SESSION OF 2024
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON SENATE BILL NO. 367
As Amended by Senate Committee of the Whole

Brief*
SB 367, as amended, would amend the Transparency in
Revenues Underwriting Elections Act regarding the
acceptance and use of certain election-related funds.

Definitions
The bill would define terms:
● “Governmental agency” would mean the state, or
any agency, political subdivision, or instrumentality
thereof; and
● “Federal government” would mean any branch,
agency, department, office, bureau, or
instrumentality of the government of the United
States.
Expending of Funds

Current law provides that no election official can
knowingly accept or expend any moneys, directly or indirectly,
from any person, except as provided in any acts of
appropriation or as otherwise provided by law, for any
expenditures related to conducting, funding, or otherwise
facilitating the administration of a lawful election.
The bill would add that no governmental agency,
including, but not limited to, any election official, could
____________________
*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
knowingly accept or expend any moneys, directly or indirectly,
from the federal government, except as provided in acts of
appropriation or as otherwise provided by state law, and that
those moneys could not be used for any election-related
activities, including, but not limited to, voter registration and
voter assistance, as well as not for any expenditures related
to conducting, funding, or otherwise facilitating the
administration of a lawful election.
The bill would also provide that, if these expenditures
were authorized by acts of appropriation or state law, any
moneys received from the federal government would only be
expendable for purposes authorized by the act of Congress
appropriating the funds.

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

Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs
In the Senate Committee hearing, proponent testimony
was provided by a representative of Opportunity Solutions
Project, who discussed presidential Executive Order 14019,
issued in March 2021, which directs federal agencies to
assist in voter registration efforts. The representative stated
the bill would address concerns that taxpayer funds are being
used to influence elections through targeted voter
registration.
Written-only proponent testimony was provided by three
private citizens.
Neutral testimony was provided by a representative of
the Office of the Secretary of State, who expressed
uncertainty about what funding the bill is addressing and what

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it means to “indirectly” accept or expend federal funds. The
representative stated the bill would have no effect on the
current expenditures of federal funds for state elections,
which are approved by Congress through the Help America
Vote Act (HAVA), because these funds already go through the
regular state legislative budgeting process. The
representative also noted HAVA funds are distributed solely to
state election officials and are not provided to any other
federal or state agency for the purposes of funding election-
related activity.
Opponent testimony was provided by a representative
of Loud Light Civic Action, who stated that the state
government generally does not fund elections in Kansas or
provide aid to county clerks. The representative noted that,
because Kansas election offices are already prohibited from
accepting non-government aid to assist with the
administration of elections (2021 Senate Sub. for HB 2183),
the organization is concerned that the bill would further limit
other potential funding avenues.
Written-only opponent testimony was provided by a
representative of the League of Women Voters Kansas.
The Senate Committee amended the bill to:
● State that no agency would be designated as a
voter registration agency except as provided by
state law;
● Nullify any designation of a federal agency as a
voter registration agency that was made prior to
July 1, 2024;
● Specify that “federal agency” would mean any
branch, department, bureau, office, or
instrumentality of the federal government; and
● Provide that moneys received from the federal
government could be expended only for the
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 purposes authorized by the appropriation made by
Congress.
Senate Committee of the Whole
The Senate Committee of the Whole amended the bill
to:
● Remove provisions concerning the designation of
voter registration agencies;
● Remove the definition of the term “federal agency”;
● Add a definition of the term “governmental agency”;
and
● Add that no governmental agency, including, but
not limited to, any election official, would be
permitted to knowingly accept or expend any
moneys, directly or indirectly, from the federal
government for elections, unless provided in any
acts of appropriation or by state law.
Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, as introduced, the Secretary of State
noted federal law requires each state to have a statewide
voter registration database. The federal government provides
funding for this purpose under HAVA. If the agency is
prohibited from using federal funds for security and
administration of the statewide voter registration system,
under the bill, funding for the database would need to come
from another source, likely the State General Fund (SGF).
The agency’s budget contains $1.4 million from HAVA funds
for maintenance of the database in FY 2025. Maintenance
would continue in FY 2026. The agency estimates future
procurement costs for a new database would be $10.0 million
beginning in FY 2026 from the SGF. Any fiscal effect
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associated with enactment of the bill is not reflected in The
FY 2025 Governor’s Budget Report.
The Kansas Association of Counties indicates the
billcould have a fiscal effect on the counties because counties
could also not use federal funding without state approval.
Elections; Transparency in Revenues Underwriting Elections Act; voter registration;
governmental agency


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Statutes affected:
As introduced: 25-2436
As Amended by Senate Committee: 25-2436
{As Amended by Senate Committee of the Whole}: 25-2436