| 1 | 1 | | Session of 2025 |
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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE BILL No. 2187 |
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| 3 | 3 | | By Representatives Fairchild, Barrett, Bloom, Chauncey, Corbet, Goddard, Poetter |
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| 4 | 4 | | Parshall, Schmoe, Schwertfeger, Steele and Waggoner |
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| 5 | 5 | | 1-31 |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT concerning eminent domain; eliminating the power of the |
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| 7 | 7 | | legislature to take private property for economic development; |
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| 8 | 8 | | narrowing the definition of public use; requiring a good faith offer of |
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| 9 | 9 | | compensation to a property owner prior to filing an eminent domain |
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| 10 | 10 | | action; providing that if the good faith offer is greater than the |
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| 11 | 11 | | appraiser's award, the greater amount may be subject to appeal only by |
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| 12 | 12 | | the property owner; amending K.S.A. 26-501a, 26-501b, 26-502 and |
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| 13 | 13 | | 26-507 and repealing the existing sections. |
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| 14 | 14 | | Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas: |
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| 15 | 15 | | New Section 1. (a) At least 30 days before filing a petition under |
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| 16 | 16 | | K.S.A. 26-501 et seq., and amendments thereto, an agency as defined in |
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| 17 | 17 | | K.S.A. 26-501a, and amendments thereto, shall provide notice by personal |
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| 18 | 18 | | service to the owner of property that the agency intends to acquire the |
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| 19 | 19 | | owner's property. The notice shall include a good faith offer of |
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| 20 | 20 | | compensation for the property, which shall be the minimum award of |
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| 21 | 21 | | compensation to the owner. The good faith offer shall not later be reduced |
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| 22 | 22 | | or revoked by the agency, nor shall the agency present evidence or |
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| 23 | 23 | | argument for a lesser amount of compensation in an appeal from an award |
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| 24 | 24 | | notice under K.S.A. 26-508, and amendments thereto. |
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| 25 | 25 | | (b) If the agency makes a subsequent offer prior to the filing of the |
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| 26 | 26 | | petition under K.S.A. 26-501 et seq., and amendments thereto, that is a |
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| 27 | 27 | | greater amount than the initial good faith offer, the subsequent greater |
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| 28 | 28 | | amount shall be the minimum award of compensation for such property. |
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| 29 | 29 | | Sec. 2. K.S.A. 26-501a is hereby amended to read as follows: 26- |
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| 30 | 30 | | 501a. On and after July 1, 2007: (a) Private property shall not be taken by |
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| 31 | 31 | | eminent domain except for public use, and private property shall not be |
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| 32 | 32 | | taken without just compensation. |
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| 33 | 33 | | (b) The taking of private property by eminent domain for the purpose |
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| 34 | 34 | | of selling, leasing or otherwise transferring such property to any private |
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| 35 | 35 | | entity is prohibited except as provided in K.S.A. 26-501b, and |
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| 36 | 36 | | amendments thereto. |
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| 37 | 37 | | (c) "Agency" includes the state and municipalities as defined in |
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| 38 | 38 | | K.S.A. 75-6102, and amendments thereto, public utilities as defined in |
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| 39 | 39 | | K.S.A. 66-104, and amendments thereto, and other entities listed in K.S.A. |
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| 74 | 74 | | 35 HB 2187 2 |
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| 75 | 75 | | 26-501b(b), and amendments thereto. |
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| 76 | 76 | | (d) "Public use" does not include the use of any property for |
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| 77 | 77 | | recreational trails, which are trails used for hiking, bicycling, horseback |
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| 78 | 78 | | riding or other forms of recreational travel. |
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| 79 | 79 | | (e) This section shall be a part of and supplemental to the eminent |
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| 80 | 80 | | domain procedure act. |
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| 81 | 81 | | Sec. 3. K.S.A. 26-501b is hereby amended to read as follows: 26- |
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| 82 | 82 | | 501b. On and after July 1, 2007, the taking of private property by eminent |
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| 83 | 83 | | domain for the purpose of selling, leasing, or otherwise transferring such |
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| 84 | 84 | | property to any private entity is authorized if the taking is: |
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| 85 | 85 | | (a) By the Kansas department of transportation or a municipality and |
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| 86 | 86 | | the property is deemed excess real property that was taken lawfully and |
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| 87 | 87 | | incidental to the acquisition of right-of-way for a public road, bridge or |
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| 88 | 88 | | public improvement project, including, but not limited to, a public |
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| 89 | 89 | | building, park, recreation facility, water supply project, wastewater and |
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| 90 | 90 | | waste disposal project, storm water project and flood control and drainage |
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| 91 | 91 | | project; |
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| 92 | 92 | | (b) by any public utility, as defined in K.S.A. 66-104, and |
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| 93 | 93 | | amendments thereto, gas gathering service, as defined in K.S.A. 55-1,101, |
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| 94 | 94 | | and amendments thereto, pipe-line companies, railroads and all persons |
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| 95 | 95 | | and associations of persons, whether incorporated or not, operating such |
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| 96 | 96 | | agencies for public use in the conveyance of persons or property within |
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| 97 | 97 | | this state, but only to the extent such property is used for the operation of |
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| 98 | 98 | | facilities necessary for the provision of services; |
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| 99 | 99 | | (c) by any municipality when the private property owner has |
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| 100 | 100 | | acquiesced in writing to the taking; |
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| 101 | 101 | | (d) by any municipality for the purpose of acquiring property which |
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| 102 | 102 | | that has defective or unusual conditions of title, including, but not limited |
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| 103 | 103 | | to, clouded or defective title or unknown ownership interests in the |
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| 104 | 104 | | property; or |
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| 105 | 105 | | (e) by any municipality for the purpose of acquiring property which |
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| 106 | 106 | | that is unsafe for occupation by humans under the building codes of the |
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| 107 | 107 | | jurisdiction where the structure is situated; |
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| 108 | 108 | | (f) expressly authorized by the legislature on or after July 1, 2007, by |
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| 109 | 109 | | enactment of law that identifies the specific tract or tracts to be taken. If |
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| 110 | 110 | | the legislature authorizes eminent domain for private economic |
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| 111 | 111 | | development purposes, the legislature shall consider requiring |
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| 112 | 112 | | compensation of at least 200% of fair market value to property owners. |
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| 113 | 113 | | (g)(f) This section shall be a part of and supplemental to the eminent |
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| 114 | 114 | | domain procedure act. |
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| 115 | 115 | | Sec. 4. K.S.A. 26-502 is hereby amended to read as follows: 26-502. |
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| 116 | 116 | | Subject to section 1, and amendments thereto, a petition shall include |
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| 117 | 117 | | allegations of: (1) Clear and convincing evidence that the taking is |
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| 160 | 160 | | 43 HB 2187 3 |
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| 161 | 161 | | necessary and for a public use, and the agency has the authority for and |
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| 162 | 162 | | the purpose of the taking; (2) a description of each lot, parcel or tract of |
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| 163 | 163 | | land and the nature of the interest to be taken; and (3) insofar as their |
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| 164 | 164 | | interests are to be taken (a), the name of any owner and all lienholders of |
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| 165 | 165 | | record, and (b) the name of any party in possession. Such petition shall be |
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| 166 | 166 | | verified by affidavit. Upon the filing of such petition, the court, by order, |
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| 167 | 167 | | shall fix the time when the same such petition will be taken up. No defect |
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| 168 | 168 | | in form which that does not impair substantial rights of the parties shall |
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| 169 | 169 | | invalidate any proceeding. |
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| 170 | 170 | | Sec. 5. K.S.A. 26-507 is hereby amended to read as follows: 26-507. |
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| 171 | 171 | | (a) Payment of award; vesting of rights. If the plaintiff desires to continue |
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| 172 | 172 | | with the proceeding as to particular tracts the plaintiff, within 30 days from |
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| 173 | 173 | | the time the appraisers' report is filed, shall pay to the clerk of the district |
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| 174 | 174 | | court the amount of the appraisers' award or the amount of the good faith |
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| 175 | 175 | | offer, if greater, as provided in section 1, and amendments thereto, as to |
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| 176 | 176 | | those particular tracts and court costs accrued to date, including appraisers' |
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| 177 | 177 | | fees. Such payment shall be without prejudice to plaintiff's right to appeal |
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| 178 | 178 | | from the appraisers' award. Except as provided further, upon such payment |
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| 179 | 179 | | being made, the title, easement or interest appropriated in the land |
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| 180 | 180 | | condemned shall thereupon immediately vest in the plaintiff, and it shall |
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| 181 | 181 | | be entitled to the immediate possession of the land to the extent necessary |
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| 182 | 182 | | for the purpose for which taken and consistent with the title, easement or |
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| 183 | 183 | | interest condemned. If such property contains a defendant's personal |
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| 184 | 184 | | property, a defendant shall have 14 days from the date such payment is |
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| 185 | 185 | | made to the clerk of the district court to remove such personal property |
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| 186 | 186 | | from the premises. The plaintiff shall be entitled to all the remedies |
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| 187 | 187 | | provided by law for the securing of such possession. The clerk of the |
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| 188 | 188 | | district court shall notify the interested parties that the appraisers' award |
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| 189 | 189 | | has been paid and that the defendant shall have 14 days from the payment |
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| 190 | 190 | | date to remove personal property from the premises. |
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| 191 | 191 | | (b) Abandonment. If the plaintiff does not make the payment |
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| 192 | 192 | | prescribed in subsection (a) for any of the tracts described in the petition, |
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| 193 | 193 | | within 30 days, from the time the appraisers' report is filed, the |
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| 194 | 194 | | condemnation is abandoned as to those tracts, and judgment for costs, |
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| 195 | 195 | | including the appraisers' fees together with judgment in favor of the |
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| 196 | 196 | | defendant for the reasonable expenses incurred in defense of the action, |
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| 197 | 197 | | shall be entered against the plaintiff. After such payment is made by the |
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| 198 | 198 | | plaintiff to the clerk of the court, as provided in subsection (a), the |
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| 199 | 199 | | proceedings as to those tracts for which payment has been made can only |
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| 200 | 200 | | be abandoned by the mutual consent of the plaintiff and the parties |
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| 201 | 201 | | interested in the award. |
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| 202 | 202 | | Sec. 6. K.S.A. 26-501a, 26-501b, 26-502 and 26-507 are hereby |
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| 203 | 203 | | repealed. |
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| 246 | 246 | | 43 HB 2187 4 |
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| 247 | 247 | | Sec. 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its |
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| 248 | 248 | | publication in the statute book. |
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