Session of 2024
HOUSE BILL No. 2816
By Committee on Appropriations
Requested by Representative Rahjes
2-29
AN ACT concerning agriculture; relating to the farm animal and field crop
and research facilities protection act; prohibiting entering or remaining
on and knowingly making false statements to gain access to animal
facilities and field crop production areas; providing penalties for
violations therefor; removing the intent to destroy property; amending
K.S.A. 47-1826 and 47-1827 and repealing the existing sections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 47-1826 is hereby amended to read as follows: 47-
1826. As used in the farm animal and field crop and research facilities
protection act:
(a) "Animal" means any warm or coldblooded animal used in food,
fur or fiber production, agriculture, research, testing or education and.
"Animal" includes dogs, cats, poultry, fish and invertebrates.
(b) "Animal facility" includes any vehicle, building, structure,
research facility or premises where an animal is kept, handled, housed,
exhibited, bred or offered for sale.
(c) "Consent" means assent in fact, whether express or apparent.
(d) "Deprive" means to:
(1) Withhold an animal or other property from the owner permanently
or for so extended a period of time that a major portion of the value or
enjoyment of the animal or property is lost to the owner;
(2) restore the animal or other property only upon payment of reward
or other compensation; or
(3) dispose of an animal or other property in a manner that makes
recovery of the animal or property by the owner unlikely.
(e) "Effective consent" includes consent by a person legally
authorized to act for the owner. Consent is not effective if:
(1) Induced by force, fraud, deception, duress or threat;
(2) given by a person the offender knows is not legally authorized to
act for the owner; or
(3) given by a person who by reason of youth, mental disease or
defect or under the influence of drugs or alcohol is known by the offender
to be unable to make reasonable decisions.
(f) "Owner" means a person who has title to the property, possession
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of the property, whether lawful or not, or a greater right to possession of
the property than the actor.
(g)(e) "Person" means any individual, state agency, corporation,
association, nonprofit corporation, joint stock company, firm, trust,
partnership, two or more persons having a joint or common interest or
other legal entity.
(h) "Possession" means actual care, custody, control or management.
(i)(f) "Research facility" means any place, laboratory, institution,
medical care facility, elementary school, secondary school, college or
university, at which where any scientific test, experiment or investigation
involving the use of any living animal or field crop product is carried out,
conducted or attempted.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 47-1827 is hereby amended to read as follows: 47-
1827. (a) No person shall, :
(1) Without the effective consent of the owner and with the intent to
damage the enterprise conducted at the animal facility, damage or destroy
an animal facility or any animal or property in or on an animal facility;
(2) enter or remain upon or in any animal facility, including flying an
aircraft within the airspace directly above such animal facility but below
the minimum safe altitude prescribed in 14 C.F.R. 91.119(c), as in effect
on July 1, 2024, without the consent of the owner; or
(3) knowingly make false statements on an employment application to
gain access to an animal facility.
(b) No person shall, without the effective consent of the owner,
acquire or otherwise exercise control over an animal facility, an animal
from an animal facility or other property from an animal facility, with the
intent to deprive the owner of such facility, animal or property and to
damage the enterprise conducted at the animal facility.
(c) No person shall, without the effective consent of the owner and
with the intent to damage the enterprise conducted at the animal facility:
(1) Enter an animal facility, not then open to the public, with intent to
commit an act prohibited by this section;
(2) remain concealed, with intent to commit an act prohibited by this
section, in an animal facility;
(3) enter an animal facility and commit or attempt to commit an act
prohibited by this section; or
(4) enter an animal facility to take pictures by photograph, video
camera or by any other means.
(d) (1) No person shall, without the effective consent of the owner
and with the intent to damage the enterprise conducted at the animal
facility, enter or remain on an animal facility if the person:
(A) Had notice that the entry was forbidden; or
(B) received notice to depart but failed to do so.
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(2) For purposes of this subsection (d), "notice" means:
(A) Oral or written communication by the owner or someone with
apparent authority to act for the owner;
(B) fencing or other enclosure obviously designed to exclude
intruders or to contain animals; or
(C) a sign or signs posted on the property or at the entrance to the
building, reasonably likely to come to the attention of intruders, indicating
that entry is forbidden.
(e)(b) No person shall,:
(1) Without the effective consent of the owner and with the intent to
damage or destroy the field crop product, damage or destroy any field crop
product that is grown in the context of a product development program in
conjunction or coordination with a private research facility or, a university
or any federal, state or local governmental agency;
(2) enter or remain upon or in any property in a field crop production
area of a product development program in conjunction or coordination
with a private research facility, a university or any federal, state or local
government entity, including flying an aircraft within the airspace directly
above such property area but below the minimum safe altitude prescribed
in 14 C.F.R. 91.119(c), as in effect on July 1, 2024, without the consent of
the owner; or
(3) knowingly make false statements on an employment application to
gain access to a field crop production area of a product development
program in conjunction or coordination with a private research facility, a
university or any federal, state or governmental agency.
(f) No person shall, without the effective consent of the owner and
with the intent to damage or destroy the field crop product, enter any
property, with the intent to damage or destroy any field crop product that is
grown in the context of a product development program in conjunction or
coordination with a private research facility or a university or any federal,
state or local governmental agency.
(g)(c) (1) Violation of subsection (a)(1) or (e) (b)(1) is a severity level
7, nonperson felony if the facility, animals, field crop product or property
is damaged or destroyed to the extent of $25,000 or more. Violation of
subsection (a) or (e) is a severity level 9, nonperson felony if the facility,
animals, field crop product or property is damaged or destroyed to the
extent of at least $1,000 but less than $25,000. Violation of subsection (a)
or (e) is a class A nonperson misdemeanor if the facility, animals, field
crop product or property damaged or destroyed is of the value of less than
$1,000 or is of the value of $1,000 or more and is damaged to the extent of
less than $1,000:
(A) Class A nonperson misdemeanor, except as provided in
subparagraph (B) or (C);
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(B) severity level 9, nonperson felony if property damaged or
destroyed is of a value of more than $1,000 but less than $25,000; or
(C) severity level 7, nonperson felony if the property damaged or
destroyed is of a value more than $25,000.
(2) Violation of subsection (b) is a severity level 10, nonperson
felony.
(3) Violation of subsection (c) (a)(2) or (b)(2) is a class A, nonperson
misdemeanor.
(4)(3) Violation of subsection (d) (a)(3) or (f) (b)(3) is a class B
nonperson misdemeanor.
(h)(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to lawful
activities of any governmental agency or employees or agents thereof
carrying out their duties under law.
Sec. 3. K.S.A. 47-1826 and 47-1827 are hereby repealed.
Sec. 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.
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