Division of the Budget
Landon State Office Building Phone: (785) 296-2436
900 SW Jackson Street, Room 504 adam.c.proffitt@ks.gov
Topeka, KS 66612 Division of the Budget http://budget.kansas.gov
Adam C. Proffitt, Director Laura Kelly, Governor

January 23, 2024

The Honorable Mike Petersen, Chairperson
Senate Committee on Transportation
300 SW 10th Avenue, Room 546-S
Topeka, Kansas 66612
Dear Senator Petersen:
SUBJECT: Fiscal Note for SB 335 by Senate Committee on Transportation
In accordance with KSA 75-3715a, the following fiscal note concerning SB 335 is respectfully
submitted to your committee.
SB 335 would increase the penalties for passing another vehicle on a two-lane highway when
approaching within 100 feet of a stationary emergency, construction, or maintenance vehicle that is
obviously engaged in duty or flashing its lights. Under current statute, law enforcement officers are
required to issue a warning for such violations.
The bill would remove the warning requirement and categorize this violation as a traffic
infraction with a fine of $400. The bill would create a severity level 6, person felony with a fine of
$1,000 for violations that result in injury or great bodily harm to any person operating a fire
department vehicle, police vehicle, or ambulance. The bill would also create a severity level 4, person
felony with a fine of $7,500 for violations that result in the death of any person operating a fire
department vehicle, police vehicle, or ambulance.
Estimated State Fiscal Effect
FY 2024 FY 2025 FY 2026
Expenditures
State General Fund -- $123,375 $123,375
Fee Fund(s) -- -- --
Federal Fund -- -- --
Total Expenditures -- $123,375 $123,375
Revenues
State General Fund -- -- --
Fee Fund(s) -- -- --
Federal Fund -- -- --
Total Revenues -- -- --
FTE Positions -- 1.00 1.00
The Board of Indigents Defense Services indicates that due to staffing shortages, any new
felony cases charged under the provisions of the bill would require State General Fund expenditures
The Honorable Mike Petersen, Chairperson
Page 2—SB 335

of $123,375 in both FY 2025 and FY 2026 to support 1.00 new FTE attorney position. The Board
indicates that more positions may be needed depending on the number of new cases charged. To
meet the constitutionally required standard of reasonably effective counsel on felony cases of this
severity, agency attorneys would be required to spend an average of 57 hours per case on direct work
related to the bill. The Board estimates that it would require an additional 1.00 FTE attorney position
for every 21 new cases charged under the bill, assuming that each public defender has an average of
1,480 hours per year to spend on direct casework and that the average indigency rate is 84.0 percent.
The Board also indicates that for every 3.00 FTE attorney positions required to implement the
bill, it would be required to hire 1.00 FTE investigator position and 1.00 FTE mental health advocate
or social worker position to comply with national staffing standards. The average cost of these
positions is $86,250 and $99,750, respectively. For every 4.00 FTE attorney positions required to
implement the bill, national staffing standards require the addition of 1.00 FTE legal assistant position
and 1.00 FTE administrative assistant position at an average cost of $86,250 and $72,750,
respectively. However, the cost of these additional positions is not included in the fiscal effect
estimate because the exact number of new cases that will be charged under the provisions of the bill
cannot be estimated.
The fiscal effect above is based on an estimate of increased workload that would result from
the passage of this bill. Because of the difficulty of judging the effect on public defense expenditures,
the fiscal effect could vary within a reasonable range from the amount shown. The assumptions used
by the agency for this bill could be producing a fiscal effect at the upper end of that range.
The Judiciary indicates that by creating new crimes and increasing penalties for existing
violations, the bill could increase agency operating expenditures due to a greater number of cases
filed in district court. However, the agency is unable to provide an exact estimate of this fiscal effect.
The Judiciary indicates that the bill’s enactment could result in the collection of docket fees and fines
in those cases filed under the bill’s provisions, which would be credited to the State General Fund
and other state funds. The Sentencing Commission indicates that the bill could increase prison
admissions and agency workload, but the potential fiscal effect is likely to be small. The Department
of Corrections indicates that the bill may increase agency operating expenditures by a negligible
amount that could be absorbed within existing resources. According to the Highway Patrol and
Attorney General, enactment of the bill would not have a fiscal effect on their operations. Any fiscal
effect associated with SB 335 is not reflected in The FY 2025 Governor’s Budget Report.

Sincerely,

Adam C. Proffitt
Director of the Budget
cc: Trisha Morrow, Judiciary
Sherry Macke, Kansas Highway Patrol
Jennifer King, Department of Corrections
Heather Cessna, Board of Indigents Defense Services
William Hendrix, Office of the Attorney General
Scott Schultz, Kansas Sentencing Commission


Statutes affected:
As introduced: 8-1520a, 8-2116, 8-2118, 8-1556