Sedgwick County lays out four legislative priorities: juvenile competency reimbursement, election-date consolidation, coroner cremains authority and sales-tax-s

Sedgwick County staff told commissioners they will ask the county's lobbyists to draft and seek bills this session on four priorities: juvenile competency restoration reimbursement, consolidation of local election dates, statutory authority for the coroner to dispose of unclaimed cremated remains, and a change to the 1% sales-tax distribution formula described separately.

1) Juvenile competency reimbursement: County attorneys drafted language to amend the statute implementing Senate Bill 28 (2024) to include juveniles awaiting competency restoration or treatment. County staff said existing law now reimburses counties for adults in custody who await evaluation or restoration; staff argued there is no adequate local capacity in Sedgwick County for juveniles and that juveniles are being held in county custody while awaiting placement out of county.

2) Election-date consolidation: The county's election commissioner and staff asked for statutory changes to allow jurisdictions to align local ballot measures and special elections with existing statewide dates (primary/general) to reduce the frequency and administrative cost of stand-alone spring special elections. County staff said jurisdictions that call special elections must reimburse the county for election costs.

3) Coroner authority for unclaimed cremains: County legal staff proposed drafting legislation to grant the district coroner explicit authority to dispose of unclaimed cremated remains and personal property of minimal value after a reasonable retention period — aligning coroner practice with mortuary statutes so the county does not have to retain remains and property indefinitely.

4) Sales-tax distribution: County finance staff will ask lobbyists to draft assessed-value language for the shared 1% sales tax so the county and the 20 cities divide the levy-based portion by assessed value rather than property-tax-levy dollars (see separate article for details).

Commission members and outside advisers commented on the four items. One adviser said two of the bills were likely to be easier to pass, one (the coroner language and an elections bill) had good odds, the sales-tax redistribution would be more politically contested among municipalities, and the juvenile reimbursement bill has the lowest chance because it imposes a potential cost to the state. County counsel said draft bill language is prepared and can be transmitted quickly to the reviser's office for the short session.

Next steps: Staff said the county will transmit the four drafted bills to the Watkins Group (the county's lobbyists) for introduction and chase coordination with legislative leaders.