Kansas Attorney General Opinions

The entire general fund levy of a governmental unit is to be included in the "total tangible property tax levies" of such unit, on the basis of which its distribu- tive share to the proceeds of the countywide retailers' sales tax is to be determined, notwithstanding some portion of the general fund is to be applied to a pur- pose for which a separate levy might have been made under other statutory authority, which itself would have been exempt from the aggregate levy limitations of K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 79-5001 et seq.

The parents of a child subject to the compulsory attendance law may not withdraw that child from a public or private school and hire a private tutor to handle the education of their child, for home instruction is not an excuse for nonattendance under the Kansas truancy act. * *

June 15, 1977 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 77- 199 Mr. Dennis A. Dietz Washington County Attorney Washington County Courthouse Washington, Kansas 66968 Re: Mortgages--Form of Release--1977 Amendment Synopsis: Prior to 1977, K.S.A. 58-2306 provided that any mortgage of real proper…

In a city of the second class with a council form of government, only the mayor, by and with the consent of the council, is legally authorized to appoint police officers of such city.

A private individual may not obtain title to public roads or highways by adverse possession. *

The board of county commissioners may lawfully authorize the consumption of cereal malt beverages with an alcohol content of not more than 3.2% by weight on county-owned property. *

Under K.S.A. 41-306 of the Kansas Liquor Control Act, a licensed Kansas alcoholic liquor distributor may purchase alcoholic liquor which is manufactured in the United States only from 1) the manufacturer of such liquor, 2) a corporate subsidiary of a manufacturer which markets its products solely through one or more subsidiaries, and 3) another licensed Kansas distrib- utor. Companies which only have exclusive marketing agreements with manufacturers, but which are not cor- porate subsidiaries of such manufacturers, are not eligible to sell such alcoholic liquors to licensed Kansas distributors

Charges for municipally-owned utility services are not per se unreasonable and excessive merely because the revenues therefrom are sufficient to provide a surplus which may be transferred as authorized by the Kansas Legislature to the general fund of the city for applica- tion to general municipal expenses.

K.S.A. 42-350 applies to canals, ditches or other con- duits constructed for the conveyance of water, and other openings through or across public highways or streets only when such canals, ditches or other openings are used principally for power purposes.

There is no statutory provision preventing the appoint- ment of a beauty school instructor as a member of the Board of Cosmetology.

K.S.A. 12-4209 requires that no warrant may be issued by a municipal court against persons who fail to appear in court as required in a notice to appear which was issued to such person charging a traffic violation unless the arrest warrant is supported by a complaint signed by the complaining officer or party under oath or affirmation.

Monies derived from the levy authorized by K.S.A. 12- 1680 may be awarded in lump sum payments to nonprofit organizations which propose to operate service programs for the elderly on such monthly, quarterly or other basis as the board of county commissioners deems appro- priate. *

K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 77-138 requires that sets of Kansas Statutes Annotated be delivered to elective and appoin- tive state officers who are heads of departments, which officers may be identified through information available in the Kansas Directory, which is compiled by the Sec- retary of State. *

Under K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 28-172a(c), the balance of the docket fee remaining after payment of statutory charges for judges' retirement, stenographer, law library and bar docket fee are to be paid into the county general fund, and not into separate funds of either the sheriff or the district court clerk. *

The Defense Investigative Service is eligible to receive criminal history record information as defined by Title 28, Chapter 1, Part 20.3(b), from law enforcement agen- cies in Kansas. *

June 1, 1977 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 77- 187 Mrs. Gladys Meek Register of Deeds Rice County Courthouse Lyons, Kansas 67554 Re: Uniform Commercial Code--Financing Statements--Fees for Filing and Indexing Synopsis: The Uniform Commercial Code specifies the fees to be charged b…

(1) Physicians' Assistants as provided in K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 65-2896 may perform only those patient services falling within the guidance and direction of the re- sponsible physician and that such physician must ac- tually coordinate, direct and inspect continuously the actions of the P.A. (2) Professional nurses are authorized to take or follow the orders and requests of P.A.s. *

May 31, 1977 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 77- 185 Benjamin J. Neill General Counsel Department of Revenue State Office Building Topeka, Kansas 66625 RE: Escheats - Unclaimed Refund of Sales Tax Bonds - Need of Uniform Disposition of Un- claimed Property Act SYNOPSIS: There is cur…

June 7, 1977 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 77- 184 Mr. Kenneth M. Wilke Counsel State Board of Agriculture 503 Kansas Avenue Topeka, Kansas 66603 Re: Water Resources--Groundwater Management Districts--Rules and Regulations Synopsis: Under K.S.A. 82a-1028, a groundwater management …

June 7, 1977 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 77-183 Mr. Jerry L. Griffith Attorney at Law 101 North Baltimore Derby, Kansas 67037 Re: Schools--Teachers--Compensation Synopsis: A board of education of a unified school district has no authority to pay the salaries of professional teac…

A resolution adopted by the board of county commissioners on or before July 1 which adopts a schedule of fees for solid waste service pursuant to K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 65-3410 is effective on the date of adoption of said resolution, unless the resolution otherwise provides. Its effectiveness is not delayed until the succeeding calendar year by any provision of art. 34, ch. 65, K.S.A.

A restriction on the use of certain lots in the City of Tribune, contained in a deed dated October 28, 1976, which prohibits the use or erection of any building thereon except a "single or multi-family residence with either attached or detached garage" upon any portion of the property does not as a matter of law prohibit the use of mobile home units for residential purposes on such property, nor require that each residential unit erected or used on said property have either an attached or detached garage. *

K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 20-348 does not in and of itself vest in the district courts the power to levy taxes, nor to compel the expenditure of proceeds of taxes levied by the board of county commissioners in excess of the duly adopted budget for operations of the district court. *

No person may be appointed a notary public under K.S.A. 53-101 et seq. unless there is in effect on the date of such appointment a valid surety bond as required by K.S.A. 53-102. No appointment may be made to empower any person to act as a notary public retroactively, i.e., prior to the date the appointment is made, al- though an appointment may be made to commence at a date certain in the future.

The Board of Accountancy may, under the authority of K.S.A. 1-311, require C.P.A.'s to renew their permits to practice as certified public accountants and to meet the continuing education requirements set out in K.A.R. 74-9-1. *

Although housing for the elderly is a valuable community asset, it is not in and of itself an industrial induce- ment, and the industrial fund created pursuant to K.S.A. 12-1617h may not be used to provide operating funds for such a facility. *

A pickup truck is not a "passenger motor vehicle" which is eligible for registration by disabled veterans under K.S.A. 8-161(a). Unless and until the legislature chooses to enlarge the class of vehicles which may be registered for disabled veterans without cost under K.S.A. 8-161(a), that privilege now extends only to passenger vehicles. *

An alien who has entered the country illegally, who has been discovered by the Immigration and Naturaliza- tion Service, who has been found amenable to deportation proceedings and who has been granted the privilege of voluntary departure from the United States on or before a specific date, is not during the period of such re- lease on parole or "docket control" by the Service, legally present within the territory of the United States, and the employment of such an alien by an employer who knows such person to be illegally present in this coun- try is an offense under K.S.A. 21-4409. * *

The use of the phrase "state exposition" to describe a fair conducted by the Shawnee County Board of County Commissioners does not violate the requirement of K.S.A. 2-201 that the phrase "state fair" may be used to des- cribe only that fair held at Hutchinson, Kansas, by the Board of State Fair Managers. *

The Student Senate at Kansas State University is not subject to the Kansas open meeting law, K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 75-4317 et seq. * *

May 26, 1977 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 77- 173 Mr. Donald G. McFerson City Attorney 2707 W. Douglas Wichita, Kansas 67213 RE: Lamps and Lights on Emergency Vehicles Synopsis: The lamps and lights required for authorized emergency vehicles under K.S.A. 8-1720 are not required f…

The Board of Regents may delegate to institutions under its jurisdiction the authority vested in the Board under K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 74-3245 to purchase liability insur- ance for students engaged in professional clinical pro- grams offered by institutions operated and managed under the control of the Board. * *

Nothing in article 17, chapter 17, K.S.A. prevents a city or county which is party to an agreement with a municipal housing authority created thereunder to enter into a further agreement for the deferral of payments in lieu of taxes from said Housing Authority for such period as is consistent with the maintenance of the low-rent character of the housing project and the achieve- ments of the purposes of the act. * *

K.S.A. 3-123 authorizes a city and county which jointly undertake the establishment of an airport under K.S.A. 3-119a et seq. to condemn property for the use of such jointly operated airport. K.S.A. 3-711 authorizes such city and county to condemn any use of land which consti- tutes an "airport hazard," as defined by K.S.A. 3-701(2) to the operation of such jointly operated airport. *

The City of Eureka did not acquire fee simple absolute title to property acquired by eminent domain proceedings in 1958 for a municipal airport which would enable the city to convey fee simple absolute title to portions thereof to purchasers for industrial sites. *

Monies of a supplemental retirement system created pur- suant to K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 72-17,108 are required to be secured as provided in K.S.A. 9-1402. *

1977 House Bill 2470 does not alter the schedule for budget adoption of libraries subject to K.S.A. 12-1215, as amended. A resolution adopted thereunder providing for a levy in excess of 2.5 mills should state that the board determines that the current tax levy is in- sufficient, declare the necessity of increasing the total annual levy to the desired mill rate, and state the total annual amount of the tax to be levied for library purposes. A board need not immediately utilize all the levy authority provided by such a resolution, but may levy an amount in excess of 2.5 mills, but below the max

The purchaser at a tax sale is entitled to a deed conveying a clear title good against the world. Any unpaid current taxes and interest thereon, which have accrued between the time the action in foreclosure was begun and the time the cause was ripe for judgment, should be computed and included in the amount of judgment in rem. *

A "wire" unit, part of which is attached to the officer's body and which can pick up oral communications in the officer's presence and then be transmitted to a base unit and recorded, is not considered an oral communica- tion within the scope of K.S.A. 22-2514(2) whereby a court order is required. *

Cities may vary maximum speed limits on roadways within their corporate limits only as provided in K.S.A. 8-1338. * * *

An automobile sold "as is" at a public auction may be sold with a highway title, if the proper notice is given to the purchaser, as provided in K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 8-1754. * *

Bonds issued under subsection (h) of K.S.A. 12-1737 should not exceed an amount which, when combined with proceeds from a levy authorized under subsection (d) and proceeds of bonds issued under subsection (c), will exceed the amount of the building fund as fixed by the resolution creating such fund. * *

A district court judge cannot order the district attorney nor the petitioner to file a motion alleging that a juvenile is not a fit and proper subject to be dealt with under the Kansas Juvenile Code. *

A county attorney who conducts substantial county busi- ness in his private office located several miles from the courthouse, and who travels to the courthouse for meetings with the board of county commissioners and for court appearances and conducts limited county busi- ness in his courthouse office, is not required by K.S.A. 28-169 to be allowed actual and necessary expenses or mileage for such travel from his domicile or private office to the courthouse to conduct county business. *

Employment with a state university or junior college of another state does not constitute employment in the "public school system" of such other state within the meaning of K.S.A. 74-4936a.

An agreement by a member of the board of county commis- sioners to accept less than the full compensation pro- vided by county resolution to be paid such officer is void as contrary to public policy, under decisions of the Kansas Supreme Court. *

May 17 1977 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 77-158 Lynette Keddie Register of Deeds Stafford County Courthouse St. John, Kansas 67576 RE: Uniform Commercial Code - Secured Transactions - Oil and Gas - Fixture Filings - Place of Recording and Indexing SYNOPSIS: Under the Uniform Comm…

May 16, 1977 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 77- 157 Mr. Jay Don Reynolds Gray County Attorney Cimarron, Kansas 67835 RE: Public recreation and playgrounds; petition; election. Synopsis: The three days' prematurity of an election on a petition to establish a public recreation system…

The governor is the only individual in state or local government authorized pursuant to K.S.A. 48-930 to order the establishment of interjurisdictional disaster agencies.

The State Board of Education is authorized to endorse its approval to confer academic or honorary degrees upon the articles of incorporation or amendments thereto of a school which is licensed under the Kansas Proprie- tary School Act provided the Board determines that such applicant satisfies the criteria of the Board respecting the conduct of a bona fide institution of higher learn- ing, giving instructions in arts, letters, sciences or the professions.