature will focus on finalizing the...

22 Mar

Posted at 23:22h in Advocacy
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The 2024 Kansas legislative session is quickly winding down. Friday, March 22 is the last day for most committees to meet and consider bills this session. On Monday, March 25, the House and Senate will begin marathon sessions of floor debate on various bills, punctuated with joint conference committees between the chambers to discuss final language on specific bills. As this year is the second year of our state’s two-year legislative biennium, any bill which does not become law this year will no longer be a live bill. Governor Laura Kelly’s core focus...

15 Mar

Posted at 22:06h in Advocacy
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This week, the Kansas Senate debated and passed, on a vote of 24-15, a $25 billion budget bill for the upcoming fiscal year. Notably, both the House and Senate budget bills would provide about $80 million to increase Medicaid outpatient reimbursement rates. Additionally, this week, the Senate debated and passed numerous tax relief bills, including a new comprehensive tax bill. The large tax bill would reduce personal income taxes by creating a single rate for individual income taxes, exempting Social Security from income tax, significantly increasing the personal exemption amount, and...

08 Mar

Posted at 22:47h in Advocacy
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During the ninth week of the 2024 legislative session, Senate Republicans introduced a new comprehensive tax bill and have already set it for hearing next week. Likewise, House leadership is discussing another attempt at comprehensive tax legislation, and it looks like they might use Governor Laura Kelly’s tax bill as the vehicle. The extent of any such tax package is likely to be scaled back a bit as this week it was announced that the state had missed its revenue projections for the fifth consecutive month. Also, this week, the Senate...

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