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


January 22, 2020


The Honorable Elaine Bowers, Chairperson
Senate Committee on Ethics, Elections and Local Government
Statehouse, Room 223A-E
Topeka, Kansas 66612
Dear Senator Bowers:
SUBJECT: Fiscal Note for SB 260 by Senate Committee on Ethics, Elections and Local
Government
In accordance with KSA 75-3715a, the following fiscal note concerning SB 260 is
respectfully submitted to your committee.
Current law establishes the procedures to be followed with regard to election recounts for
any state or national office elected on a statewide basis, the office of President or Vice President
of the United States, the offices of members of the United States House of Representatives, the
office of members of the Kansas Legislature when the member’s district is located in two or more
counties, and the office of members of the State Board of Education. The costs of an election
recount are required to be borne by the party requesting the recount if there is no change to the
outcome of the election. If the party requesting the recount was a candidate for office and is
declared the winner as a result of the recount, the county bears the costs. SB 260 would amend
existing law to include candidates in general elections for the office of any Kansas municipality
and, if a candidate in a municipal election is defeated by one half of 1.0 percent or less of all ballots
cast in one or more counties and requests a recount, the bill would require the state to cover the
cost of the recount. The bill also makes several technical corrections.
The Secretary of State reports that enactment of SB 260 would add over 1,000 eligible
jurisdictions that could potentially have an election where a candidate would be defeated by one
half of 1.0 percent of all ballots cast. The agency would be required to review any bills submitted
for reimbursement, and although it is unable to estimate the number of elections that would result
in costs being paid by the state, it reports that any reviews could be accomplished within existing
resources.
The Honorable Elaine Bowers, Chairperson
Page 2—SB 260

The bill only requires reimbursement of direct expenses, so local jurisdictions would be
required to pay for anything not authorized by the Department of Administration. The Kansas
Association of Counties is unable to estimate what the fiscal effect of enactment of the bill on the
counties might be. Any fiscal effect associated with SB 260 is not reflected in The FY 2021
Governor’s Budget Report.


Sincerely,

Larry L. Campbell
Division of the Budget


cc: Sandy Tompkins, Office of the Secretary of State
Jay Hall, Association of Counties


Statutes affected:
As introduced: 25-3107