SESSION OF 2024
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2559
As Amended by House Committee on Elections
Brief*
HB 2559, as amended, would expand the definition of
the crime of “corrupt political advertising” in statutes defining
election crimes and in the Campaign Finance Act to prohibit
the use of synthetic media in election campaign
communications to alter the appearance, action, or speech of
a candidate unless certain disclosures are made. The bill also
would prohibit using synthetic media in any communication to
alter the appearance, action, or speech of an elected or
appointed state official unless certain disclosures are made,
as an election crime.
[Note: Continuing law provides that the crime of corrupt
political advertising is a Class C misdemeanor. If the action
violates the Campaign Finance Act, continuing law provides
that the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission (KGEC)
may assess a civil fine for a violation of the Campaign
Finance Act in an amount not to exceed $5,000 for the first
violation, $10,000 for the second violation, and $15,000 for
the third violation and for each subsequent violation. The fine
imposed by KGEC in any one matter must not exceed an
amount that is triple the applicable fine for a single violation.]
Definition of “Synthetic Media”
The bill would define the term “synthetic media” as an
image, an audio recording, or a video recording of an
individual’s appearance, speech, or conduct that has been
intentionally manipulated with the use of generative artificial
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org intelligence (AI) techniques or other digital technology in a
manner that creates a realistic but false or inaccurate image,
audio, or video that produces:
●A depiction, that to a reasonable individual, is of a
real individual in appearance, action, or speech but
that did not actually occur in reality; and
●A fundamentally different understanding or
impression of the appearance, action, or speech
than a reasonable person would otherwise have
from the unaltered, original version of the image,
audio recording, or video recording.
Affirmative Defense
The bill would create an affirmative defense if a
communication includes a disclosure stating: “This
(image/video/audio) has been manipulated.” The bill would
also require the disclosure to be expressed in certain ways:
●For visual media, the text of the disclosure must
appear in a size easily readable by the average
viewer and no smaller than the largest font size of
the other text appearing in the visual media;
●For visual media that does not include any other
text, the disclosure must appear in a size that is
easily readable by the average viewer;
●For visual media that is a video, the disclosure
must appear for the duration of the video; or
●For audio-only media, the disclosure must be read:
○In a clearly spoken manner and in a pitch that
can be easily heard by the average listener;
○At the beginning of the audio;
○At the end of the audio; and
2- 2559 ○If the audio is greater than two minutes long,
interspersed within the audio at intervals of no
more than two minutes each.
Liability for Violations
The bill would provide that the responsibility for including
the required disclosure in advertisements and
communications and the liability for any failure to include the
required disclosure would rest solely with the advertiser, not
with any broadcaster, other media platform, or carrier
disseminating the advertisement or communication.
Background
The bill was introduced by Representatives Proctor and
V. Miller.
House Committee on Elections
In the House Committee hearing, Representative V.
Miller and a representative of the Office of the Secretary of
State provided proponent testimony, stating the bill would
limit the misuse of AI in elections and mitigate and prevent
the practice of using AI to deceive or mislead the public.
Written-only proponent testimony was provided by
representatives of the Kansas County Clerks and Election
Officials Association and the Kansas District Court Judges
Association.
Neutral testimony was provided by representatives of
the Kansas Association of Broadcasters and National
Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). The NCSL
representatives provided an overview of legislation introduced
and enacted in other states on this topic. The representative
of the Kansas Association of Broadcasters suggested an
amendment to clarify an advertiser would be liable for actions
3- 2559 prohibited under the bill rather than the broadcaster,
publisher, or carrier.
Written-only neutral testimony was provided by
representatives of the Kansas Press Association and
TechNet.
No other testimony was provided.
The House Committee amended the bill to specify the
responsibility for including the required disclosure in
advertisements and communications and any liability for
failure to include such disclosure would rest solely with the
advertiser, and a broadcaster, other media platform, or carrier
disseminating the advertisement or communication would not
be responsible or liable.
Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, as introduced, the KGEC indicates
enactment of the bill could result in additional investigatory
and analytical expenses which would depend on the number
of violations but is unable to estimate the effect.
The Office of the Secretary of State indicates enactment
of the bill would not have a fiscal effect.
The Office of Judicial Administration indicates enactment
of the bill could increase the number of cases filed in the
district courts because the bill would expand the crime of
corrupt political advertising. The provisions of the bill would
increase time spent by the district court judicial and
nonjudicial personnel in processing, researching, and hearing
cases. Because this crime would carry a misdemeanor
penalty, there could also be additional supervision of
offenders by court services officers. Enactment of the bill
could increase the collection of docket fees, fines, and
supervision fees that would be deposited into the State
4- 2559 General Fund. The agency indicates that it is unable to
estimate a fiscal effect.
Any fiscal effect associated with enactment of the bill is
not reflected in The FY 2025 Governor’s Budget Report.
The Kansas Association of Counties indicates
enactment of the bill would have a fiscal effect on counties if
widespread violations or alleged violations create a need for
more actions but it is unable to estimate the effect.
Elections; Campaign Finance Act; corrupt political advertising; synthetic media;
generative artificial intelligence; election campaign communication; candidate;
elected state official; appointed state official; Kansas Governmental Ethics
Commission
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