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This was ‘Turnaround Week’ in the Kansas legislature where any bill that was not passed by its chamber of origin, or is not otherwise exempt, will no longer be an active bill this session. The House and Senate debated and passed dozens of bills before adjourning late on Thursday evening. The legislature will return to work next Wednesday, March 1, to begin consideration of the bills passed by the opposite chamber. The major issues remaining for the session include various bills on utility rates, sales taxes on food, a single...

Most committee work for the first half of the 2023 Kansas legislative session wrapped up this week. Some committees will still meet Monday, Feb. 20 and Tuesday, Feb. 21, before legislators finish out the week debating bills on the floor. This week saw advancement of a water policy bill and a water funding bill from the House Water Committee. Next week, the House and Senate Utilities committees look to take final action on multiple bills seeking to provide lower costs of electric utilities. Removal of Annual Personal Property Tax Renditions Senate Bill...

This week was the last week for new bills to be introduced in either chamber in 2023, unless brought forward through an “exempt committee,” such as tax or appropriations. Committees will be busy holding hearings next week, as all hearings and other action on most bills must be completed by Tuesday, Feb. 21. A water policy bill was heard in the House Water Committee this week, to be followed by a water funding bill next week. Utilities committees in both the House and Senate were very busy this week, and next,...

2023 Legislative Session Continues Legislative committees held many hearings on bills this week as new legislation continues to be introduced. A water bill was introduced and quickly scheduled for hearing. Utilities committees in the House and Senate have scheduled hearings on numerous bills concerning utility rates. Committees have also begun to review agency budgets, and the Senate held a hearing this week on a bill seeking to transfer another $1 billion into the budget stabilization fund. Next week, the House Committee on Agriculture will hold a hearing on a Senate Resolution...

2023 Legislative Session Continues This week, the governor gave her delayed State of the State, and the legislature introduced a flurry of additional bills. A few hearings are being held, but many more are scheduled for next week. There was continued discussion around the capitol on the recent listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken as a threatened species in Kansas, which culminated in the introduction of a Senate Resolution pushing back on the listing.   Carbon Dioxide Capture and Sequestration This week, Renew Kansas Biofuels Association introduced a bill in the House Committee on...

2023 Legislative Session Continues This week, the legislature introduced many new bills and even began to hold hearings. There was discussion around the capitol on the recent listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken as a threatened species in Kansas, and the negative impacts this would have on various industries in our state, which culminated in the introduction of a Senate Resolution pushing back on the listing. Here are some of the other highlights from this week.   Carbon Dioxide Capture and Sequestration Renew Kansas Biofuels Association is assembling legislation to allow Kansas industries to...

2023 Legislative Session Commences The Kansas legislature gaveled in on Monday, January 9, 2023, on the first day of the 90-day session of the two-year biennium. Renew Kansas Biofuels Association’s government affairs staff was at the capitol to greet new members and welcome back returning legislators. House and Senate Leadership released their shared vision for this session. Governor Laura Kelly’s was sworn in, but her State of the State address was postponed while she recovered from symptoms of what was initially thought to be COVID-19, but later turned out not to...

Late last week, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the prepublication availability of the final "Revised Definition of 'Waters of the United States'" rule, which will be effective 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register. The rule is slated to replace the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule with the pre-2015 regulation, including a few additional clarifications. Last October, the United States Supreme Court received arguments on a matter, referred to as Sackett v. EPA, which centers on the extent of the U.S. EPA’s jurisdiction to enforce the...

Renew Kansas Biofuels Association joined a coalition letter in support of S.5145, the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2022, introduced last week in the United States Senate. Renew Kansas appreciates senators Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran serving as co-sponsors on the legislation. Organizations wishing to join the letter are able to do so until close of business Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2022 by contacting Renew Kansas President and CEO Ron Seeber (ron@kansasag.org) or Renewable Fuels Association's Robert White (RWhite@ethanolrfa.org). The letter urges congress to swiftly pass the legislation comprising the ability for...

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