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Senate amends and advances bill limiting acceptance of some federal election-related funds
Summary
Senate Bill 5, as amended, restricts government agencies and officials from knowingly accepting or expending certain federal funds for election-related activities except as provided by Congress or the legislature; the Senate adopted a friendly amendment to exempt monies expressly for election security and passed the bill on final action.
Senate Bill 5, a measure intended to prevent executive-branch federal funding from influencing state election administration, was amended on the floor and advanced by the Kansas Senate on Feb. 12.
Senator Thompson (Johnson) explained the bill as barring any governmental agency or elected official from knowingly accepting or expending federal money — directly or indirectly — for election-related activities unless such funding is provided through acts of Congress or through the state legislature. Thompson cited concerns about private and federal funding streams entering local election activities, including private funding made during the 2020 cycle and a 2021 presidential executive order that the sponsor said had directed funds into election-related activities.
Senator Corson asked whether the bill duplicated or overlapped existing prohibitions; Thompson said the language was intended to prevent outside influence on election administration. Senator Francisco (Douglas) raised concern about ambiguity regarding federal grants specifically earmarked for election security, noting testimony from the secretary of state's office that such grants were not intended to be affected. Francisco offered amendment 1249 to add an explicit exemption: "the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to the receipt and expenditure of monies for election security." Francisco explained the amendment and Thompson described it as a friendly amendment that preserves the bill’s intent while protecting law-enforcement and security-related grant funding.
The amendment was adopted on the floor and the committee reported SB5 as amended. On final action the bill was declared passed; the roll call reported 33 senators in favor and 6 against for Senate Bill 5.
The floor record shows the sponsors and sponsors' explanations and the adopted amendment; specifics on how the bill would be implemented by state or local election officials or any fiscal note were not provided in the floor explanation.
