Committee advances three bills: campaign finance recodification, foreign-contribution limits and obituaries for voter-roll updates

The House Elections Committee voted by voice to advance three bills on its agenda: a campaign finance recodification and agency rename, a measure tightening prohibitions on foreign contributions for efforts to amend or repeal parts of the Kansas Constitution, and a bill allowing county election officials to use online obituary notices to update voter rolls.

House Bill 2206: campaign finance recodification and ethics commission name change

House Bill 2206 was taken up first. Caitlin Bull Stewart, general counsel for the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission, told the committee the commission remained neutral on policy but offered technical comments on recently circulated amendment language. Stewart said the amendment changes the political-committee determination from a single-year test to a five-year look-back, which “would decrease the risk of some of the gameability” and give the commission more data for investigations. She also said the amendment lowers the registration threshold for political-committee status from $5,000 to $3,000 and removes a sentence that had created ambiguity about using evidence of pass-through schemes.

Representative Penn moved the bill favorably for passage as amended; the vice chairman seconded. The committee adopted the amendment by voice vote and then passed the bill favorably by voice vote.

House Bill 2106: prohibition and reporting for foreign contributions related to constitutional repeal

The committee then considered House Bill 2106, described by the Revisor as a bill that would prohibit foreign nationals from making contributions to efforts that promote or oppose repeal of provisions of the Kansas Constitution and would require reporting and donor certifications. Committee members discussed draft amendment language requiring each person who accepts money for express advocacy about a constitutional amendment to report donors and require donors to certify they are not foreign nationals. Committee members asked whether the measure would affect news organizations; the committee was told the measure targets express advocacy (for example, “vote for”/“vote against” language) and would not be intended to cover ordinary news reporting.

Committee members also asked practical questions about enforcement and proof of knowing or unknowing acceptance of foreign funds; the committee was told such matters would be subject to the commission’s investigative processes, including subpoenas and discovery if a violation were suspected. The amendment also includes an aggregate-threshold provision referenced during the hearing: the bill text as discussed would focus reporting or limits where contributions accepted for the purpose of express advocacy aggregate to $100,000 within a four-year period.

The committee adopted the amendment by voice vote. The vice chairman moved the bill favorably for passage and Representative Penn seconded; the committee passed HB 2106 favorably by voice vote.

House Bill 2016: use of online obituary notices for voter roll updates

The committee also advanced House Bill 2016, which the Revisor summarized as allowing county election officials to consult obituary notices published online by funeral homes, in addition to newspapers, to identify voters who have died and update voter registration rolls. Representative Penn moved the bill; Representative Bergquist seconded. After the brief discussion and a closing from Rep. Penn, the committee passed HB 2016 favorably by voice vote.

Minutes and procedural items

Before adjournment the committee approved minutes for prior meetings (Feb. 4 and Feb. 6) by voice vote.

What the votes mean: All three bills were reported favorably out of committee on voice votes; the record in the hearing shows no roll-call tallies for these motions. Further floor action and any additional amendments would be required before the measures could become law.

Ending: The committee adjourned after finishing the listed business and closing the SB 4 hearing.