Kansas House Bill HB2337

Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/7/25
• Refer: 2/7/25

Caption

Imposing a fee on each international transaction by a money transmitter by wire, allowing the state bank commissioner to assess penalties for the nonpayment of such fee, providing for the distribution of such fee and penalty moneys, establishing the criminal litigation fund, wire transfer fee fund and prosecutor and law enforcement grant fund and creating a misdemeanor crime of unlawful transmission of a wire transfer and providing criminal penalties therefor.

Summary

HB 2337 would create a new state fee on international wire transfers handled by money transmitters. The bill requires money transmitters by wire to collect either a flat $7.50 fee on international transactions of $500 or less or 1.5% of the amount over $500, file monthly reports with the director of taxation, and remit the collected fees to the state. It also authorizes the state bank commissioner to assess penalties for nonpayment and allows the state to pursue unpaid amounts through surety bonds. In addition, the bill creates an income tax credit for taxpayers equal to the fees paid under the new fee structure, beginning with tax years after December 31, 2023. The bill establishes three new funds to receive the revenue: the criminal litigation fund, the wire transfer fee fund, and the prosecutor and law enforcement grant fund. Those funds would support criminal investigations and prosecutions, complex drug and white-collar investigations, and grants to county attorneys, district attorneys, and local law enforcement agencies. The grant fund includes a restriction making agencies ineligible if they refuse to coordinate with federal immigration authorities or fail to honor immigration detainers to the best of their ability. HB 2337 also creates a new misdemeanor offense, “unlawful transmission of a wire transfer,” for certain wire-transfer activity by a person who is not a U.S. citizen or lawfully present alien. The offense is classified as a class C nonperson misdemeanor. The bill further amends the Kansas Money Transmission Act to add definitions and administrative provisions tied to the new fee and enforcement scheme, and it amends confidentiality rules for tax information so the Department of Revenue may share money transmitter information with the state bank commissioner for enforcement purposes. The overall policy effect is to impose a new regulatory and fiscal framework on money transmitters operating in Kansas, while redirecting the resulting revenue to criminal justice and law enforcement purposes. It would also expand state oversight of international wire transfers and create new reporting, collection, and enforcement duties for the Department of Revenue and the state bank commissioner. The bill repeals the existing versions of the amended statutes and replaces them with the new provisions. No committee transcript or vote history was provided, so there is no recorded discussion or voting record to gauge legislative sentiment. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears designed to appeal to supporters of stronger criminal justice funding and immigration-related enforcement, while likely drawing concern from financial services interests, civil liberties advocates, and critics of the new criminal penalty tied to immigration status.

Impact

HB 2337 would amend the Kansas Money Transmission Act and state tax confidentiality law, creating a new fee regime for international wire transfers, new reporting and enforcement authority for the Department of Revenue and the state bank commissioner, and new state funds dedicated to criminal justice and law enforcement purposes. It would also add a new misdemeanor offense related to wire transfers by persons not lawfully present in the United States and provide a corresponding income tax credit for fees paid under the act.

Sentiment

No committee discussion or vote history was provided, so there is no documented legislative sentiment in the record supplied. From the bill’s structure, the measure appears to be framed as a public safety and enforcement bill, with revenue directed to prosecutors, investigators, and local law enforcement, suggesting support from proponents of tougher enforcement and criminal justice funding. At the same time, the bill’s immigration-related eligibility restriction and new criminal offense likely make it controversial among opponents concerned about discrimination, financial burden, and the scope of state enforcement.

Contention

The most notable points of contention are likely the new fee on international wire transfers, the use of that revenue for criminal justice and law enforcement grants, and the immigration-related provisions. The bill bars agencies that do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities from receiving grant funds, which would likely draw opposition from local governments and law enforcement agencies that limit immigration cooperation. The new misdemeanor for wire-transfer activity by noncitizens or unlawfully present persons is also likely to be highly controversial, with critics likely to challenge both its policy rationale and its targeting of immigration status.