SESSION OF 2024
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON SENATE BILL NO. 303
As Amended by Senate Committee on Federal
and State Affairs

Brief*
SB 303 would establish the Kansas Legal Tender Act to
exempt recognized legal tender and specie from being
characterized as personal property for taxation and regulatory
purposes.

Definitions (Sections 2-3)
The bill would define the following terms:
● “Legal tender” would mean a recognized medium
of exchange for the payment of debts and taxes;
and
● “Specie” would mean coin having gold or silver
content or refined gold or silver bullion that is
coined, stamped, or imprinted with its weight and
purity and valued primarily based on its metal
content and not its form.
The bill would specify that specie legal tender in Kansas
would consist of:
● Specie coin issued by the U.S. government at any
time; or
● Any other specie that a court of competent
jurisdiction, by final and unappealable order, rules
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org
 to be within state authority to make or designate as
legal tender.
Exemptions and Enforcement
The bill would state no specie or legal tender would be
characterized as personal property for taxation or regulatory
purposes. The exchange of one type or form of legal tender
for another type or form of legal tender and the purchase,
sale, or exchange of any type or form of specie would not
have any tax liability of any kind. The bill would not apply to
taxable distributions from any retirement plan account that
holds specie.
The bill would state that, unless expressly provided by
statute or by contract, no person would have the right to
compel any other person to tender specie or to accept specie
as tender.
The bill would require the Attorney General to enforce
the Act without any prejudice to any private right of action.
The bill would require Kansas courts to require specific
performance as a remedy for breach of any contract
designating a type or form of specie as tender.
The bill would specify that for taxable years commencing
after December 31, 2022, the amount of any net gain from
the sale of specie would be subtracted from federal adjusted
gross income.
The bill would also remove an outdated subsection of
statute.

Background
The bill was introduced by the Senate Committee on
Federal and State Affairs at the request of Senator
Thompson.

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Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs
In the Senate Committee, proponent testimony was
provided by representatives of Kansas Campaign for Liberty
and Sound Money Defense League and two private citizens,
who generally stated that exempting gold and silver from
taxes would be beneficial to both businesses and consumers.
Written-only proponent testimony was provided by five
private citizens.
No other testimony was provided.

Senate Committee of the Whole
The bill was withdrawn from the Calendar and rereferred
to the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs.

Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs
Following discussion of the bill on January 17, 2024, and
January 18, 2024, the Senate Committee amended the bill to
state provisions of the bill would not apply to taxable
distributions from any retirement plan account that holds
specie.

Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill as introduced, the Department of
Revenue indicates the bill would decrease State General
Fund (SGF) revenues beginning in FY 2024. The Department
does not have data to make an estimate for the subtraction
modification for any capital gain from the sale of specie that
would reduce SGF revenues. However, the reduction of SGF
revenues is estimated to be negligible. The Department
indicates the costs to implement the bill would be negligible
and could be absorbed within existing resources.
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 The Attorney General’s Office indicates the bill gives it
the authority to enforce the Act, but it is unclear what type of
enforcement action would be needed. The Office is unable to
provide an estimate of the potential fiscal effect of this
provision.
The Office of Judicial Administration indicates the fiscal
effect on expenditures would likely be negligible for the
Judicial Branch.
Any fiscal effect associated with the bill is not reflected
in The FY 2024 Governor’s Budget Report.
Kansas Legal Tender Act; legal tender; gold coin; silver coin; specie; income tax;
personal property


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Statutes affected:
As introduced: 79-32
As Amended by Senate Committee: 79-32