Kansas HB 2063: Senate Substitute for HB 2063 by Committee on Assessment and Taxation - Discontinuing state property tax levies for the Kansas educational building fund and the state institutions building fund and providing for financing from the state general fund.

Bill Text

As Amended by House Committee
Session of 2025
HOUSE BILL No. 2063
By Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources Budget
Requested by Justin Cobb on behalf of Kansans for Conservation
1-22
AN ACT concerning natural resources; relating to state moneys for
conservation; establishing the state conservation fund, the working
lands conservation fund, the wildlife conservation fund and the Kansas
outdoors fund; providing for the use of moneys in such funds by the
Kansas department of agriculture and the Kansas department of wildlife
and parks; requiring that certain reports regarding such funds be made
to the governor and the legislature; authorizing a transfer from the state
general gaming revenues fund to the state conservation fund;
authorizing transfers from the state conservation fund to the working
lands conservation fund, wildlife conservation fund and the Kansas
outdoors fund; providing for the expiration of the state conservation
fund, the working lands conservation fund, the wildlife
conservation fund and the Kansas outdoors fund on and after July
1, 2031; amending K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 79-4801 and repealing the
existing section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
New Section 1. (a) (1) There is hereby established in the state
treasury the state conservation fund. All moneys credited to the state
conservation fund shall be expended or transferred only for the purposes
and in the manner provided by this section. All expenditures from the state
conservation fund shall be made in accordance with appropriation acts for
the financing of conservation programs. It is the intent of the legislature
that the fund shall remain intact and inviolate for the purposes set forth in
this section, and moneys in the fund shall not be subject to the provisions
of K.S.A. 75-3722, 75-3725a and 75-3726a, and amendments thereto.
Moneys credited to the state conservation fund shall be used to supplement
existing appropriations and shall not be used to supplant state general fund
or special revenue fund appropriations to the Kansas department of
agriculture or the Kansas department of wildlife and parks.
(2) Moneys transferred to and received from the state conservation
fund shall not be used to fund any fee simple acquisition of land by the
federal or state government.
(b) On July 1, 2025 June 25, 2026, and each July 1 June 25
thereafter, the director of accounts and reports shall transfer $60,000,000
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HB 2063—Am. by HC 2
$16,000,000 from the state general gaming revenues fund to the state
conservation fund pursuant to the provisions of K.S.A. 79-4801, and
amendments thereto.
(c) On July 15, 2025 1, 2026, and each July 15 1 thereafter, the
director of accounts and reports shall transfer an amount equal to 50% of
the balance in the state conservation fund to the working lands
conservation fund established in section 2, and amendments thereto.
(d) On July 15, 2025 1, 2026, and each July 15 1 thereafter, the
director of accounts and reports shall transfer an amount equal to 25% of
the balance in the state conservation fund to the wildlife conservation fund
established in section 3, and amendments thereto.
(e) On July 15, 2025 1, 2026, and each July 15 1 thereafter, after
making the transfers prescribed by subsections (c) and (d), the director of
accounts and reports shall transfer the remaining an amount equal to
25% of the balance in the state conservation fund to the Kansas outdoors
fund established in section 4, and amendments thereto.
New Sec. 2. (a) There is hereby established in the state treasury the
working lands conservation fund. The working lands conservation fund
shall be administered by the director of the division of conservation
established within the Kansas department of agriculture by K.S.A. 74-
5,126, and amendments thereto. All expenditures from such fund shall be
made in accordance with appropriation acts upon warrants of the director
of accounts and reports issued pursuant to vouchers approved by the
director or the director's designee. The division is authorized to use an
amount of not to exceed 2% of the amount of moneys transferred to
the working lands conservation fund each July 1 for the
administration of the fund.
(b) The division shall adopt rules and regulations to administer a
grant program expending moneys from the working lands conservation
fund.
(c) The state conservation commission shall provide guidance to the
division on priority criteria for applications, the final selection of awardees
and the annual budget for the administration of the grant program. The
secretary shall consider both the guidance of the commission and the
recommendations of the division in making final approvals of awardees
and the annual administrative budget.
(d) Public entities, including, but not limited to, state agencies,
municipalities, counties, state or federally recognized tribal nations,
conservation