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Pratt County adopts charter resolution exempting county from portion of state sanitary-inspection statute for schools
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Summary
The Pratt County Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 16 adopted Charter Resolution O9-16-2024B, exempting the county from the portion of KSA 65-202 that requires the local health officer to perform sanitary inspections of school buildings and grounds; the resolution will take effect after publication unless a petition forces a public vote.
The Pratt County Board of County Commissioners voted Sept. 16 to adopt Charter Resolution O9-16-2024B, exempting Pratt County from the portion of Kansas Statutes Annotated that requires the local health officer to perform sanitary inspections of school buildings and grounds.
Unidentified Speaker (S2) read the resolution into the record, citing the county’s home-rule authority under KSA 19-101 and citing recent changes enacted in House Bill 2754, effective July 1, 2024. The resolution states that, upon publication in the official county newspaper once a week for two consecutive weeks, the exemption will take effect 60 days after final publication unless a sufficient petition is filed with the County Election Officer. If a petition is filed, the resolution would only take effect if approved by a majority of electors voting on it.
An unidentified commissioner moved to adopt the resolution (identified in the record as O9-16-2024B); the motion was seconded and the board voted in favor. No roll-call vote identifying individual commissioners was recorded in the transcript; the board’s verbal response was "aye." The county clerk is directed in the resolution to file a certified copy with the Kansas Secretary of State and to provide required public notices.
The resolution’s text as read refers specifically to KSA 65-202 and preserves all other provisions of the cited KSA section. The charter resolution also outlines the publication and petition procedures required under KSA 19-101 if electors seek to overturn the exemption.
The board did not record any additional discussion in the transcript about operational changes to how school inspections would be performed; the resolution language specifies that the local health officer "shall not be required to make sanitary inspection of school buildings and grounds" once the resolution is effective. The transcript does not record any public comment on the measure during the meeting.
Next steps set out in the resolution: the county will publish the charter resolution as required; the exemption takes effect 60 days after final publication unless voters force a referendum by filing a sufficient petition within the statutory period.
