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Kansas bill would let Insurance Commissioner shrink appointed boards, set new terms and removal grounds
Summary
House Bill 2,045 would allow the Kansas Insurance Commissioner to reduce the number of members on boards the Commissioner appoints, end current members' terms in late 2025, create new three-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2026, and allow removal for inefficiency, neglect or malfeasance; committee hearing closed with no opponents.
House Bill 2,045 would authorize the Kansas Insurance Commissioner to reduce the number of members serving on boards for which the Commissioner has appointment authority and to replace those boards with newly appointed members who would serve three-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2026.
The bill, described at a Feb. 26 hearing of the Kansas Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance, says current board members appointed and serving as of July 1, 2025, would have their terms end on December 30, 2025, and that newly appointed members’ three-year terms would begin Jan. 1, 2026. The bill also states that new board members would be removable for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance.”
Committee staff said the bill would retain the boards’ existing powers, duties and functions while giving the Commissioner flexibility to reduce board size. The bill also removes a statutory requirement that the Committee on Charity Bonds and Insurance meet at least once per month, instead providing that meetings will be held at the call of the chair.
Committee staff said the House Committee on Insurance reported the House version with no amendments and that the House Committee of the Whole passed the measure on Feb. 7 by a 104-10 vote. At the committee hearing, Kyle Strauthman of the Kansas Department of Insurance told senators the change responds to vacancies and difficulty recruiting applicants with the required experience: “finding somebody that has the requisite experience and then just wants to serve on these boards is the biggest issue that we're trying to solve here.”
There was no neutral or opponent testimony at the hearing. The committee closed the hearing on House Bill 2,045 without taking further action that day.
The hearing record shows the bill was presented by committee staff identified as Eileen and received proponent testimony from Kyle Strauthman of the Kansas Department of Insurance. Senators asked questions about the rationale for reducing board size and the department said recruitment and a number of vacancies motivated the change.
No vote on this bill was taken by the committee during the Feb. 26 meeting.
