Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

Kansas House Bill HB2061

Introduced
1/22/25  
Refer
1/22/25  
Report Pass
2/5/25  
Engrossed
2/14/25  
Refer
2/18/25  
Report Pass
3/11/25  
Enrolled
3/27/25  

Caption

Including aboveground and belowground lines, cables and wires in the definition of a critical infrastructure facility used for telecommunications or video services for the crimes of trespassing on a critical infrastructure facility and criminal damage to a critical infrastructure facility.

Summary

HB2061 expands Kansas’ criminal trespass and criminal damage laws for “critical infrastructure facilities” by broadening what counts as protected telecommunications and video-services infrastructure. In addition to existing categories such as refineries, utilities, pipelines, water facilities, and transportation sites, the bill expressly includes aboveground and belowground lines, cables, wires, antennas, towers, small cell facilities, backup power supplies, headends, and related equipment buildings and shelters used for wireline, broadband, wireless telecommunications, and video services. The bill keeps the existing offense structure but applies it to the expanded definition of critical infrastructure. Unauthorized entry onto such property remains a class A nonperson misdemeanor, while aggravated trespassing, criminal damage, and aggravated criminal damage remain nonperson felonies at severity levels 7, 6, and 5, respectively, depending on intent to damage or impede operations. The bill also preserves other legal remedies for owners and allows prosecution under other applicable criminal statutes.

Impact

HB2061 amends K.S.A. 21-5818 and repeals the prior version of that section, thereby updating Kansas criminal law to cover more telecommunications and video-service infrastructure as critical infrastructure. The practical effect is to give owners, operators, and law enforcement stronger tools to deter and punish trespass, vandalism, tampering, and interference involving fiber, cable, wireless, and related network facilities, including both aboveground and underground assets. It affects potential defendants who enter or damage these facilities without authorization and may also benefit utilities, telecom providers, broadcasters, and other infrastructure operators.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have had broad legislative support. It passed the House 104-14, passed the Senate 40-0, and then the House concurred with Senate amendments 110-12. The vote totals suggest a generally favorable view of the bill’s goal of protecting communications infrastructure, with only a relatively small minority opposing or withholding support.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely the expansion of criminal liability to a wider range of telecommunications and video infrastructure, especially underground and aboveground lines, cables, wires, towers, and small cell facilities. Critics may have been concerned that the bill broadens felony exposure for conduct near infrastructure sites or could affect protest activity, access, or accidental entry. Supporters, by contrast, appear to have viewed the measure as a necessary public-safety and network-security update to protect essential communications systems from trespass and sabotage.

Companion Bills

No companion bills found.

Previously Filed As

KS HB2001

Authorizing the secretary of commerce to enter into agreements with major professional sports franchises to establish STAR bond projects for a major professional sports complex, providing for additional revenue sources, expanding the powers and discretion of the secretary and making other changes to the STAR bonds financing act to facilitate such projects, limiting the secretary’s authority to approve such projects to one year unless extended by the legislative coordinating council, authorizing the Kansas development finance authority to issue STAR bonds for such projects, transferring funds under certain circumstances from the state gaming revenues fund to the attracting professional sports to Kansas fund for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, and, if approved by the legislative coordinating council, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.

KS HB2003

Establishing the veterans' valor property tax relief act providing for an income tax credit or refund for eligible individuals, modifying the definition of household income and increasing the appraised value threshold for eligibility of seniors and disabled veterans related to increased property tax claims and citing the section as the homeowners' property tax freeze program, providing property tax exemptions for certain personal property including watercraft, marine equipment, off-road vehicles, motorized bicycles and certain trailers, excluding internal revenue code section 1031 exchange transactions as indicators of fair market value, providing for certain exclusions from the prohibition of paying taxes under protest after a valuation notice appeal and providing four prior years' values on the annual valuation notice.

KS SB8

Exempting the sale of firearms, firearms accessories, ammunition, firearm safes and firearm safety devices from the retatilers' sales tax.

KS SB7

Authorizing federally licensed firearm dealers, in addition to county sheriffs, to receive applications for concealed carry licenses and forward such applications to the attorney general, prohibiting sheriffs from assessing any fee related to application services and allowing dealers to assess a fee related to application services not to exceed $20.

KS SB2

Eliminating the income limit to qualify for the subtraction modification exempting social security benefits, increasing the income tax credit amount for household and dependent care expenses, establishing the veterans' valor property tax relief act providing for an income tax credit or refund for eligible individuals, citing the increased property tax homestead refund claim section as the homeowners' property tax freeze program, decreasing the normal privilege tax rate, increasing the extent of property tax exemption for residential property from the statewide school levy, decreasing the rate of ad valorem tax imposed by a school district; providing for certain transfers to the state school district finance fund, reducing the state rate of tax on sales of food and food ingredients and modifying the percent credited to the state highway fund from revenue collected.

KS SB1

Modifying income tax rates for individuals, exempting all social security benefits from Kansas income tax, increasing the Kansas standard deduction and the Kansas personal exemption, increasing the income tax credit amount for household and dependent care expenses, decreasing the privilege tax normal tax, excluding internal revenue code section 1031 exchange transactions as indicators of fair market value for property tax valuation purposes, increasing the extent of property tax exemption for residential property from the statewide school levy, providing for certain transfers to the state school district finance fund and abolishing the local ad valorem tax reduction fund and the county and city revenue sharing fund.

KS SB6

Providing a sales tax exemption for sales of electricity to residential premises by municipally owned or operated utilities.

KS SB3

Clarifying the procedures and restrictions on accepting a nomination for an elected office.

KS SCR1604

Proposing to amend section 1 of article 11 of the constitution of the state of Kansas to limit property tax valuation increases for real property and personal property mobile homes.

KS SCR1601

Informing the Governor that the two houses of the Legislature are organized and ready to receive communications.

Similar Bills

UT HB0355

Mining and Critical Infrastructure Materials Amendments

CA SB74

An act to add Article 8 (commencing with Section 65059.

UT HB0422

Public Infrastructure Districts Amendments

HI SB897

Relating To Energy.

NM HB21

LAND GRANT-MERCED ACEQUIA INFRASTRUCTURE ACT

CA AJR22

Federal Infrastructure Bank.

NJ S1201

Establishes green infrastructure financing program.