Transportation committee hears ignition-interlock fee bill, trailer-dealer exemptions and advances several plate and naming measures

The Transportation Committee heard testimony on multiple bills Thursday, including House Bill 2222 to create a manufacturer fee for ignition interlock devices and House Bill 2030 to exempt trailer manufacturers from certain provisions of the vehicle dealers and manufacturers licensing act. Lawmakers advanced several measures by voice vote and delayed action on at least one plate-related bill to gather additional cost information.

House Bill 2222, which would require manufacturers of ignition interlock devices to pay a one-time $10 installation fee and a monthly $5 oversight fee to the Kansas Highway Patrol starting July 1, 2025, drew the most detailed testimony. Lieutenant Candace Payne of the Kansas Highway Patrol told the committee the devices prevent intoxicated drivers from starting vehicles and described the program's scope and compliance work. "We feel this program is essential for public safety and the mission and the goals of the Kansas Highway Patrol in reducing those impaired driving incidents," Payne said.

Payne and agency witnesses gave several program statistics: in 2024 the state had 9,915 devices installed; interlocks prevented vehicle starts 212 times at a blood-alcohol concentration around 0.032 and prevented 8,373 attempted starts when a person's BAC was 0.08 or greater. The Highway Patrol said vendor oversight covers seven manufacturers, roughly 300 service centers and about 400 technicians; the agency's compliance reviewers completed 5,135 90-day reviews in 2024, with 3,909 successful program completions and 51 cases still considered noncompliant after review.

On finances, the committee was told the Division of the Budget provided a fiscal note estimating revenue of $648,270 for fiscal 2026 tied to HB 2222. Merrittel, identified as an executive officer for the Highway Patrol, said the agency intends to use the fee fund to shift existing staffing costs rather than immediately add new troopers: "we would switch the funding source for 2 FTE positions these are positions that currently exist," Merrittel said. The bill would establish an IID fee program fund administered by the superintendent of the Highway Patrol to pay for administration, oversight and monitoring of the program.

Committee members pressed how the manufacturer fee would affect consumers. Payne said the $5 monthly fee would be paid by manufacturers to the state and is separate from the consumer charges manufacturers currently set; committee members were told consumer monthly costs for interlock services vary widely depending on vendor and optional services, with a rough range cited of about $75 to $140 per month. Senators asked whether manufacturers would likely pass the new fee on to consumers; witnesses said they could not definitively speak for manufacturers but noted HB 2222 includes a waiver of the monthly fee for people approved for the program's affordability (reduced-cost) option.

House Bill 2030, which would exempt manufacturers and dealers of trailers from specified sections of the vehicle dealers and manufacturers licensing act, drew a proponent witness from industry. Pramod Raja of American Trailer World described his company as "one of the largest domestic manufacturers of hauled or drawn trailers" and testified trailer dealers operate differently from motor-vehicle dealers, often carrying multiple brands and not operating under franchise arrangements. Raja said roughly two-thirds of U.S. states already exclude trailers from motor-vehicle franchise laws and urged the committee to adopt similar treatment in Kansas to align regulation with industry practice.

The committee also considered several other bills and took votes on three measures. It adopted an amendment and moved House Bill 2124 (highway and bridge memorial namings) out of committee favorably as amended by voice vote after the amendment was seconded and approved. The committee moved House Bill 2031 (allowing driving school instructors to hold equivalent out-of-state licenses) out favorably as amended, and it moved House Bill 2289 (changes to issuance of personalized plates and decal requirements) out favorably for passage as amended. For those committee actions, lawmakers used voice votes and did not record roll-call tallies in the hearing transcript; the committee record shows the motions succeeded by voice vote.

On license-plate proposals, the committee paused work on House Bill 2168 (a "blackout" plate with a $50 annual fee to fund plate replacement) to allow the Department of Revenue time to provide cost detail to senators. Zach Dinkins of the Department of Revenue said he had sent cost information by email and indicated a plate-replacement cost of about $10.13 per standard plate as a ballpark. Committee members asked whether cost responsibilities for specialty or custom plates should be borne by those plate holders; lawmakers agreed to delay work on HB 2168 until staff could circulate the department's cost estimates and allow senators time to review the numbers.

The committee also heard House Bill 2122, a technical change raising the annual fee threshold that allows truck and truck-tractor owners to pay registration fees quarterly (from $100 to $300) and eliminating the two-quarter grace period for delinquent quarterly payments. Senators expressed concern about administrative inflexibility for businesses that miss a quarterly payment by only a few days; a senator said businesses can face substantial cash-flow burdens if forced to pay large registration sums in a lump sum after losing quarterly privileges.

What happened (votes at a glance): - House Bill 2124 (highway/bridge memorial namings): amendment adopted; committee moved the bill out favorably as amended (voice vote; tally not recorded). - House Bill 2031 (out-of-state licenses for driving instructors): moved out favorably as amended (voice vote; tally not recorded). - House Bill 2289 (personalized plates and decal provisions): moved out favorably for passage as amended (voice vote; tally not recorded). - House Bill 2222 (ignition interlock manufacturer fees): hearing closed; no committee vote recorded in the transcript. - House Bill 2030 (trailer-dealer licensing exclusions): hearing closed; no committee vote recorded in the transcript. - House Bill 2168 (blackout license plate fee to fund plate replacement): work deferred to the next day to allow revenue cost information to be distributed and reviewed. - House Bill 2122 (truck registration quarterly-payment threshold and delinquency): heard; no committee vote recorded in the transcript.

The committee indicated it would continue work on plate-related bills after the Department of Revenue circulates cost estimates and senators have time to review them. Several lawmakers said they want future committee action to include clearer fiscal detail about who would bear custom-plate and replacement costs.