Committee favors bill making county creation of citizens commission optional

Senate Bill 104, which would change statutory language requiring certain counties to create a Citizens Commission on Local Government into permissive language, was advanced out of the Committee on Local Government Tuesday.

"The statute requires the county to create a citizen's commission on local government," Jason Long, the committee reviser, told the committee, adding that the statute was enacted in 1968, initially applied to Wyandotte County and now applies to Shawnee County because of population shifts. "Senate Bill 104 makes a fairly simple change ... that changed the 'shall create' to a 'may create,' and so it gives the county some discretion as to whether or not to establish the Citizens Commission on local government," Long said.

The statute, as written, would require the commission to include a large collection of local-government leaders if formed: the board of county commissioners, governing bodies of each city of the first class, township trustees, mayors of second- and third-class cities in the county, and chairpersons of other political subdivisions. The reviser told the committee his understanding was that the commission has never actually been formed under the statute.

Ashley Beigert, assistant Shawnee County counselor, testified in support of the change and described prior local efforts to consider consolidation of government. "We too, obtained our very specific statutory scheme for how to consider consolidation of government, and we did that in 02/2005," Beigert said, and added that Shawnee County held a voter process that rejected consolidation. She told the committee the mandatory statute would require putting together a commission of about 59 members for Shawnee County, which she described as inefficient and impractical in the county's view.

Committee members who spoke in favor said the permissive language would reduce statutory burdens on county governments while preserving the statute for counties that might later choose to use it. The reviser said that if a county voluntarily creates a commission outside the statute's framework, participation and membership would be voluntary without statutory enforcement.

The committee moved SB 104 out of committee favorably for passage. Representative Blakes moved to suspend the rules and "work" SB 104; the motion to pass SB 104 out of committee was seconded by Representative Collins. The committee advanced the bill by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the committee minutes.

Proponent written testimony included statements from the City of Topeka and the Kansas Association of Counties. No in-person opponents or neutral witnesses appeared at the hearing.