Division of the Budget
Landon State Office Building Phone: (785) 296-2436
900 SW Jackson Street, Room 504 larry.campbell@ks.gov
Topeka, KS 66612 Division of the Budget http://budget.kansas.gov
Larry L. Campbell, Director Laura Kelly, Governor

March 11, 2019


The Honorable Elaine Bowers, Chairperson
Senate Committee on Ethics, Elections and Local Government
Statehouse, Room 223-E
Topeka, Kansas 66612
Dear Senator Bowers:
SUBJECT: Fiscal Note for SB 4 by Senator Hensley
In accordance with KSA 75-3715a, the following fiscal note concerning SB 4 is
respectfully submitted to your committee.
SB 4 would amend current law, which establishes the process and procedures for hearing
objections to the nominations of candidates for national and state offices. Under current law, those
objections are heard by the Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General. The
bill would establish the Kansas Objections Board comprised of five members appointed by the
Governor, Senate President, Senate Minority Leader, Speaker of the House of Representatives,
and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives from the Kansas Objections Board Judiciary
Pool established by the bill.
Membership in the Judiciary Pool would be limited to retired district court judges who
have volunteered to serve, if appointed and have been deemed qualified to serve by the officers of
the Kansas District Judges Association based upon their mental fitness and ability to decide
objections without bias, prejudice, or partiality.
Appointments to the Board would be made on or before January 31, 2020, and January 31
of each even numbered year thereafter. The appointments would be for a two-year term and
members may serve no more than two consecutive terms. The Board may meet as it determines
appropriate and upon call of the chair. Members of the Board would select a chairperson.
The Board would be authorized to act in a quasi-judicial manner for the purposes of hearing
and deciding objections. Board meetings would be subject to the Kansas Open Meetings Act,
except for Board deliberations. Decisions of the Board upon an objection would not be binding
precedent in any subsequent decision against a person who was not a party to the original objection
and hearing. Actions by the Board would be by a majority vote and would be recorded in the
minutes.
Any person appearing before the Board would have the right to be represented by counsel.
The Board may issue subpoenas compelling the attendance and testimony of witnesses or the
production of documents, records, or any other evidence.
The Honorable Elaine Bowers, Chairperson
Page 2—SB 4

All Board hearings would be held at the Office of the Secretary of State. The Secretary of
State would provide hearing and office facilities for the Board as requested by the Board,
including, but not limited to, hearing and meetings rooms, Internet access, computers, copiers,
printers, and other office machines. Board members would receive compensation, subsistence,
and mileage.
Estimated State Fiscal Effect
FY 2019 FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2020
SGF All Funds SGF All Funds
Revenue -- -- -- --
Expenditure -- -- -- $50,000
FTE Pos. -- -- -- --
The Office of the Secretary of State states enactment of SB 4 would require the agency to
provide meeting rooms and other office equipment as requested by the Board. The agency
estimates additional fee fund expenditures of $50,000 in FY 2020 and future fiscal years, if the bill
is enacted, as it would need to purchase or lease most of the equipment for the Board members.
Further, the agency indicates any cost associated with locating meeting and hearing rooms would
be negligible.
The Office of the Attorney General estimates any fiscal effect associated with the
enactment of SB 4 would include defense coverage under the Kansas Tort Claims Act if the Board
were the subject of a lawsuit. Depending on the workload of the agency’s civil litigation attorneys,
and the precise subject matter of the challenge, which could necessitate specialized legal expertise,
there could be a need to retain outside counsel. The cost of hiring outside counsel would depend
on which outside counsel is selected.
The Office of Judicial Administration estimates enactment of SB 4 would have no fiscal
effect on the operations of the Judicial Branch. Any fiscal effect associated with SB 4 is not
reflected in The FY 2020 Governor’s Budget Report.


Sincerely,

Larry L. Campbell
Division of the Budget

cc: Janie Harris, Judiciary
Bryan Caskey, Office of the Secretary of State
Willie Prescott, Office of the Attorney General


Statutes affected:
As introduced: 75-3223, 25-308