Committee hears bill requiring Attorney General review of contingency-fee contracts by political subdivisions

A Kansas Legislature Judiciary Committee hearing on Senate Bill 242 focused on new limits and an approval process for contingency-fee contracts between political subdivisions and private lawyers.

The bill would require a governing body to call a public meeting to consider a proposed contingency-fee contract, make a written finding that the services are substantially needed and cannot be performed by the subdivision’s own attorneys, and approve the contract in an open meeting. Before becoming effective, the approved contract would be submitted to the Kansas Attorney General’s Office with the contract, a description of the legal matter and the governing body’s written findings; the attorney general would have a statutory review period to approve or refuse the contract, or the contract would be deemed approved if the attorney general takes no action within the statutory review window. Existing contingency-fee contracts entered before July 1, 2025, would have to be submitted to the attorney general by July 1, 2026. The bill as drafted would automatically expire July 1, 2029.

Proponents said the bill preserves the attorney general’s role in matters of statewide concern while allowing local governments to pursue purely local claims. Jennifer Artman, partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon, told the committee the measure seeks to “facilitate coordination with the state attorney general’s office and the local governments” and to provide “transparency for those local…