CHAPTER 43

House Bill No. 2615

An Act concerning the publication of state laws and rules and regulations; relating to the publishing, printing and distributing thereof; removing state printer from timeline requirements for printing session laws; providing statewide elected officials and legislators to receive statute books and supplements upon request; requiring all administrative rules and regulations to be published electronically and eliminating the printing of volumes and supplements thereof; providing for the authenticating, preparing of searchable base and setting of prices of administrative rules and regulations by the secretary of state; amending K.S.A. 45-315, 77-165, 77-423, 77-429 and 77-435 and K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 77-138 and 77-430 and repealing the existing sections; also repealing K.S.A. 77-424 and 77-428 and K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 77-430a and 77-431.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:

Section 1. K.S.A. 45-315 is hereby amended to read as follows: 45-315. After the sine die adjournment of each legislative session, the state printer and the secretary of state shall complete preparation and printing of at least a limited number of each volume provide for the publication of the session laws for publication on or before July 1 of such year. The state printer shall thereafter, As rapidly as practicable, print and deliver to the secretary of state shall provide for the printing and delivery of bound copies of the session laws as provided by law.

Sec. 2. K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 77-138 is hereby amended to read as follows: 77-138. (a) Volumes of the Kansas Statutes Annotated shall be printed and bound by the director of printing and delivered to the secretary of state, who shall dispose of them distribute such volumes as follows:

First, the secretary of state shall deposit in the supreme court law library and in the state library such number of copies as the state law librarian and the state librarian, respectively, shall request for use in the law library and the state library, for the purposes of the publication collection and depository system established under K.S.A. 75-2566, and amendments thereto, and for the purpose of making exchanges with the various states and territories, and the secretary of state shall retain one set for the secretary’s use in the secretary’s office.

Second, (1) the secretary of state shall distribute one complete set of the Kansas Statutes Annotated to each new member of the legislature at each regular session, and if requested by the new member, the new member’s name shall be printed thereon.

(2) The secretary of state shall distribute such number of complete sets and individual volumes of the Kansas Statutes Annotated to: (A) To The office of revisor of statutes, as the revisor of statutes shall request; (B) to the legislative research department, as the director of legislative research shall request; (C) to the division of post audit, as the post auditor shall request; (D) to the division of legislative administrative services, as the director of legislative administrative services shall request; and (E) to the judicial branch of state government, as the chief justice of the supreme court shall request.

(3) The secretary of state shall distribute: (A) Two sets to each representative in congress and United States senator from the state of Kansas, upon request by such representative or senator; (B) one set each to the governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, upon request by the governor, lieutenant governor or attorney general; (C) to Washburn university school of law, the number of sets, not to exceed 60 sets, that the librarian of the school of law certifies to the secretary of state as necessary for the purpose of exchanging with other states and territories and to be kept in the library for the use of faculty and students of the university; (D) to the school of law of the university of Kansas, the number of sets, not to exceed 60 sets, that the librarian of the school of law certifies to the secretary of state as necessary for the purpose of exchanging with other states and territories and to be kept in the library for the use of faculty and students of the university; (E) to the clerk of the district court of the United States for the state of Kansas, the number of sets, not to exceed five sets, as are requested by such clerk; (F) one set to each county law library in the state, upon request by the librarian thereof; (G) to each county clerk, the number of sets requested by the county clerk, not to exceed seven sets, to be distributed not more than one set each to the county or district attorney, the county clerk, the county counselor, if any, the register of deeds, the sheriff, the county treasurer, and the board of county commissioners, which set shall be retained by the county clerk for use by such board; (H) not more than one set to each city of the third class, one set to each city of the second class and two sets to each city of the first class, upon request by the city clerk; and (I) one set to the state historical society library.

Third, the balance of statute books, after the above distribution shall be kept by the secretary of state for sale.

(b) The secretary of state shall sell each volume of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, including replacement volumes, at the per volume price fixed therefor by the legislative coordinating council as provided for under this section. General index volumes, when sold separately and not as a part of a set of cumulative supplements, shall be sold at the per volume price fixed therefor by the legislative coordinating council. The secretary of state shall remit all moneys received from such sales, as provided for under this section, to the state treasurer in accordance with the provisions of K.S.A. 75-4215, and amendments thereto. Upon receipt of each such remittance, the state treasurer shall deposit the entire amount in the state treasury to the credit of the state general fund.

(c) The legislative coordinating council shall fix the per volume price of each volume of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, including replacement volumes, sold under this section to recover the costs of printing and binding such volumes. The legislative coordinating council shall revise such prices from time to time for the purposes of covering and recovering such costs.

Sec. 3. K.S.A. 77-165 is hereby amended to read as follows: 77-165. (a) Such number of copies of the cumulative supplements for each volume of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, corresponding as nearly as possible in size and page with the current bound volumes, as is specified by the revisor of statutes, subject to available appropriations, shall be printed by the director of printing and delivered to the secretary of state. Each year, such number of sets of the general index paperbound volume or volumes as is specified by the revisor of statutes, subject to available appropriations, shall be printed by the director of printing and delivered to the secretary of state. For purposes of this section, the general index paperbound volume or volumes shall be considered supplements. The revisor of statutes, with the approval of the legislative coordinating council, may provide for printing and delivery of additional copies of supplements to volumes of the Kansas Statutes Annotated.

(b) The secretary of state shall dispose of distribute full sets of supplements, including the general index paperbound volume or volumes, as follows:

First, by delivering to all state officers, county officers and other departments and officers the same number of sets and in the same manner as provided by K.S.A. 77-138, and amendments thereto, for the distribution of volumes of the Kansas Statutes Annotated and by delivering to each member of the legislature three sets of such supplements.

Second, by delivering a set to each returning member of the legislature at each regular session, upon request by such member of the legislature. The secretary of state shall send an email to each returning member of the legislature to such member’s official legislative email account asking the member whether such member requests a set of supplements. If the secretary of state does not receive a response to any such email, the secretary of state shall attempt to contact such member at least two more times via such member’s official legislative email account to determine whether the member requests a set of supplements.

Third, the balance of such supplements, including as a part thereof the general index paperbound volume or volumes, after such distribution, shall be kept by the secretary of state for sale. Supplements for individual volumes, except index volumes, shall be sold at the per volume price fixed therefor by the legislative coordinating council as provided for under this section. Complete sets of cumulative supplements, including the general index volume, shall be sold at the complete set price fixed therefor by the legislative coordinating council as provided for under this section.

(c) The secretary of state shall remit all moneys received from the sale of supplements under this section to the state treasurer in accordance with the provisions of K.S.A. 75-4215, and amendments thereto. Upon receipt of each such remittance, the state treasurer shall deposit the entire amount in the state treasury to the credit of the state general fund.

(d) The legislative coordinating council shall fix the per volume and complete set prices of the cumulative supplements for the Kansas Statutes Annotated sold, as provided for under this section, to recover the costs of printing and binding such supplements. The legislative coordinating council shall revise such prices from time to time for the purposes of covering and recovering such costs.

Sec. 4. K.S.A. 77-423 is hereby amended to read as follows: 77-423. There is hereby created a state rules and regulations board consisting of the attorney general or the attorney general’s designee, the secretary of state or the secretary of state’s designee, the secretary of administration or the secretary of administration’s designee, the chairperson of the joint committee on administrative rules and regulations or a member of the joint committee designated by the chairperson from the same house of the legislature as the chairperson, the vice-chairperson vice chairperson of the joint committee on administrative rules and regulations or a member of the joint committee designated by the vice-chairperson vice chairperson from the same house of the legislature as the vice-chairperson vice chairperson, the ranking minority member of the joint committee on administrative rules and regulations or a member of the joint committee designated by the minority leader of the same house of the legislature as the chairperson and the chairperson of the senate committee on ways and means in even-numbered years and the chairperson of the house of representatives committee on appropriations in odd-numbered years. If a member is designated to serve on the board by the chairperson or vice-chairperson vice chairperson of the joint committee, the designated member shall serve in lieu of the designating officer on a temporary or permanent basis as specified by the designating officer. The attorney general shall be the chairperson of the board. The secretary of state shall serve as the secretary to the board. The state rules and regulations board shall determine whether a rule and regulation should be adopted as a temporary rule and regulation, shall determine the rules and regulations to be published in the Kansas administrative regulations and in the annual supplement to such regulations as provided for in this act and shall perform such other duties as may be required by this act.

Sec. 5. K.S.A. 77-429 is hereby amended to read as follows: 77-429. (a) Before the any Kansas administrative regulations or the annual supplement thereto shall be regulation is published by the secretary of state, they such regulation shall be examined and compared by the attorney general and the secretary of state, and if they contain all rules and regulations approved for publication by the board, and otherwise comply with the terms of this act, they the secretary shall so certify and. After such authentication they, such regulation shall be deemed and held to be “Kansas administrative regulations” and evidence in all courts having jurisdiction in the state; and. Such authentication shall accompany each electronic or printed copy of Kansas administrative regulations and annual supplement thereto.

(b) (1) The secretary of state shall prepare maintain a searchable database containing all of the current Kansas administrative regulations, including any supplements, published pursuant to this section by July 1, 2012, if practicable. The database shall be constructed in such a manner that any person accessing or using such database shall be able to search for any rule and regulation based upon the number or subject matter of the rule and regulation or by keyword search. The initial search shall return a list of all rules and regulations which that contain the initial search term.

(2) Using any rule and regulation containing the initial search term as an entry point into the database, the database shall permit the person using such database to:

(A) View all occurrences of the search term in the rule and regulation retrieved; and

(B) using the initially retrieved rule and regulation as an entry point into the database’s hierarchy, navigate to each rule and regulation which that follows or precedes the initial rule and regulation.

Sec. 6. K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 77-430 is hereby amended to read as follows: 77-430. (a) The secretary of state shall publish the Kansas administrative regulations in an electronic or paper medium. The secretary of state shall make the Kansas administrative regulations available by request to the following:

(1) The supreme court law library and the state library;

(2) the law schools and law libraries of the university of Kansas and Washburn university;

(3) each member of the legislature at the time of taking office, after election or appointment, for the member’s first term of office as a member of either house of the legislature that commences on or after the second Monday of January in 1991, except that a term of office as a member of either house of the legislature, whether a complete or partial term of office, shall not be construed for purposes of this distribution to be the member’s first term of office if such term of office is part of a continuous period of service as a member of either house of the legislature or both houses of the legislature, in any combination of consecutive terms of office;

(4) each member of the joint committee on administrative rules and regulations;

(5) the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and state historical society library;

(6) the judicial branch of state government;

(7) each county law library;

(8) the city library in each city of the first and second class;

(9) each county library;

(10) the office of revisor of statutes;

(11) the legislative research department;

(12) the division of post audit; and

(13) the division of legislative administrative services.

(b) The Kansas administrative regulations may be purchased in complete sets or in single volumes. Single volumes of the Kansas administrative regulations shall be sold by the secretary of state at the per volume price fixed by the secretary of state under this section. Complete sets of the Kansas administrative regulations shall be sold by the secretary of state at the per set price fixed therefor by the secretary of state as provided for under this section.

(c) All moneys received from such sales shall be remitted to the state treasurer in accordance with the provisions of K.S.A. 75-4215, and amendments thereto. Upon receipt of each such remittance, the state treasurer shall deposit the entire amount in the state treasury to the credit of the information and services fee fund of the secretary of state.

(d) The secretary of state shall fix the per volume and complete may set prices of the Kansas administrative regulations sold under this section to recover the costs of publishing, maintaining and storing such volumes and databases, whether in printed or electronic form. The secretary of state shall may revise such prices from time to time for the purposes of covering and recovering such costs.

Sec. 7. K.S.A. 77-435 is hereby amended to read as follows: 77-435. In publishing the material in the Kansas administrative regulations and latest supplements thereto, the secretary of state shall not alter the sense, meaning or effect of any rule and regulation but may correct manifest orthographical, clerical or typographical errors and may edit the rules and regulations in the following manner:

(a) By changing descriptive- subject-word headings of sections, subsections or subparts of a rule and regulation in order to briefly and clearly indicate the subject matter of such sections.;

(b) where a pronoun of only masculine or only feminine gender appears a pronoun of the opposite gender may be added, or language may be changed for the same purpose, so long as the opening limitation of this section is not violated.;

(c) by striking the word “that” wherever it appears as the first word of any section in the Kansas administrative regulations or the latest supplement thereto.; and

(d) by correcting doublets.

The secretary of state may submit to the state rules and regulations board, for the board’s approval, any proposed changes made pursuant to the provisions of this section. No change made pursuant to the provisions of this section shall effect any change in the substantive meaning of the rule and regulation section, and any error made by the secretary of state in editing the rules and regulations as authorized by this section shall be construed as a clerical error only.

Sec. 8. K.S.A. 45-315, 77-165, 77-423, 77-424, 77-428, 77-429 and 77-435 and K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 77-138, 77-430, 77-430a and 77-431 are hereby repealed.

Sec. 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its publication in the statute book.

Approved April 15, 2024.