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11 Mar

Posted at 20:32h in Advocacy
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This week, the legislature continued its consideration of bills that had passed in the opposite chamber and began finalizing work on general agency budget bills for fiscal years 2024, 2025, and 2026. Most committees only have two weeks remaining this session to meet and consider bills before the full House and Senate begin deliberation. Required Property Valuation Methodology for Grain Elevators and Special Purpose Properties Senate Bill 274 would require the use of the cost approach for valuing special purpose property for property tax valuation purposes. The bill specifically includes grain elevators...

05 Mar

Posted at 17:51h in Advocacy
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This week was the first week following legislative turnaround. Dozens of bills that passed their chamber of origin were read into the opposite chamber and then referred to committees. Following a long weekend, hearings were held on a few bills on Wednesday and Thursday. The legislature will return to work in earnest next week. One major item this week concerned a two-day informational hearing in the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs on the likely negative impacts that would come from the legalization of marijuana in Kansas. Key to this...

25 Feb

Posted at 15:17h in Advocacy
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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...

19 Feb

Posted at 16:36h in Advocacy
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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...

11 Feb

Posted at 20:41h in Advocacy
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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,...

04 Feb

Posted at 16:35h in Advocacy
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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...

29 Jan

Posted at 16:36h in Advocacy
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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...

23 Jan

Posted at 14:59h in Advocacy
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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...

13 Jan

Posted at 17:32h in Advocacy
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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...

03 Jan

Posted at 16:54h in Industry News, Regulatory
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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...

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