Secretary of State backs bill to require disclaimers on fee solicitations to small businesses

House Bill 21‑18 would add a new section requiring anyone (other than a government entity) who solicits a fee to file or retrieve a copy of a state or local public record or certificate to include conspicuous disclosure: the solicitation must state it is an advertisement not made by the government, provide the solicitor’s name and physical address, explain how to file directly with the government, and not use language or formatting that would make the mailing appear to be a government document.

Clay Barker (Clay Barker), general counsel for the Kansas Secretary of State, testified that the office brought the bill because of numerous complaints from small entities about solicitations that imply a government requirement and charge inflated fees. Barker told the committee the scheme is common and that certain mailings or websites will ask a small business to pay hundreds of dollars to file or obtain documents that the company could obtain quickly and cheaply through the Secretary of State’s website. “What it combats is a common form of deceptive scam,” Barker said. He cited warnings from the Better Business Bureau, Federal Trade Commission and National Association of Secretaries of State and said some solicitations charge vastly higher fees than the government charge.

Barker said Kansas sees roughly 29,000 new LLCs a year, many with one or two people and no in‑house counsel, and that those small entities are a frequent target. He explained enforcement would be civil: complaints would be referred to the Attorney General and the Secretary of State could collect examples from complainants. Barker said the bill’s language was modeled on measures from other states and that the Attorney General had no objections to adding the consumer‑protection remedy.

Committee members questioned how the measure would be enforced and whether the existing Kansas Consumer Protection Act covers targeted business entities such as LLCs. Barker said the office would work with the committee on any definitional clarifications; staff suggested the office might consider an amendment to ensure the intended corporate recipients are covered. The committee also discussed fiscal language in the bill file indicating a potential $78,075 General Fund request for one investigator and related salary and wage costs; Barker said he did not have background to confirm that figure.

Why it matters: Supporters described the bill as a consumer‑protection measure to reduce deceptive solicitations that overcharge small and newly formed Kansas business entities, and they said the remedy is civil enforcement through the Consumer Protection Act.