Kansas Attorney General Opinions

Irrespective of whether a "new home builder" owns the property upon which he is constructing a house, K.S.A. 58-3003 (i) exempts the builder and not his employees from the provisions of the Kansas Real Estate Brokers' License Act.

A city is a public corporation as that term is used in K.S.A. 12-3406(h). Upon creation of a port authority under K.S.A. 12-3%01 et seq., title to and control of an existing municipal airport does not pass automatically and by operation of law from the city to the authority. Lastly, the city is authorized to lease or sublease all or any part of its municipal airport to the port authority, under K.S.A. 3-116. *

August 15, 1977 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 77-261 Mr. Merle R. Bolton Commissioner of Education Department of Education 120 East Tenth Street Topeka, Kansas 66612 Re: Taxation--Community Junior Colleges--Retailers' Sales Tax Synopsis: On and after January 1, 1978, a community j…

A person holding himself out to the public as a "super- vised clinical psychologist" and who is not certified pursuant to K.S.A. 74-5301 et seq., is in violation of said act and may be prosecuted thereunder.

The system board of a regional system which levies a tax therefore must make its required budget publication in a newspaper which is published in each county within the territory of the system.

In the leasing of a vacant tract of ground owned by the city to a private nonprofit corporation for the operation of a motorcycle track, the city acts in a proprietary capacity rather than a governmental capac- ity, and may suffer substantial exposure to claims of liability based upon negligent acts or omissions which are attributable to the city itself and which are the cause of injuries in the operation of the track. *

The sale of personal property and services to an irriga- tion district which is organized under K.S.A. 42-704 for use in the sale and furnishing of water for irriga- tion purposes is subject to the retailers' sales tax. "Property which is consumed" in the irrigation of crops, as that phrase is defined in K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 79-3606(n) is exempt from the retailers' sales tax act, the term including primarily electricity, gas and water insofar as pertinent here.

With the adoption of regulations by the U.S. Treasury Department whereunder Treasury bills are issued only in book entry form, and no longer in definitive form, the book entry records become the legal equivalent of physical custody of the bills themselves, and the cus- todian or custodians of securities for the System may accept and hold such book entry records in lieu of physical custody of the bills themselves, and thus comply with K.S.A. 74-4921(8).

There is no legal incompatibility between the office of a member of the Kansas legislature and employment by a county or city as a grants coordinator, and there is no legal conflict of interest inherent in the holding of both positions simultaneously. * *

Rules 15 and 17 of the Merit Commission of Wyandotte County, restricting political activity of officers and employees of the sheriff's department in said county are in certain respects overbroad and impermissibly vague and indefinite. Public employees may not be pro- hibited from the expression of political opinions and views, but such employees may be prohibited from taking an active part in political management or political campaigns. *

Upon designation of a highway as a primary arterial highway; a county may issue bonds for the construction- or improvement of said highway, and levies to repay such bonds are exempt from the aggregate levy limita- tions of K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 70-5001 et seq. Such bonds are not subject to the bonded debt limitations of ch. 10, art. 3, K.S.A.

Annual assessments made pursuant to K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 80a-1030(a) are not special assessments and do not there- fore fall within the purview of K.S.A. 12-3501 et seq. *

August 8, 1977 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 77- 253 Mr. W. Keith Weltmer Secretary of Administration Department of Administration 2nd Floor - State Capitol Building Topeka, Kansas 66612 Re: Cities--Home Rule--Aggregate Levy Limitations Synopsis: The aggregate levy limitations ena…

August 5, 1977 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 77- 252 Mrs. Mary F. Hope Commissioner of Elections Shawnee County Courthouse Topeka, Kansas 66603 Re: Elections--Recall--Grounds, Sufficiency of Synopsis: Under K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 25-4302, the only grounds for recall are conviction of a…

There is no statute of general application which pro- hibits the expenditure of county funds for services to be furnished within or improvements to be located within the limits of an incorporated city.

There is no Kansas law which imposes a mandatory re- sponsibility on Wyandotte County for the construction and maintenance of bridges over navigable streams lo- cated within the corporate limits of Kansas City, Kansas. *

With the enactment of amendments by the 1977 legislature constituting the Advisory Council for Vocational Educa- tion an agency separate and independent from the State Department of Education, the Advisory Council may not expend funds appropriated to the Department of Education for the operation of the Council.

A license may not be issued for the marriage of two persons of the same sex. *

August 4, 1977 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 77- 247 Mr. John Dekker Director of Law Office of City Attorney 455 North Main Street Wichita, Kansas 67202 Re: Cities--Human Relations--Discrimination Synopsis: If the governing body of the City of Wichita determines that discriminatio…

1977 Senate Bill 2 is not unconstitutional for lack of any provision for popular vote prior to levy of the assessments for support of the Kansas corn, grain sor- ghum and soybean commissioners, as provided therein.

Where a county contracts with a city to provide ambu- lance service in a designated area of the county outside the corporate boundaries of the city and pays the city an agreed-upon sum for such services, the reimbursement requirement of K.S.A. 19-261 does not apply to such services. The statutory reimbursement is required for and applies to services provided by a taxing subdivision within the corporate boundaries of such subdivision, and not to ambulance services provided outside such taxing subdivision to areas of the county solely under contract with the county.

For purposes of licensure by endorsement as provided by K.S.A. 65-2833, Guam is a "territory." * Dear Dr. Hill: You inquire about the legal status of the island of Guam. In particular, you ask if Guam is a United States Territory and whether persons licensed as doctors in Guam may have their licenses endorsed by the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts.

The creation of a sewer district by a resolution adopted in the exercise of county home rule powers under K.S.A. 19-101a et seq., which either modifies existing statutes and provides supplemental provisions thereto or sub- stitutes provisions therefor applicable to the county or exempts the county therefrom is an appropriate sub- ject of county home rule powers. However, bonds issued by such district may not be exempted from the general bond law, K.S.A. 10-103 et seq. *

A sheriff-elect is required by K.S.A. 19-801b(c) to be "paid a salary as a deputy sheriff" while attending the law enforcement training center prior to taking office. The statute does not otherwise indicate how the rate of pay shall be determined, and thus, where the department employs one deputy on a monthly basis, and others are paid on an hourly basis, use of the latter method for determining the compensation due to the sheriff-elect while attending the center is per- missible, even though it results in compensation which is less than is paid to the one deputy who is employed and paid on a

(1) The Kansas Historic Preservation Act grants the governor no discretion to appoint members of the state historic sites board of review for terms of other than three (3) years. (2) Funds received by the Kansas Historical Society pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 470 may be expended without legis- lative appropriation of such funds. *

Pursuant to K.S.A. 19-15,114, adding an asphaltic over- lay to an airport runway may be considered as an "im- provement" to a "public building," and such a project may be financed thereunder by the issuance of general obligation bonds. *

July 21, 1977 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 77- 242 Harold Prell Marshall County Clerk Marshall County Courthouse Marysville, Kansas 66508 RE: Taxation - Abandoned Railroad Right-Of-Way - Reversion - Adverse Possession. K.S.A. 12-506, 13-443, 60-503, and 79-405,-406,-407 SYNOPSIS:…

The Register of Deeds must index the names of the debtor listed on every financing statement. Where the debtor has more than one name, such indexing must be made for each name of the debtor and fees charged as provided by law. The secured party has no right or discretion to list more than one name as debtor, and then ask the Register of Deeds to index only one designated name as debtor, charging only the fee for one name.

A county may not, in the exercise of its statutory home rule powers, impose brand inspection duties upon the state brand commissioner, and accordingly, Kearny County Charter Resolution No. 6 is void and of no effect, be- cause it purports to require the state brand inspection to conduct brand inspections prior to certain movements of cattle.

July 19, 1977 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 77- .237 Dennis A. Dietz Washington County Attorney Washington County Courthouse Washington, Kansas 66968 RE: Uniform Commercial Code - Financing Statements - Timely Filing of Continuance Statements - K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 84-9-403(3) SYNOPS…

July 19, 1977 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 77- 236 J. Byron Meeks Edwards County Attorney Edwards County Courthouse Kinsley, Kansas 67547 RE: Taxation - Separate Tax Statements for Fractional Interests in Real Estate. K.S.A. 79-1803, K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 79-2001, K.S.A. 79-426 SYNOP…

July 19, 1977 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 7 7 - '235 Joseph E. Cole Geary County Counselor Post Office Box 62 Junction City, Kansas 66441 RE: Taxation - Collection of Delinquent Personal Property Tax - Priority - Effect of Transfer or Sale, K.S.A. 79-2109, 79-2110, 79-2111 SYNOP…

The registration, incorporation, reporting and other requirements contained in K.S.A. 17-1739 et seq., apply to the Wichita Police Department Benefit Fund Association when it sponsors, and receives proceeds from, a policemen's ball and music show. * *

July 18, 1977 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 77- 241 Mr. Dwight D. Keen Securities Commissioner Office of the Securities Commissioner 4th Floor - State Office Building Topeka, Kansas 66612 Re: Cities and Municipalities--Economic Development Revenue Bonds--Authority and Duties of Se…

A Kansas city which has adopted an ordinance prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations, housing and employment on the basis of race, sex, religion, age, color, national origin, ancestry, physical handicap or marital status may lawfully enforce such ordinance against other governmental units having offices within said city, including agencies of the state, county, and school district.

Payment of membership dues or assessments by member banks to the Association, and use of those funds for operating costs of the Association, to include the costs of administering the fund, does not constitute a payment "in order to aid, promote, or prevent the nomination or election of any person to public office," for no corporate funds of any bank will reach the campaign treasuries of candidates for public office.

A municipal provision requiring mandatory retirement of city employees at age 65 does not violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 29 U.S.C.A. SS 621 et seq., nor does it constitute a denial of equal protection to employees over the age of 65. *

Under 1977 Senate Bill 37, the city or county governing body which has authorized a transient guest tax to be levied may by resolution authorize the discontinuance of such levy in its jurisdiction, when it deems the levy no longer necessary. Such resolution should be adopted in accordance with any applicable rules and regulations of the Secretary of Revenue to coordinate the collection of the tax with the date of its abolition.

The State Civil Service Commission has no jurisdiction to hear appeals of former employees of the Lyon County- Emporia City Joint Board of Health from the termination of their employment by said board as of October 31, 1976, because such persons were not members of the state classified service, and the jurisdiction of the Commis- sion extends only to persons in that service. *

The municipal court of Kansas City, Kansas, is not ousted from jurisdiction over nontraffic offenses in- volving violations of city ordinances which occur on the grounds of the University of Kansas Medical Center by K.S.A. 74-3216, for the title of the bill in which said section was enacted, found at ch. 484, L. 1957, restricts said section only to parking and traffic offenses.

A bank card draft which is authorized by 1977 Senate Bill 76 as a bond for offenses enumerated in K.S.A. 8-2107(d), as amended, is not an acceptable and suffi- cient bond unless said draft will be honored by the issuing institution by payment to the court of the full amount required for the offense involved by subsection (d). The bond represents an obligation to the State of Kansas, and no official of the state, including the court accepting said bond, is authorized to accept pay- ment thereof at a discounted rate in an amount less than the full amount required by law for the offenses involved

With the repeal of K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 28-810 by the 1976 Legislature, the board of county commissioners may pro- vide in the exercise of home rule power for the payment of mileage to members of the board, and the rate of such mileage, which may be greater or lesser than the rate fixed by the Secretary of Administration pursuant to K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 75-3203.

July 12, 1977 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 77- 224 Mr. Devon Knoll Director, Kansas Adult Authority 818 Kansas Avenue Topeka, Kansas- 66612 RE: Criminal Code - Sentencing - Power of the Kansas Adult Authority to award good behavior credits to female misdemeanants incarcerated at …

Law enforcement officers have the authority to take into custody voluntary patients to a mental hospital who have walked away or eloped from the hospital without following the proper procedures pursuant to K.S.A. 59- 2908.

Review of Opinion No. 77-35, and the lack of any action by the 1977 legislature to amend the pertinent statutes, requires the conclusion that Unified School District No. 501 still may not provide or furnish transportation to its students pursuant to K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 72-8301 in urban transit buses owned and operated by the Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority under a contract with said board of education. *

Under 1977 Senate Bill 318, students who are ineligible for payment of tuition for enrollment at area vocational technical schools under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973, or any other federal act, fall within the definition of "post-secondary student" as found at K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 72-4430(f), as amended by said bill, and must be included in the "total post- secondary enrollment" on which the state post-secondary aid is determined.