Committee hears HB 2337 to impose fee on international remittances to fund law-enforcement efforts

The House Committee on Financial Institutions and Pensions heard testimony on HB 2337, a bill that would assess a fee on international money‑transfers handled by nonbank money remitters and use the revenue to fund criminal investigations and grants for prosecutors and local law enforcement.

The bill, explained to the committee by Jason Thompson of the reviser’s office, would impose a $7.50 fee on each international transaction of $500 or less and a charge equal to 1.5% of the amount on transactions exceeding $500. Thompson said remitters would file monthly reports with the director of taxation and that the bill establishes a tax‑credit mechanism tied to fees paid.

Supporters, led by Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) Director Tony Mativi, framed the proposal as a tool to combat drug trafficking and money laundering associated with fentanyl distribution. "Fentanyl poisonings ... are the leading cause of death of Americans under 40. Let that sink in for a minute," Mativi told the committee, and he said the KBI and prosecutors need sustained funding to pursue cartels that, he said, rely in part on money remitters to move proceeds out of the United States. "There is not a single fentanyl pill that's trafficked into this state that isn't ultimately attributable to 1 of 2 major Mexican drug cartels," Mativi said, and argued the fee would capture some of the funds moving south to Mexico and direct them to law enforcement.

What the bill would do

- Fee and tax credit: Section 1 would set the fee levels and require monthly remitter reporting. HB 2337 directs an amount equal to the tax credits certified by the director of taxation to be reserved in the State General Fund first; remitter customers would receive tax credits for fees paid, and Thompson said those credits may be carried forward (he said credits appear to expire after the fifth tax year).

- Fund distribution: After reserving funds for the tax credits, the…