Civics 101
What Every LEO Needs to Know
AN OVERVIEW ON HOW BILLS BECOME LAW
WITHIN THE KANSAS LEGISLATURE
AUGUST 6, 2014
COL. RICHARD POWELL
SEDGWICK COUNTY
SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Do we really need to know?
 As law enforcement administrators and officers,
many bills are introduced on an annual basis that
affect how we do business
 Many law enforcement agencies across the state
closely monitor legislative activities during session.
 All three professional LE organizations (KSA,
KACP and KPOA) are heavily involved annually
 Ed Klumpp is legislative lobbyist for all three and
maintains a very informative website for Kansas
law enforcement;
http://www.kslawenforcementinfo.com/
Varied 2014 bills that became law
 HB2389-Search and Arrest Warrant Affidavits
 HB2578-Felons in Possession of Weapons
 HB2578-Firearms in Vehicles and Open Carry
 SB329-Juvenile Statute of Limitations
 HB2655-Interference with Law Enforcement
 HB2578-Disposal of Seized Weapons
 HB2140-Off Duty and LEOSA Carrying of Firearm
 HB2023-Work Comp for Heart Attack/Stroke
 SB256-Out of State Bond Agents
Your Professional Organizations
 KACP-Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police
 http://www.kacp.cc/
 KSA-Kansas Sheriff’s Association
 http://www.kacp.cc/committees.php#legis
 KPOA-Kansas Peace Officers Association
 http://kpoa.org/
Moving on…
A Summary of Legislative Procedures
 There are seven basic steps a bill passes through
before it becomes law.
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Introduction and Reference of Bills
Consideration by Standing Committee
Consideration by Committee of the Whole
Final Passage
Action by the Second House
Action by the Governor
Publication of Laws
Introduction and Reference of Bills
 The introduction of a bill constitutes its formal
presentation to the House of Representatives or
Senate
 The title of the bill is read and the bill is printed for
general distribution
 Either on the day of introduction or on the next
legislative day, the bill is referred to a committee
Consideration by Standing Committee
 The committee meets, holds hearings and discusses
the bill
 The committee formulates recommendations and
prepares a committee report for submission to the
House or Senate
Consideration by the Committee of the Whole
 If reported favorably, the bill goes to the next
Committee of the Whole under the heading of
General Orders
 Eventually the bill may be debated and
recommended for passage with or without
amendments
 Any member of the House or Senate may offer
amendments and speak for or against the bill
Final Passage
 If recommended for passage by the Committee of the
Whole, the bill is placed on the calendar under the
heading of Final Action
 A roll call vote is taken to determine if the bill will be
passed by the House
 To pass the body, the bill must receive a majority
vote of all elected (or appointed) and qualified
members
Action by Second House
 Having passed the first house, the bill is sent to the
second house where the same procedure as before is
followed
 If the second house passes the bill without
amendment, it is enrolled (printed in it’s final form)
for consideration by the Governor
 If the second house amends the bills and the first
house concurs, the bill also is considered finally
passed
Action by Second House
 If the first house disagrees with the amendment, a
conference committee usually is appointed to work
out an agreement
 When both houses have approved the report of the
conference committee by a majority of all members
on a roll call vote, the bill is considered finally passed
Action by the Governor
 Within 10 days after passage, the bill must be signed
by the presiding officers of each house, the Chief
Clerk of the House and the secretary of the Senate,
and be presented to the Governor
 The Governor has 10 days after receipt of the bill to
act on it
 If the Governor does not act on it during the 10 day
period, the bill automatically becomes law
Action by the Governor
 Most bills passed by the Legislature are approved by the
Governor
 The Governor may veto a bill by refusing to sign it and
returning it to the house in which the bill originated,
together with a statement of the reasons for the veto
 In appropriation bills only, the Governor may veto some
items and approve the others by signing the bill
 The Legislature may pass a bill over the Governor’s veto
by a two-thirds vote of the elected (or appointed) and
qualified members of each of the houses
Publication of Laws
 An act of the Legislature is not in force until the
enacting bill has been published so that the public
has proper notice that it is law
 Publication notice occurs in the Session Laws (on or
before July 1) unless the Legislature desires the law
to take effect sooner
 This event is printed in the Kansas Register
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Published weekly by the Secretary of State
It contains a variety of information regarding activities of state
government required by law to be noticed or incorporated
therein
Legislative Flow Chart
So what is “the Legislature”?
 A 125 member House of Representatives
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Elected for a two-year term
 A 40 member Senate
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Elected for a four-year term
 Terms begin on the second Monday in January of the
odd numbered year following the election
So what is “the Legislature”?
 The maximum membership as authorized by the
Kansas Constitution
 House and Senate districts must be redrawn every 10
years (the years ending in 2) to equalize district
population
 Districts are based on most recent federal census
with adjustments for nonresident students and
military
Pre-organizational Meeting
 In the even numbered years members of either house
are elected, a pre-organizational meeting is held on
the first Monday in December
 The Secretary of State calls the roll of the House or
Senate from a list of certified members-elect
 Party caucuses are held to select members for
legislative leadership offices.
Pre-organizational Meeting
 In the House, these officers are the Speaker, the
Speaker Pro-Tem, Majority Leader, Minority Leader,
and other party officers
 In the Senate, these officers are the President, VicePresident, Majority Leader, Minority Leader, and
other party officers
Election of Leaders
 Each house ratifies the decision made by the party
caucuses at the pre-organizational meetings
 By constitutional requirement, the elected
organizational structure of the House and Senate is
for the duration of the term of the members
 The usual practice in successive sessions, until the
terms of it’s members expire, is for each house to
continue the same organizational structure by
formally adopting a resolution to that effect
Rules
 As defined by the state Constitution, each house
determines its own rules and the two houses may
adopt joint rules
 These rules are normally adopted near the beginning
of the legislative session following an election of
members
 The rules are subject to suspension, amendment, or
revocation
Rules
 In cases where of the house or the joint rules do not
apply, the Senate rule provides that Robert’s Rules of
Order Newly Revised governs, while the House rule
defers to Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure
 In the House, rules are adopted or changed by
resolution which requires an affirmative vote of a
majority of the elected (or appointed) members
 In the Senate, changes in the rules generally require
a majority vote of the elected (or appointed)
members
Rules
 The joint rules are adopted by concurrent resolution
approved by a majority of the elected (or appointed)
qualified members of each house
 These rules expire at the conclusion of the terms of
the house members
 This means that the rules at a minimum, must be
adopted in each regular session that commences in
the odd numbered years
Presiding Officers
 The presiding officer of the Senate is the President
 The presiding officer of the House is the Speaker
 These are the only two legislative leadership positions
required by the state Constitution
 The House and Senate rules prescribe most of the
powers and duties of these officers, however some of
the duties are statutory
 The practice is that a member of the majority is elected
President or Speaker
 By statute this election is the first order of business
following the oath of office, before rules are adopted
Presiding Officers
 In both houses, a member is elected to preside when
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the regular presiding officer is not in the chair
In the Senate, this member is the Vice-President
In the House, this member is the Speaker Pro Tem
Both members are nominated by the party caucus of
the majority and formally elected on the first day.
These officers preside in place of the President or
Speaker when the Senate or House is meeting as
such
Duties of Presiding Officers
 The duties of the presiding officers of each house are
similar, although there are several important
differences
 Both the President and the Speaker or in their place,
the Vice President of the Senate or Speaker Pro Tem
of the House, call the houses to order during
scheduled meetings and ensure the proper order of
business is followed according to the rules and items
on the legislative calendar
Duties of Presiding Officers
 They are responsible for recognizing members who
wish to make motions, present points of order, make
inquiries, or participate in debate, and the Speaker
and the President also must sign all bills passed
 In the House, the Speaker appoints the standing and
other committees and refers bills and resolutions to
the appropriate committees
 In the Senate, the Committee on Organization,
Calendar and Rules appoints members of the
standing committees
Duties of Presiding Officers
 The Senate President refers bills to committees and
appoints members of special and select committees
and conference committees
 These officers also have certain administrative and
housekeeping responsibilities incidental to the
operation of the Legislature
Other Legislative Officers
 Although the rules do not expressly provide for their
selection, each house has a majority and minority
leader and other party officers who are selected by
the respective caucuses
 These persons play an important role in organizing
and coordinating the activities of their party
members with regard to items under consideration
by the house
Other Legislative Officers
 The rules of the Senate and House establish four main
nonmember offices
 1-Secretary of the Senate
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Major clerical responsibility for the Senate
 2-Chief Clerk of the House
 Major clerical responsibility for the House
 Sergeant of Arms for each house
 Preserves order in and around the legislative chambers
 These are appointed/removed by the President/Speaker
Other Legislative Officers
 The Senate authorizes the following assistants to the
Secretary
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Assistant secretary of the Senate
Journal clerks
Calendar clerks
Enrolling clerks
Bill status clerk
Reading clerk
Bill clerk
Other Legislative Officers
 In the House, the Chief Clerk appoints and
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supervises additional clerks and personnel
The assistant sergeants-at-arms of the Senate and
House serve under the supervision of the sergeantat-arms but may be removed by the President or
Speaker
All doorkeepers are assistant sergeant-at-arms
Each house also appoints a chaplain to offer prayer
at the start of each session
Senators are permitted to select their own private
secretaries
Limitations on Conduct of Non-legislators
 To maintain order and void confusion on the floor
while the houses are in session, rules have been
established to limit access by non-legislatures to the
floor and control the distribution of materials to the
members
 The Senate rule prohibits admission of persons other
than senators to the floor, except elective state
officers, friends of senators, former senators, those
with an invitation signed by the President, legislative
branch employees, certain members of the media,
and those invited by Senate resolution
Limitations on Conduct of Non-legislators
 The House permits admission to legislators, officers
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and employees of the legislative branch, and others
having permits from the Speaker
Registered lobbyists are explicitly excluded from access
to the floor during a session
Both houses prohibit persons in the galleries from
using telephones or video equipment
Also in both houses, no unapproved items or materials
may be placed on a members desk
A Senate rule also forbids occupancy of a senators chair
by another without prior approval of said senator
Committees
 The general public has access to the legislative
process through its elected senators and
representatives
 It should be understood, though, that the
Legislature’s committee system provides a very
important forum for communication of citizen
views directly into the legislative process
Standing Committees
 16 Standing Committees in the Senate
 The Committee on Organization, Calendar, and Rules appoints
the other standing committees and designates a chairperson,
vice-chairperson, and ranking minority member
 24 Standing Committees in the House
 The Speaker appoints the other standing committees and
designates a chairperson, vice-chairperson, and ranking
minority member
 House and Senate standing committees sometimes
utilize subcommittees for temporary assignments
Standing Committees
 Subcommittees are designated by the committee
chairperson
 The selection of subcommittees is addressed by the
rules only in the House
 Most standing committees are created for the
purpose of considering proposed legislation and
reporting recommendation thereon
 As measured by the number of bills assigned to
them, some standing committees traditionally have a
much higher workload than others (judiciary and
appropriations/ ways and means)
Standing Committees
 The number of bills assigned to a standing committee
can vary greatly from year to year
 Standing committees generally meet at a regular time
and place each day, with the actual number of meetings
determined by their workload
 A chairperson may call a meeting of the committee at any
time. Oral announcements of meetings are common to
meet deadlines late in the session
 Each committee has a secretary who attends all
meetings, coordinates materials, keeps minutes, records
persons appearing to offer testimony and action taken
Select (Special) Committees
 Created by resolution or announcement by the
Speaker or President
 The Speaker, President, or Legislative Coordinating
Council appoint select committees and name the
chairperson.
 Select committees are normally assigned a particular
matter to review or investigate and cease to exist
after their function has been served and when a final
report has been issued
Statutory Committees
 All statutory committees are designated as joint
committees and composed of members from both
houses
 Many statutory committees are “permanent” and
never expire, but some are created for a specific
purpose and time frame
 Some statutory committees may contain both
legislators and non-legislators
 Statutory committees meet throughout the year, but
mostly during interim periods
Legislative Session
 In November, 1966 a constitutional amendment
provided for annual general sessions
 Odd numbered years were of unlimited duration
 Even numbered years were limited to 60 day sessions
unless a 2/3 vote extended the session
 In 1974,a new constitutional amendment extended the
duration of even numbered years to 90 days unless
extended by a 2/3 vote
Legislative Session
 The session convenes on the first Monday of January
and schedules an adjournment in early April with a
“wrap up” in the latter part of the month
 The Governor may call a special session of the
Legislature whenever he believes it is warranted
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Requires a petition with a 2/3 membership approval
 The special session usually covers one or two distinct
items but can address any matter brought to the
table
Another flow chart
Credits
 Ed Klumpp, Lobbyist for KACP, KSA, and KPOA
 http://www.kslawenforcementinfo.com/
 Kansas Legislature website
 http://www.kslegislature.org
Credits:
Kansas Legislative
Research Department , 2006
Credits
 Schoolhouse Rock,
A Disney Educational Production
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_d
etailpage&v=tyeJ55o3El0
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyeJ55o3El0
Contact Information
Col. Richard Powell, Chief Deputy
Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office
141 W. Elm
Wichita, Ks, 67203
316-660-3900
office
316-660-3248
fax
richard.powell@sedgwick.gov
www.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriff
email
web