SESSION OF 2024
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 271
As Amended by House Committee of the Whole

Brief*
House Sub. for SB 271, as amended, would prohibit
government agencies from purchasing, acquiring, or using
drones whose critical components were produced in a
country of concern, or whose critical components were
produced or owned by a foreign principal.
The bill would also create a fund to reimburse
governmental agencies who transfer critical components as
directed under the bill.

Drone Procurement and Usage
The bill would prohibit government agencies from
purchasing and acquiring drones whose critical components
were produced in a country of concern, or whose critical
components were produced or owned by any foreign
principal.
Until July 1, 2029, a government agency could continue
use a drone acquired prior to July 1, 2024.
Component Replacement
When a government agency determines a critical
component must be replaced, the agency would be allowed
to use any replacement component acquired prior to July 1,
____________________
*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
2027, but no new replacement component could be acquired
from any foreign principal unless:
● There is no other reasonable means to acquire
such critical components or of addressing the
needs of the agency necessitating the purchase;
● An agreement for such acquisition is approved by
the Secretary of Administration after consulting with
the Adjutant General; and
● Failing to acquire such components or otherwise
address the agency’s need would pose a greater
threat to state safety and security than the risk
posed by acquiring the component.
This restriction would not apply to the Office of the
Attorney General and any postsecondary educational
institution as defined in Kansas law when those entities
purchase, acquire, or otherwise use a drone for research and
refurbishing for future use.
The bill would allow a state agency to submit a restricted
drone being replaced to the Office of the Attorney General
(Attorney General) for research and refurbishing for future
use.

Drone Transfer Reimbursement
The bill would create the Kansas Drone Reimbursement
Expense Fund (KDREF) that would be administered by the
Attorney General. The fund would sunset on July 1, 2029,
and any remaining KDREF funds would transfer to the State
General Fund.All moneys credited to the fund could be
expended or transferred only for reimbursement to
governmental agencies for replacing drones.
The bill would allow a state agency to submit a
reimbursement request to the Office of the Attorney General.

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Such requests would be made for the cost of replacing a
functional drone and could be submitted between July 1,
2024 and July 1, 2029. Such requests would be limited to
costs for a drone with similar features to those of the
functional drone taken out of service and costs for additional
features would not be reimbursable.
If the agency receives reimbursement, the bill would
require the agency to transfer the restricted drone and
ownership to the Attorney General for research and
refurbishing for future use.
If the agency does not receive reimbursement for a
replacement drone, the bill would authorize the agency to
dispose of the restricted drone through destruction, trade-in,
or sale for private use. If there are no KDREF funds available
to pay any such reimbursements, the agency may file a claim
against the state pursuant to Kansas Law.
Reimbursement Certification
The bill would authorize the Attorney General to issue a
certification for reimbursement. Obtaining certification would
require the following information be submitted to the Attorney
General within 90 days of the replacement drone’s delivery:
● Documentation the agency ceased use;
● Documentation regarding the replacement drone’s
purchase price;
● A comparison of features between the restricted
and replacement drones; and
● Documentation regarding the final purchase price
and completion of purchase of the replacement
drone.
Upon certification by the Attorney General, the Attorney
General would be required to transmit a copy of the certificate
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to the Director of Accounts and Reports, Director of the
Budget, and the Director of Legislative Research.

Definitions
Drone
The bill would define “drone” as an unmanned aircraft
that is controlled remotely by a human operator or that
operates autonomously through computer software or other
programming. Drone also includes any services, maintenance
agreements, or equipment related to such drone.
Critical Components
The bill would define “critical components” as meaning a
component or subcomponent that is a distinct and
serviceable article and the primary component of an
identifiable process or subprocess necessary to the
recording, storing, or transmitting of data or any other form of
information.
Country of Concern
The bill would define “country of concern” as meaning
the following countries:
● People’s Republic of China, including the Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region;
● Republic of Cuba;
● Islamic Republic of Iran;
● Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North
Korea);
● Russian Federation; and

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 ● Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
The bill would exclude the Republic of China (Taiwan)
from the countries of concern definition.
Foreign Principal
The bill would define “foreign principal” to mean:
● The government or any official of the government
of a country of concern;
● Any political party, or subdivision, or any member
of a political party of a country of concern;
● Any corporation, partnership, association,
organization, or other combination of persons
organized under the laws of or having its principal
place of business in a country of concern. The
definition would also include any subsidiary owned
or wholly controlled by any such entity;
● Any agent of or any entity otherwise under the
control of a country of concern;
● Any individual whose residence is in a country of
concern and who is not a citizen or lawful
permanent resident of the United States; or
● Any individual, entity, or combination described
above that has a controlling interest in any
company formed for the purpose of manufacturing,
distributing, transporting or selling critical
components for drones and related services and
equipment.


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Functional
The bill would define “functional” to mean a drone that
could be operational with the purchase of a new replacement
component pursuant to the Act.
Governmental agency
The bill would define “governmental agency” as the
State or any political or taxing subdivision of the State, or any
related office, agency, or instrumentality. It does not include
the Attorney General or any postsecondary educational
institution when either entity is purchasing, acquiring, or using
a drone for research and refurbishing for future use.

Background
The House Committee on Commerce, Labor and
Economic Development amended the provisions of HB 2820
pertaining to drone technology. The House Committee
removed the contents of SB 271 and inserted the contents of
HB 2820 as amended. The House Committee then
recommended a substitute bill, House Sub. for SB 271.

SB 271, as amended by the Senate Committee of the
Whole, would have added law regarding the maximum length
of a train, distances between railroad crossings and rail cars
stored on sidings, and enforcement of those provisions.
[Note: The provisions of SB 271, as amended by the
Senate Committee of the Whole, were not retained in the
House substitute bill.]
Background information for SB 271 is contained in the
supplemental note for that bill.


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HB 2820 (Drone Technology)
HB 2820 was introduced by the House Committee on
Appropriations at the request of Representative Croft.

House Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic
Development
In the House Committee hearing, proponent testimony
was provided by Representative Croft, and a representative
of State Armor Action. The proponents generally stated the
bill would address national security risks within the state.
Neutral testimony was provided by a representative of
the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police, Kansas Peace
Officers Association, and the Kansas Sheriffs Association.
The testimony generally stated the bill addresses a security
risk but it is non-funded and would be costly to implement.
Written-only proponent testimony was provided by a
representative of American Global Strategies.
Written-only neutral testimony was provided by a
representative of the Kansas Legislative Policy group.
No other testimony was provided.
The House Committee amended the bill to:
● Insert provisions that would prohibit an agency
from selling or discarding any critical drone
component not in compliance with the bill and
require a transfer of such component to Wichita
State University or Kansas State University for
research and rehabilitation purposes;
● Create a fund to reimbursement agencies
transferring their drone for research and

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 rehabilitation and purchasing a new drone of like
kind and quality to the transferred drone; and
● Update the drone definition to only include
unmanned aircraft.
House Committee of the Whole
The House Committee of the Whole amended the bill to:
● Establish the reimbursement certification
requirement;
● Authorize the Director of Accounts and Reports to
transfer funds to agencies receiving a
reimbursement certification;
● Allow agencies to continue using previously
procured components until July 1, 2027;
● Exempt the Attorney General and postsecondary
institutions from the Act when acquiring or using
drones for research or refurbishing for future use;
● Allow agencies who do not receive reimbursement
to destroy, trade-in, or sell their restricted drone to
a private party;
● Provide a claim against the state for agencies who
receive a reimbursement certification but do not
receive the reimbursement funds;
● Eliminate a $2.5 million transfer from the SGF to
the KDREF; and
● Transfer any KDREF funds to the State General
Fund on July 1, 2029.


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Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
Budget on HB 2820, as introduced, the Highway Patrol
indicates enactment of the bill would require replacement of
existing equipment with authorized suppliers’ equipment at an
estimated one-time cost of $258,708 in Fiscal Year (FY)
2024. The agency states that the expenditures would be
incurred in FY 2024 because it is currently in the process of
replacing drone equipment and would accommodate the bill’s
provisions in its current purchasing plan.
The Department of Transportation indicates that most of
the drones it currently uses comply with the provisions of the
bill. However, enactment of the bill would require the agency
to replace four drones, which would require an increase of
$50,996 to the expenditure limitation of the agency operations
account in FY 2025.
The Adjutant General and the Kansas Bureau of
Investigation indicate enactment of the bill would not have a
fiscal effect on the agencies.
Any fiscal effect associated with the bill is not reflected
in The FY 2025 Governor’s Budget Report.
The League of Kansas Municipalities states enactment
of the bill could have a fiscal effect on cities if existing drones
need to be upgraded. The Kansas Association of Counties
indicates enactment of the bill could have a fiscal effect on
counties that are required to replace drones that are currently
owned.
Country of concern; foreign principal; drone; critical infrastructure; Attorney General;
governmental agency


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