Commission staff to circulate draft regulation enabling commissioners to submit proposed rules for consideration

Commission legal staff on March 27 presented draft regulatory language to clarify the process by which an individual member of the Kansas Wildlife & Parks Commission may request that the secretary submit a draft rule or regulation for commission consideration.

Chief Counsel Curtis Ward read the draft text (KR 1‑15‑45‑1) and described its intent: a commissioner may request the secretary to submit a draft rule for vote at the meeting scheduled after the following meeting, or, at the later meeting specified by the commissioner. The language references the Kansas Rules and Regulations Filing Act (KSA 77‑415) as the promulgation mechanism. Ward acknowledged the draft was prepared quickly and said more review would be appropriate.

Commissioners agreed it would be prudent to postpone formal consideration until the April meeting so all commissioners could review the language. Chair Whitney Dammer and others supported circulating the draft for additional review; the group noted similar legislation had been discussed in the Legislature earlier in the session and stakeholders had proposed alternate approaches. No final action was taken at the March meeting; staff will provide the draft to commissioners and post it for review before the April meeting.

Commissioners said clarifying the process would help reduce uncertainty about how members bring issues forward and strengthen collaboration between commissioners and staff. The department committed to distributing the draft regulation and returning the issue to the agenda at the next scheduled meeting.