2015 Bills
SB46 -- This bill would require domesticated deer that enter a premises alive or leave a premises alive or dead for any purpose, other than for direct movement to a licensed or registered slaughter facility in Kansas, have official identification, as prescribed by rules and regulations of the animal health commissioner. The bill passed the Senate 40-0 and passed the House 119-0 and was signed by the Governor on March 25.
SB50 -- This bill would amend K.S.A. 79-1439, which deals with property tax valuation classification of bed and breakfast properties. The proposed amendment would allow outbuildings or adjacent properties to be included as long as the total number of bedrooms does not exceed five. This bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Assessment and Taxation.
SB97 -- This bill would amend K.S.A. 32-1301 which regulates contact with dangerous animals. The amendment would allow clouded leopards and certain dangerous animals weighing 25 pounds or less full physical contact with members of the public and incidental contact with the public for animals weighing 40 pounds or less.This bill passed the Senate 23-17 and has been referred to the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources.
SB112 -- This bill amends K.S.A 32-1049, relating to violations of wildlife, parks and tourism laws to clarify that county attorneys can file charges without a written citation. The bill passed the Senate 40-0, and provisions of this bill were amended into SB113. The bill now contains provisions unrelated to Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.
SB113 -- This bill amends K.S.A. 32-1001, relating to KDWPT licenses, permits, stamps, specifying that only physical licenses, permits or stamps shall be surrendered under judges' orders of forfeiture or suspension. This amendment is proposed to prepare for the advent of electronic licensing. The bill passed the Senate 39-1. Provisions of SB112 were amended into this bill and it passed the house 121-0. It is now in the Conference Committee awaiting action.
SB120 -- This bill would amend K.S.A. 32-833, relating to land purchases by KDWPT, to exempt lands purchased with Natural Resource Damage Restoration Funds from required legislative approval. The bill passed the Senate 32-7. This bill was amended to restrict the number of acres KDWPT could purchase without legislative approval from 320 to 160 and to limit the NRD lands accepted to 640 acres. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources and had a hearing on March 12, 2015. It passed the House 98-27 and was signed by the Governor on April 6, 2015
SB132 -- This bill would amend K.S.A. 32-1301 to add nonhuman primates and wolves, excluding hybrids, to the list of "dangerous regulated animals." The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources.
SB134 -- This bill would amend statutes concerning noxious weeds and would allow the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, with recommendations from the state advisory committee, to declare any species of weed a noxious weed. It would also allow county commissions, with approval of the Secretary, to designate noxious weeds to be controlled within the county. This bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Agriculture and had a hearing on Feb. 10, 2015.
SB169 -- This is the Senate companion bill to HB2116, which would designate the channel catfish as the official fish of the state of Kansas. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources.
SB190 -- This bill would amend K.S.A. 32-1139 to allow a person to operate a sailboat of a length 20 feet or less without completing a boater education course if that person is enrolled in an instructor-led class. This bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Transportation and had a hearing on February 18, 2015. It was amended, striking a provision that would have allowed completion of a sailing class to be accepted as boater education certification. The bill passed the Senate 40-0. This bill was referred to the House Committee on Transportation and had a hearing on March 17, 2015. This bill was referred to the House Committee on Taxation and the provisions of this bill were amended into SB274.
SB268 -- This bill would amend K.S.A. 32-1012, preventing the nongame and endangered species conservation act from prohibiting stream maintenance and obstruction clearing. The bill came through an exempt committee and was referred to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources. This bill had a hearing on March 19, 2015.
SB269 -- This bill would amend K.S.A. 32-960, the nongame and endangered species conservation act, to specifically remove the eastern spotted skunk from the state's threatened species list. The bill came through an exempt committee and was referred to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources. This bill had a hearing on March 12, 2015.
SB274 -- This bill deals with the use of seat belts and establishing a seat belt safety fund. However, provisions of SB190 were amended into it. The provisions would exempt boaters born on or after Jan. 1, 1989 and under 21 years of age from Boater Education requirements, allowing them to operate a sailboat that does not have a motor and has an overall length of 16 feet, 7 inches or less while enrolled in an instructor-led class. The bill passed on Senate Final Action 33-2 on April 2, 2015, and it was received and introduced to the House.
SB278 -- This bill designates Cowley County as the official "stone bridge capital" of the state of Kansas. Cowley County is the home of 18 laid stone arch bridges built before 1910, 17 of which are still traveled by daily traffic. This bill passed the Senate during the 2015 session and passed the House 118-1 on Jan. 14, 2016. It has been enrolled and is on its way to the Governor to be signed.
HB2029 -- This is the companion bill of SB46 regarding identification of domesticated deer. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources and had a hearing on Jan. 27. The bill passed the House 114-0 and was referred to the Senate Committee on Agriculture. It had a hearing on March 12, 2015.
HB2116 -- This bill would designate the channel catfish as the official fish of the state of Kansas. The department supports this bill. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources.
HB2117 -- This will would require anyone born on or after January 1, 1995 to complete an approved boater safety education course before operating a motorboat or sailboat on Kansas waters. The current law only requires boater safety education of boaters younger than 21. The department supports this bill. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources and had a hearing on February 17, 2015. The Conference Committee report failed on the Senate floor 11-25 and it was sent back to the Conference Committee for further action.
HB2168 -- This is the House companion bill for SB50, which would allow outbuildings or adjacent properties to be classified as a bed and breakfast for tax valuation purposes. This bill was referred to the House Committee on Taxation and had a hearing on Feb. 12, 2015 and is on House General Orders.
HB2177 -- This bill was originally submitted to allow water right owners in a designated area to establish water conservation areas. However, its contents are now all wildlife and parks-related, including provisions from KDWPT-sponsored or -supported bills SB112, SB113 and SB190. Also added to the bill are provisions of HB2341 (detailed below), which the department opposes. Because the provisions of HB2341 run so contrary to the principles of modern wildlife management and the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, the department opposes this entire bill.
HB2341 -- This bill would amend K.S.A. 32-1047 concerning wildlife; relating to seizure of wildlife; disposal, and would require the department to return seized antlers, antler sheds and horns of illegally taken wildlife to landowners or tenants on whose property the antlers, antler sheds or horns were taken. The provisions of the amendment would be applied retroactively as they relate to antlers seized by the department after Jan. 1, 2005. This bill was referred to the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources and had a hearing on February 23, 2015. The bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee and placed on House General Orders where it passed on the House floor 82-43. The bill was then referred to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources.
HB2510 -- This bill would require the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism to charge an additional “recreation water protection” fee of $10 for each vessel registration, waterfowl hunting permit and state park permit sold. The moneys would be remitted to the state treasurer to the credit of the water depletion fund to implement the state water plan. This bill was introduced and referred jointly to the House Committee on Vision 2020 and Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources on Jan. 21, 2016.
HB2511 -- This bill would require the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism to charge an additional "recreation water protection" fee of $10 for each permit and license sold by the department. The moneys would be remitted to the state treasury to the credit of the parks fee fund. In addition to operating state parks, moneys in the park fee fund would fund increasing access to waters of the state and maintenance of state fishing lakes. This bill was introduced and referred jointly to the House Committee on Vision 2020 and Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources on Jan. 21, 2016.
House Concurrent Resolution No. 5008 -- This resolution would amend the state constitution to guarantee Kansas residents the right to hunt, fish and trap wildlife. If approved by two-thirds of the Senate and House, the proposed amendment would be voted on in a November general election. A hearing has been scheduled on HCR 5008 for Jan. 26, 2016, 9 a.m., Room 346-S.
I agree with Dave on HB 2341. How can a landowner claim a wild animal is his. Just because it may or may not have died on his property or may have spent time on that piece of property. Unless he has a high fence and purchased that animal I don't feel that he owns it or the rack.
Just my feelings.
Only the legislators serving on Natural Resource committees in the House and Senate hear testimony on such bills. The rest of the politicians vote based on committee reports, and personal contact from their constituents.
If I were a politician against HB-2341, I would guarantee the legislation would be voted down by adding an amendment to the bill making same landowners liable for deer related damages to property and vehicles when they run off same lands in front of cars. If they think they own or have rights to the wildlife resources on their property, they should be held liable for their actions, pay property and income taxes on them when they run commercial hunting operations on said properties.
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Bulldog, Are you one of those that lack thought process and common sense enough to understand and recognize that when you buy licenses and game tags from KDWPT, that you are actually buying the right to go hunting or fishing? You are not buying ownership to the wildlife resources if that is what you are implying.
If you want to stop poaching, paying landowners(and those pretending to be on family land they didn't own) for trophy racks taken illegally will do nothing but encourage more of it happening.
If you truly want to reduce or stop poaching, then support legislation that increases fines and penalties on convictions for being a game slob. The laws are currently too lax and lenient. There needs to be steeper fines, longer jail time. Convicted poachers should never be allowed to hunt nor fish in the state ever again.
..especially when they come directly from our farm, and into a road and get hit by a car.
Yes, we've had nice bucks poached, as well as several does. But were they shot on our place, or were the standing in the middle of the road, or where they just inside the fence and then jumped to our side of the road when they got shot at night?
One of the problems is a legislator had a relative get busted for poaching a trophy buck. It was confiscated. They want it back, of course.
Again, put 'em into dog chews.
Nature designed them to end up being gnawed on by rodents, anyway.
Seriously, they're only part of a wild animal!
Even though that deer was killed on my property, I do not feel I had any right to it. As said by others no individual owns a wild deer in Kansas until they legally kill one and place a tag on it.
and if said lawndowner owns the antlers and those antlers crash through a windshield while attached to a deer body then is said landowner liable for the morbidity/mortality caused by the the landowners antlers??
HB2341 is rank....
How do states with so much public ground have deer, then, and elk, and bighorn sheep, and ...?
Put a high fence around your property thornton, then you can have full rights to your dead poached deer.
I can about promise you we've all done our share of calling.
The state has often issued salvage tags to vehicle collisions,..because the salvage tag is for the meat! The salvage tag was never meant to be solely to claim the antlers.
The state has never issued salvage tags for deer killed by poachers that i know of. Most poachers simply cut the head and run.
Please go hunt from a hwy this fall and get back to me on how legal of a public hunting area it is.
That's funny stuff right there, when it comes to deer antlers.
Seriously, Chris Rock could have used that Sunday night at the Oscars. (It would have been funnier, to me, than a lot of the rant.)
Antlers have broken more good friendships, families, and "good neighbors" relationships the past 15 or so years than cattle getting through a fence and into the garden.
These days too many people think any decent set of antlers is worth $5,000 or up. Right, people will want to give that away once a game warden puts them in their hands.
..and again, who decides who has the "right hands?"
If the state does decide however to auction off antlers there could be a shadow auction where numerous sets of Antlers are auctioned off as a number. For example they have 15 racks over the 120" mark, each antler set is assigned a number but the general public would not be privy to that number. Maybe you bid on #15 thinking it may be that record rack but in reality it is just a 120" 8 point buck.
I think if the public wants to buy a poached rack, they can pay the going rate. As in $20k for a 200" poached rack.
If no one buys the antlers, the state can cut em up for fertilizer or at the very least cut them from the skull plate and sell them as sheds.
Why does the state give away 10,000 deer per year through a salvage tag for deer found dead on private property or hit on the road? Including the 51 point deer found a couple of years ago. Since deer walked across other people's property, I am guessing none of you pick up sheds. You just leave them for the rodents. Do you do the same with the deer you shoot?
The only way to privatize the wildlife is to buy your own deer and then build your high fence. Create your own hunting license, season, rules...
When you have the state record deer, which also is the second largest in the world for the perfect class poached on your land, I will support your efforts in having them destroyed.
Cuda360-waaaaaah!Your diaper needs changed.
