Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

Kansas Senate Bill SB120

Introduced
1/30/25  

Caption

Enacting the municipal employee whistleblower act to provide statutory protections for municipal employees who report or disclose unlawful or dangerous conduct.

Impact

If enacted, SB120 would significantly impact state laws concerning employee rights within municipalities. The bill prohibits supervisors or appointing authorities from taking disciplinary actions against employees who disclose matters related to public health, safety, and welfare. Furthermore, the act allows employees to report violations without fear of retribution, thereby fostering an environment where municipal workers can perform whistleblowing without the concern of job loss or other retaliatory measures. This kind of assurance is particularly essential in maintaining ethical governance at the municipal level.

Summary

Senate Bill 120, known as the Kansas Municipal Employee Whistleblower Act, aims to provide legal protections for municipal employees who report or disclose unlawful or dangerous conduct within their respective municipalities. This legislation establishes clear guidelines regarding the safeguards available to employees who decide to bring forward concerns about corruption, malfeasance, or public safety hazards. The intent is to encourage transparency and accountability within local government bodies, thereby promoting integrity and protecting employees from retaliation for their actions.

Contention

While the bill seeks to protect employees, some concerns revolve around the implementation and potential misuse of the whistleblower provisions. Critics might argue that without rigorous criteria, the protections could be exploited, leading to frivolous accusations against municipal authorities. The balance of ensuring effective whistleblower protection while preventing misuse of these provisions is a significant point of discussion in the legislative process. Additionally, there may be varying levels of support or opposition depending on how different stakeholders perceive the implications for accountability versus operational effectiveness within municipalities.

Companion Bills

No companion bills found.

Previously Filed As

KS SB6

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

KS HB2002

Expanding medical assistance eligibility and enacting the cutting healthcare costs for all Kansans act.

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 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 SB8

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

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 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 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 HR6001

Providing for the organization of the House of Representatives for the 2024 special session of the Legislature.

KS SR1701

Providing for the organization of the Senate for the 2024 special session of the Legislature.

Similar Bills

No similar bills found.