Legislative Session Review

• Jurisdiction: Kansas,United States
• Citation: Vol. 92 No. 4 Pg. 41
• Publication year: 2023
• Pages: 41
• topic: Public Sector Law

Legislative session review 92 J. Kan. Bar Assn 4, 41 (2023) Kansas Bar Journal August, 2023

legislative session review

July, 2023

In Review —2023 Kansas Legislative Session

By Joseph N. Molina III KBA Director of Legislative Services

The 2023 Kansas legislative session ended in late April after both chambers adjourned sine die. This immediate adjournment is a bit unusual as sine die is traditionally set a few weeks out from the veto session to allow the Legislature time to reconvene and attempt to override any vetoes by the governor. This was not the case this session, and we all got to see that decision play out when Gov. Laura Kelly line-item vetoed parts of the school finance bill passed just prior to adjournment.

The early exit was just one bit of interesting news this session. Of great interest to many was the governor's veto of 17 bills, more than any other time I can recall. For its part, the Legislature overrode eight of those vetoes. Out of the nearly 800 bills proposed, only 80 made it safely to her desk for her signature. This amounts to around 5% fewer than any non-COVID year.

Republicans were able to muscle through a host of bills tied to their social agenda, including a women's bill of rights, abortion reversal notification, and the crime of human smuggling, but they were not able to reach an agreement on a tax bill. This was a bit of a shock as the state goes into the next fiscal year with a multi-billion-dollar surplus. The Legislature was also unable to approve any sort of voucher program for elementary education. These are just two of several issues that are sure to return in the 2024 session, which starts on Jan. 8.

Kansas Judicial Branch Judicial Pay

For the better part of a decade, the judicial branch has been behind the eight ball on judicial salaries. Last year, the Legislature took a big step in correcting this oversight by phasing in the second 5% increase for judge pay. This year the Legislature took an even larger step, hopefully large enough to put this issue to rest for good with the approval of House Sub. for SB 229.

Firstly, the bill creates the Legislative Compensation Commission, a nine-person commission to study compensation benefits for legislators, set rates of compensation, and make recommendations for retirement benefits. Secondly, the bill increases the salary for all statewide elected offices and is based on the compensation of a member of Congress, currently $174,000 annually. The governor will now be paid a salary equal to this amount, the Kansas attorney general will receive this amount minus 2.5%, and the secretary of state, state treasurer and commissioner of insurance will receive this amount minus 7.5%, or $160,950.00.

The bill establishes judicial compensation in a similar fashion, with pay set as a percentage of the annual salary for a U.S. district court judge, currently $232,600. As a baseline, the bill establishes the salary for Kansas district court judges at 75% of the federal rate, or $174,450, then calculates the remaining judicial salaries as a percentage of that amount.

• District Magistrate Judge: $95,947 (55% of the district court rate)

• Chief Judge of the District: $183,173 (105%)

• Kansas Court of Appeals Judge: $191,895 (110%)

• Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals: $200,617 (115%)

• Kansas Supreme Court Justice: $209,063 (120%)

• Chief Justice for the Kansas Supreme Court: $218,063 (125%)

This salary plan also increases the pay for a district attorney to the same $174,450 rate as state district court judges. The Legislature also approved a 5% pay increase for non-judicial staff, helping them keep up with inflation and avoid a backslide.

Court Plan Bills

As with almost every legislative session since the Kansas Supreme Court issued its first decision in the Gannon v. State series of cases in 2014, proposals to change how Supreme Court justices are selected have been regularly introduced, and 2023 was no different. This session there were two such bills, HB 2001, defining grounds for impeachment of justices and judges, and HB 2357, requiring the appointees to the Supreme Court to be determined by the Kansas Senate.

HB 2001 was prefilled by Rep. Brett Fairchild (R-St. John) with language very similar to a bill introduced in 2018.

The KBA opposed that 2018 bill, which did not gain much traction and ultimately fell by the wayside, and plans to oppose HB 2001 should it receive a hearing in 2024.

HB 2357 was introduced by Rep. Carl Maughan (R-Wichita) and would require any candidate for an open Supreme Court justice position to be confirmed by the Senate. Failure to be confirmed would deem the candidate unqualified. HB 2357 didn't receive a hearing this session.

A final court plan bill not directed at the makeup of the Supreme Court was HB 2383, allowing certain persons to take the examination to be certified by the Supreme Court as qualified to be a district magistrate judge. The bill would amend KSA 20-337 to allow a municipal court judge who has served for not less than 10 years to take the magistrate judge test, which is required of all magistrate judges who have not been admitted to practice law in Kansas. Any person who passes the test is deemed qualified to hold the office of magistrate judge in the state. HB 2383 didn't advance out of committee this session.

Kansas Board of Indigents' Defense Services

For the 2024 fiscal year, BIDS submitted a budget of $69.8 million, a $19.1 million increase above its 2023 fiscal year budget. The requests include:

• $601,490 for recruitment and retention —This enhancement would help with...