Division of the Budget
Landon State Office Building Phone: (785) 296-2436
900 SW Jackson Street, Room 504 adam.c.proffitt@ks.gov
Topeka, KS 66612 Division of the Budget http://budget.kansas.gov
Adam Proffitt, Director Laura Kelly, Governor


March 3, 2021


The Honorable Blake Carpenter, Chairperson
House Committee on Elections
Statehouse, Room 149C-S
Topeka, Kansas 66612
Dear Representative Carpenter:
SUBJECT: Fiscal Note for HB 2278 by Representative Poskin
In accordance with KSA 75-3715a, the following fiscal note concerning HB 2278 is
respectfully submitted to your committee.
Under current law, the Governmental Ethics Commission sends every candidate a
statement of fair campaign practices. HB 2278 would specify that a candidate may sign the
statement and return it to the Commission. The Commission would then be required to publish
the signed statement on its website. All statements would be published in a manner that each
statement may be viewed after searching for the candidate’s name.
The bill would also create two causes of actions that a candidate may bring if (1) the
candidate is aggrieved by a materially false statement made by another candidate or (2) if the
candidate is alleging a violation of the statement of fair campaign practices signed by another
candidate, including a failure to repudiate a materially false statement by any person or
organization. For such actions, the bill specifies a plaintiff may seek statutory damages, an order
requiring the defendant to provide certain information, or any other injunctive or equitable relief.
The bill defines “materially false statement.”
The Office of Judicial Administration states that enactment of HB 2278 could increase the
number of cases filed in district court because it allows civil suits to be filed, which could result in
more time spent by court employees and judges processing and hearing cases. According to the
Office, a fiscal effect cannot be estimated until the Judicial Branch has had an opportunity to
operate under the bill’s provisions. The Office states enactment of the bill could result in the
collection of additional docket fees in those cases filed under the bill’s provisions.
The Honorable Blake Carpenter, Chairperson
Page 2—HB 2278

The Governmental Ethics Commission states enactment of the bill would have a negligible
fiscal effect on agency operations. Any fiscal effect associated with HB 2278 is not reflected in
The FY 2022 Governor’s Budget Report.


Sincerely,

Adam Proffitt
Director of the Budget

cc: Mark Skoglund, Governmental Ethics
Sandy Tompkins, Office of the Secretary of State


Statutes affected:
As introduced: 25-4119g