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


February 20, 2019


The Honorable Russell Jennings, Chairperson
House Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice
Statehouse, Room 151-S
Topeka, Kansas 66612
Dear Representative Jennings:
SUBJECT: Fiscal Note for HB 2319 by Representative Garber, et al.
In accordance with KSA 75-3715a, the following fiscal note concerning HB 2319 is
respectfully submitted to your committee.
HB 2319 would require all distributors who manufacture, sell, offer for sale, lease or
distribute products that make content accessible on the internet to install blocking features that
prevent consumers from accessing obscene content. The bill would also require distributors to
maintain a website or telephone line for consumers to report obscene material that is not blocked
by the distributor’s blocking features or material that is not obscene that is erroneously blocked.
The bill would require a consumer who wants the distributor to deactivate the blocking features to
contact the distributor, present identification verifying that they are at least 18 years of age,
acknowledge a written warning about accessing obscene materials and pay a one-time $20 fee.
The fees would be remitted by the distributor to the Office of the Attorney General and deposited
into the Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Prevention Grants Fund, which would be
administered by the agency. The bill would specify that any products or services manufactured or
sold prior to July 1, 2019, are exempt from the provisions of the bill.
The Office of the Attorney General indicates that enactment of the HB 2319 could result
in a constitutional challenge on several grounds, including infringement of free speech,
infringement of the right to privacy, violation of the Interstate Commerce Clause and possibly
others. The agency indicates that litigation would likely ensue in federal court and depending on
the workload of the agency’s civil litigation attorneys, there could be a need to retain outside
counsel. The agency states that the cost to hire outside counsel would be dependent upon the
number of cases, which outside counsel is selected and the duration of those cases. In addition,
the agency indicates that if the state was unsuccessful in defending the law, it may be ordered to
pay the attorney fees and costs of successful challengers to the bill, which could total $200,000 for
The Honorable Russell Jennings, Chairperson
Page 2—HB 2319

one case, especially if there was an appeal from the district court to the tenth Circuit Court of
Appeals. The agency further states that the costs could total $500,000 or more if the state is subject
to multiple law suits, including cases from internet service providers, electronic device
manufacturers, and public interests organizations. The agency estimates that if litigation
commenced shortly before or at the enactment of the bill, any attorney fees judgments would likely
not be made until FY 2021 and after.
The Office of the Attorney General indicates that the revenue from enactment of the bill
cannot be estimated because the number of consumers that would pay the $20 obscene materials
access fee is unknown. The agency indicates that violations of the bill would be violations of the
Kansas Consumer Protection Act, which could result in additional enforcement actions. However,
this fiscal effect cannot be estimated because the number of additional enforcement actions is
unknown.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation indicates that enactment of the bill would have no
fiscal effect. Any fiscal effect associated with HB 2319 is not reflected in The FY 2020 Governor’s
Budget Report.


Sincerely,

Larry L. Campbell
Director of the budget


cc: Willie Prescott, Office of the Attorney General
Paul Weisgerber, KBI