UPDATED
SESSION OF 2019
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2042
As Amended by House Committee on
Corrections and Juvenile Justice

Brief*
HB 2042, as amended, would amend law related to the
prosecution of election crimes. The bill would specify
authority to prosecute election crimes is vested in the
appropriate district attorney or county attorney or in the
Attorney General. Current law vests prosecution authority in
the district or county attorney of the county where such act
occurred, the Kansas Attorney General, or the Kansas
Secretary of State.
Additionally, the bill would direct the Secretary of State
to promptly inform the Attorney General and the appropriate
county or district attorney of evidence of any election crimes
upon becoming aware of such evidence. The Secretary of
State would also be directed to cooperate and provide
assistance in the investigation or prosecution of any election
crimes, if requested by the Attorney General or the
appropriate county or district attorney.

Background
The bill was introduced by the House Committee on
Corrections and Juvenile Justice at the request of the Office
of the Attorney General.
In the House Committee hearing, the Attorney General
and representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union of
____________________
*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
Kansas and Kansas County and District Attorneys
Association appeared in support of the bill. The Office of the
Secretary of State submitted written-only proponent
testimony. No other testimony was provided.
The House Committee amended the bill to require
election crimes notifications made by the Secretary of State
to be made to both the appropriate county or district attorney
and the Attorney General, rather than to either the county or
district attorney or the Attorney General.
The bill was referred to the House Committee on
Appropriations on February 27, 2019. The bill was then
rereferred to the House Committee on Corrections and
Juvenile Justice on March 6, 2019. On March 12, 2019, the
House Committee voted to recommend the bill favorably with
the amendments previously adopted by the House
Committee.
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, the Office of the Attorney General
estimates the bill could result in additional expenses resulting
from prosecution of crimes previously prosecuted by the
Secretary of State, but the agency could manage the costs
within existing resources. The Office of the Secretary of State
indicates expenses associated with investigations and
courtroom appearances for prosecution of elections crimes
resulted in expenses of $10,000 or less per case. The agency
states it is unable to estimate potential future savings. The
Attorney General and Secretary of State also note additional
expenses could be experienced by county and district
attorneys who would file and prosecute cases previously
handled by the Secretary of State, but it is not possible to
estimate such expenses.
Any fiscal effect associated with enactment of the bill is
not reflected in The FY 2020 Governor’s Budget Report.


2- 2042


Statutes affected:
As introduced: 25-2435
As Amended by House Committee: 25-2435