KS
Kansas House Bill HB2349

Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

Kansas House Bill HB2349 Compare Versions

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11 Session of 2025
22 HOUSE BILL No. 2349
33 By Committee on Judiciary
44 Requested by Marlee Carpenter on behalf of the City of Wichita and Wichita
55 Police Department
66 2-7
77 AN ACT concerning the scrap metal theft reduction act; authorizing law
88 enforcement officers to conduct investigations of violations of the act;
99 establishing criminal penalties for certain violations of the act;
1010 permitting municipalities to enact or enforce ordinances, resolutions
1111 and regulations relating to scrap metal that are not in conflict with the
1212 act; amending K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 50-6,109a, 50-6,109c and 50-6,109f
1313 and repealing the existing sections.
1414 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
1515 Section 1. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 50-6,109a is hereby amended to read as
1616 follows: 50-6,109a. (a) (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3),
1717 the attorney general is hereby given jurisdiction and authority over all
1818 matters involving the implementation, administration and enforcement of
1919 the provisions of the scrap metal theft reduction act including to:
2020 (1)(A) Employ or appoint agents as necessary to implement,
2121 administer and enforce the act;
2222 (2)(B) contract;
2323 (3)(C) expend funds;
2424 (4)(D) license and discipline;
2525 (5)(E) investigate;
2626 (6)(F) issue subpoenas;
2727 (7)(G) keep statistics; and
2828 (8)(H) conduct education and outreach programs to promote
2929 compliance with the act.
3030 (2) Kansas law enforcement officers are hereby authorized to conduct
3131 investigations of violations of the scrap metal theft reduction act. Upon
3232 conclusion of an investigation, investigative reports shall be submitted to
3333 the attorney general regardless of whether any local action was taken as a
3434 result of such investigation.
3535 (3) Any local enforcement action taken for a violation of the scrap
3636 metal theft reduction act shall be reported to the attorney general.
3737 (b) In accordance with the rules and regulations filing act, the
3838 attorney general is hereby authorized to adopt rules and regulations
3939 necessary to implement the provisions of the scrap metal theft reduction
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7474 act.
7575 (c) There is hereby established in the state treasury the scrap metal
7676 theft reduction fee fund to be administered by the attorney general. All
7777 moneys received by the attorney general from fees, charges or penalties
7878 collected under the provisions of the scrap metal theft reduction act shall
7979 be remitted to the state treasurer in accordance with the provisions of
8080 K.S.A. 75-4215, and amendments thereto, who shall deposit the entire
8181 amount thereof in the state treasury to the credit of the scrap metal theft
8282 reduction fee fund. All expenditures from such fund shall be made in
8383 accordance with appropriation acts upon warrants of the director of
8484 accounts and reports issued pursuant to vouchers approved by the attorney
8585 general or the attorney general's designee. All moneys credited to the scrap
8686 metal theft reduction fee fund shall be expended for the administration of
8787 the duties, functions and operating expenses incurred under the provisions
8888 of the scrap metal theft reduction act.
8989 (d) There is hereby established in the state treasury the scrap metal
9090 data repository fund to be administered by the director of the Kansas
9191 bureau of investigation. All expenditures from such fund shall be made in
9292 accordance with appropriation acts upon warrants of the director of
9393 accounts and reports issued pursuant to vouchers approved by the director
9494 of the Kansas bureau of investigation or the director's designee. All
9595 moneys credited to the scrap metal data repository fund shall be expended
9696 for the administration of the duties, functions and operating expenses
9797 incurred under the provisions of the scrap metal theft reduction act.
9898 (e) The attorney general may transfer any moneys from the scrap
9999 metal theft reduction fee fund to the scrap metal data repository fund. The
100100 attorney general shall certify each such transfer to the director of accounts
101101 and reports and shall transmit a copy of each such certification to the
102102 director of the budget and the director of legislative research.
103103 (f) On July 1, 2020, the Kansas bureau of investigation shall establish
104104 and maintain a database which shall be a central repository for the
105105 information required to be provided under K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 50-6,110,
106106 and amendments thereto. The database shall be maintained for the purpose
107107 of providing information to law enforcement and for any other purpose
108108 deemed necessary by the attorney general to implement and enforce the
109109 provisions of the scrap metal theft reduction act.
110110 (g) The information maintained in such database by the Kansas
111111 bureau of investigation, or by any entity contracting with the Kansas
112112 bureau of investigation, submitted to, maintained or stored as part of the
113113 system may be provided to the attorney general and shall:
114114 (1) Be confidential, shall only be used for investigatory, evidentiary
115115 or analysis purposes related to criminal violations of city, state or federal
116116 law and shall only be released to law enforcement in response to an
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160160 official investigation or as permitted in subsection (f); and
161161 (2) not be a public record and shall not be subject to the Kansas open
162162 records act, K.S.A. 45-215 et seq., and amendments thereto.
163163 (h) On or before February 1, 2021, and annually on or before
164164 February 1 thereafter, the attorney general shall submit a report to the
165165 president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and the
166166 standing committees on judiciary in the senate and the house of
167167 representatives on the implementation, administration and enforcement of
168168 the provisions of the scrap metal theft reduction act.
169169 (i) Any entity contracting with the attorney general or the Kansas
170170 bureau of investigation to provide or maintain the database required by this
171171 section shall not require a scrap metal dealer to contract with such entity
172172 for the authority to release proprietary or confidential data, including, but
173173 not limited to, customer information. Such entity shall not charge any fee
174174 to the scrap metal dealer as a condition of providing information to the
175175 database as required by the scrap metal theft reduction act, including, but
176176 not limited to, a fee for electronic submission of information.
177177 (j) A scrap metal dealer providing information to the database as
178178 required by the scrap metal theft reduction act shall not be subject to civil
179179 liability for any claim arising from the negligence or omission by the state
180180 of Kansas or any contracting entity in the collection, storing or release of
181181 information provided by such scrap metal dealer to the database.
182182 Sec. 2. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 50-6,109c is hereby amended to read as
183183 follows: 50-6,109c. (a) Any scrap metal dealer who violates any of the
184184 provisions of the scrap metal theft reduction act, in addition to any other
185185 penalty provided by law, may incur a civil penalty imposed pursuant to
186186 subsection (b) in an amount not less than $100 nor more than $5,000 for
187187 each violation.
188188 (b) The attorney general, upon a finding that a scrap metal dealer or
189189 any employee or agent thereof or any person or entity required to be
190190 registered as a scrap metal dealer has violated any of the provisions of the
191191 scrap metal theft reduction act may impose a civil penalty as provided in
192192 this subsection upon such scrap metal dealer.
193193 (c) A civil penalty shall not be imposed pursuant to this section
194194 except upon the written order of the attorney general to the scrap metal
195195 dealer who is responsible for the violation. Such order is a final order for
196196 purposes of judicial review and shall state the violation, the penalty to be
197197 imposed and the right of such dealer to appeal as provided in the Kansas
198198 judicial review act.
199199 (d) (1) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly commit a
200200 violation of K.S.A. 50-6,110 or 50-6,111, and amendments thereto, by:
201201 (A) Avoiding the reporting requirements of such section;
202202 (B) using a false description of the items sold or purchased;
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246246 (C) concealing the true identity of the seller; or
247247 (D) accepting items a scrap metal dealer is prohibited from accepting
248248 pursuant to such section.
249249 (2) Violation of this subsection is a:
250250 (A) Class B nonperson misdemeanor, except as provided in
251251 subsection (d)(2)(B); and
252252 (B) class A nonperson misdemeanor upon a second or subsequent
253253 conviction.
254254 (e) (1) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly commit a
255255 violation of K.S.A. 50-6,112, and amendments thereto, by:
256256 (A) Purchasing scrap metal while the registration required in K.S.A.
257257 50-6,112, and amendments thereto, is suspended or revoked; or
258258 (B) committing two or more violations of purchasing scrap metal
259259 without registering as required in K.S.A. 50-6,112, and amendments
260260 thereto.
261261 (2) Violation of this subsection is a class A nonperson misdemeanor.
262262 Sec. 3. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 50-6,109f is hereby amended to read as
263263 follows: 50-6,109f. (a) A municipality shall not enact or enforce any
264264 ordinance, resolution or regulation relating to the implementation,
265265 administration and enforcement of the provisions of the scrap metal theft
266266 reduction act that is in conflict with this act and any criminal or civil
267267 penalty for violation of such ordinance, resolution or regulation shall be
268268 the same as the penalty prescribed for the comparable violation of this act.
269269 (b) Any ordinance, resolution or regulation prohibited by subsection
270270 (a) that was adopted prior to July 1, 2015, shall be null and void. On and
271271 after July 1, 2025, a municipality may enact and enforce any ordinance,
272272 resolution or regulation permitted by subsection (a).
273273 (c) No action shall be commenced or prosecuted against any
274274 individual for a violation of any ordinance, resolution or regulation that is
275275 prohibited by subsection (a) and which was adopted prior to July 1, 2015,
276276 if such violation occurred on or after July 1, 2014.
277277 (d) As used in this section, "municipality" has the means the same
278278 meaning as defined in K.S.A. 75-6102, and amendments thereto.
279279 Sec. 4. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 50-6,109a, 50-6,109c and 50-6,109f are
280280 hereby repealed.
281281 Sec. 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
282282 publication in the statute book.
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