Sen. Carolyn McGinn

House Substitute for SB143 by Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic Development - Updating elevator safety act provisions concerning the definition of elevator, mechanic and contractor employee licensing requirements, inspection, testing and accident reporting requirements and exceptions, permitting inspections by insurance companies and licensed elevator mechanics and establishing educational and testing options for elevator inspector licensing.

Reducing penalties for the late filing of or the failure to file statements listing personal property for assessment and the discovery of escaped personal property and reporting changes after initial statement, allowing for filing of an appraisal by a certified residential real property appraiser for appeal purposes, accounting for adverse influences in the valuation of agricultural land, including properties used for registered agritourism activities as land devoted to agricultural use for purposes of classification, providing a property tax exemption for new electric generation facilities, additions and new pollution control devices and discontinuing certain current property tax exemptions, providing that county clerks are not required to send revenue neutral rate notices to property owners of exempt property, modifying and prescribing the contents of the revenue neutral rate hearing notice, permitting a tax levy that generates the same amount of revenue as the previous year when the final assessed valuation decreases compared to the estimated assessed valuation, requiring that the governing body's vote be conducted on the same day as the commencement of the public hearing, extending reimbursement from the taxpayer notification costs fund for printing and postage costs for calendar year 2024, providing income tax subtraction modifications for certain federal credit disallowances and the employee retention credit disallowance and to permit the carryforward of certain net operating losses, clarifying the disallowed business interest expense deduction, extending the time period for the single city port authority tax credit, decreasing penalties for failing to timely remit withholding income taxes of employees by employers, clarifying the determination of taxable income of an electing pass-through entity and providing for the passing through of tax credits to electing pass-through entity owners relating to the salt parity act, providing countywide retailers' sales tax authority for Rawlins, Marshall and Neosho counties and authorizing teleconference or video conference hearings in the small claims and expedited hearings division of the state board of tax appeals.

Establishing the Kansas blueprint for literacy and a literacy advisory committee, directing the board of regents to appoint a director of literacy education, requiring the board of regents and board of education to collaborate on a literacy micro-credential, providing university presidents and deans of education oversight over postsecondary literacy courses, requiring a plan to establish centers of excellence in reading, requiring the board of education to submit annual reports to the legislature on literacy goals; establishing the Kansas education opportunity scholarship to replace the Kansas ethnic minority scholarship, removing limits on Kansas nursing service scholarship awards and modifying the interest rate terms and repayment obligations for such awards, eliminating the requirement to subtract other aid from the state payment for the AO-K program, modifying financial limitations on Kansas hero's scholarship awards and broadening eligibility requirements for such awards.

Creating the Arkansas city area public library district act and the Udall area public library district act, requiring an election for the creation of such district and authorizing unified school districts No. 470 and 463 to levy a tax on behalf of such library district.

Requiring railroads operating in Kansas to maintain minimum distances from the near-edge of railroad crossings to the storage of certain rolling stock on sidings.

Establishing the Kansas national guard educational master's for enhanced readiness and global excellence (EMERGE) program and the EMERGE program repayment fund and requiring school districts to establish requirements for cardiac emergency response plans.

Providing hiring, promotion and retention preferences for persons with disabilities for certain state executive branch positions and extending the expiration provision for the state use law committee.

Providing a deduction from sales or compensating use tax when selling and buying different motor vehicles within 120 days, providing an exemption for certain purchases by disabled veterans of the armed forces of the United States, excluding manufacturers' coupons from the sales or selling price for sales tax purposes, providing sales tax exemptions for custom meat processing services and purchases for the construction or repair of buildings used for human habitation by the Kansas state school for the blind and the Kansas state school for the deaf, providing sales tax exemptions for certain purchases by doorstep inc., exploration place, inc., Kansas children's discovery center, inc. and the Kansas fairgrounds foundation and providing for a sales tax exemption for sales of property and services used in the provision of communications services.

Prescribing documentation requirements to determine eligibility for any benefit derived from a service-connected disability, requiring that federal disability determinations for veterans be probative, establishing the Kansas office of veterans services, updating references and corresponding changes relating to the transfer of powers and duties from the Kansas commission on veterans affairs office to the Kansas office of veterans services, updating the veterans claims assistance program to include references to veterans affairs medical centers and cross-accreditation requirements, modifying the definition of veteran and disabled veteran, clarifying disability evaluations for benefits granted to disabled veterans and updating the definition of armed forces to include the space force.

Updating statutes related to the Kansas army and air national guard, providing for the appointment of a state judge advocate, providing for the adjustment of death and disability benefits and updating the Kansas code of military justice relating to certain definitions, unlawful acts and punishment requirements thereof.