Kansas Attorney General Opinions

Kansas law allows for and encourages agreements between the townships and counties for maintenance of the roads. If, however, no agreement can be reached, the county can take over maintenance in the event the township neglects proper care. Cited herein: K.S.A. 68-124, K.S.A. 1986 Supp. 68-506, K.S.A. 68-516a; K.S.A. 1986 Supp. 68-560; K.S.A. 68-561; 68-572; 68-591.

TheJustices and Judges; Certain Limitation SynousedThe term "salaried officer of the state," as used• - inArticle3,Section13oftheKansas Constitution, refers to any person holding a salaried state office. Common law criteria set out in Durflinger v. Artiles, 234 Kan. 502 (1983) must be applied to determine whether a person holding a specific state position is a state officer. Cit K.S.A. 25-2505, 75-4301; L. 1972, ch. 390 and Deartorator392,Kan. Const., Art. 1, S15; Kan. Const., Art. 3, §13.

K.S.A. 10-1101 et.seq., the cash-basis law, does not apply to county hospital boards when managing and controlling hospital funds. However, should the hospital enter into an agreement creating a potential indebtedness of the county, the cash-basis law would apply. Kearney County Hospital may enter into an agreement with Kearney County Bank whereby the bank purchases the accounts owed to the hospital and the hospital guarantees payment of that account if such an agreement in no way creates a potential liability against the county.

The primary responsibility for transporting a prisoner to court in a civil case under a writ of ad testificandum lies with the custodian. In the absence of statutory or judicial direction, there is no authority to cause third parties who are neither custodians nor parties to the litigation to bear the costs of transporting a prisoner.

The sale or transfer of watershed district property to a governmental entity for recreational purposes is permissible under relevant watershed district statutes, K.S.A. 24-1209 Third and 24-1201a. No specific procedures exist for the sale of watershed district property. Accordingly, Cross Creek Watershed Joint District No. 42 may transfer or sell real estate to a governmental entity at little or no cost, provided general requirements concerning any sale of municipally-owned property are observed.

Except as otherwise provided in the Family Farm Rehabilitation Act, all proceedings in the district court which has jurisdiction for (1) the fore- closure of a mortgage on agricultural land, (2) the cancellation of a contract for the purchase of agricultural land, or (3) the repossession of or collection against agricultural property commencing on and after October 1, 1985, shall be subject to the provisions of the Act. The Act would apply to the Farmers Home Administration and similar federal and state agencies.

Immunity granted by a county attorney pursuant to a plea bargaining agreement is not necessarily binding on another county attorney. Evidence independent of that testified to by the defendant may be used by another county attorney in a prosecution of the defendant.

K.S.A. 1985 Supp. 19-805(b) authorizes a sheriff, in his or her discretion, to require staff -

The Secretary of Administration has the authority to enter into an _agreement with a non-profit corporation whereby that corporation, at its own expense, will plan and construct a Fountain of Justice, dependent upon the Secretary's approval, on state-owned property. The Secretary may further agree to maintain such fountain, provided the agreement complies with relevant budget laws.

ROBERT T. STE19 1-1 AN ATTORNEY GENERAL S eptember 10Marvin ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 86- 129 The Honorable Marvin . Wm. Barkis - State Representative, Fifteenth District Route 2, Box 150 Louisburg, Kansas 66053 Re: Labor and Industries--Eight Hour Day on Public Work--Enforcem…

ROBERT T. STEPHAN August 2, 1985 ATTOR NEY GENERAL ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 85-95 John A. Lamb, Director Alcoholic Beverage Control Division Department of Revenue 700 Jackson, 2nd Floor Topeka, Kansas 6603 Re: Intoxicating Liquors and Beverages -- Licensing and Regulation of …

K.S.A. 1984 Supp. 74-5607a requires a Kansas law enforcement officer to complete a minimum of 40 hours of annual training as a requirement for continued employment. While Kansas statutes do not require the payment of compensation to an officer who takes such training during off- duty hours, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does contain such a requirement, and applies to those public agencies which have five or more employees who qualify as law enforcement officers.

Elections conducted pursuant to the Mail Ballot Election Act, K.S.A. 1984 Supp. 25-431 et seq., are subject to general election laws to the extent that such laws are applicable. In that there are no designated polling or voting places in a mail ballot election, K.S.A. 25-2430, which prohibits electioneering at such locations, does not apply to mail ballot elections. Accordingly, advertising of views in support of or in opposition to the Sedgwick County sales tax proposal does not have to be discontinued for the 20 day period in which mail ballots are in circulation.

Prior to enactment of 1985 House Bill No. 2451, a driver's failure to appear before a municipal court could not, in the absence of a bench warrant under K.S.A. 12-4301, result in suspension of his or her license by the Division of Vehicles of the Department of Revenue. However, provisions of the bill amend K.S.A. 1984 Supp. 8-2110 to now provide for such suspension after a failure to appear before either a district or a municipal court. Attorney General Opinion No. 84-43, which was issued prior to the amendment of K.S.A. 1984 Supp. 8-2110, is hereby withdrawn.

The Kansas Ombudsman has no duty or authority to investigate complaints filed by inmates who have been transferred from a correctional facility to the state security hospital at Larned.

ROBERT T. STEPHAN ATTORNEY GENERAL May 9, 1985 49 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 85- Colt Knutson Riley County Attorney 6th and Humboldt, Suite 1 Manhattan, Kansas 66502 Re: State Departments; Public Officers, Employees -- Public Officers and Employees -- Open Public Meetings; Bodi…

ROBERT T. STEPHAN ATTORNEY GENERAL May , 1985 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 85- 47 Stan Martin Law Offices of Martin, Hoffman & McNish 325 Broadway Abilene, Kansas 67410 Re: Cities and Municipalities -- Franchises -- Granting Franchises; Elections on Ordinance Synopsis: A popular …

ROBERT T. STEPHAN ATTORNEY GENERAL Feruary 18, 1985 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 85- 19 James B. McKay, Jr. City Attorney P.O. Box 49 El Dorado, Kansas 67042 Re: Cities of the Second Class--The Board of Commissioners-- Mayor or Commissioners Holding Other Office Elections--City E…

A consolidation of a nursing home and hospital by converting the nursing home into a long-term care unit of the hospital is an alteration which increases the licensed bed capacity of the hospital. Such a consolidation is prohibited under L. 1985, Ch. 204.

K.S.A. 9-1906, as amended by L. 1985, ch. 59, provides a statutory procedure for the distribution of assets of an insolvent bank or trust company. As a general rule of law, purely procedural statutes which do not affect substantive rights are given retro- spective application. Provided no distributions have been made to creditors, K.S.A. 9-1906 may be applied retrospectively to an existing receivership However, after the distribution process has begun, creditors of the insolvent institution have a vested right in the method of distribution. In such a case, K.S.A. 9L.1906 should be given prospe

RO ATTORNEY GENERALERAL January 2, 1985 t ATITOCounATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 85- 1 Jahn A. Sparks Assistant COunty Westmoreland Pottawatomie County Courthouse WIstmoreland, Kansas 66549 Re: Automobiles and Other Vehicles -- Serious Traffic Offenses—Driving While Under the Infl…

September 6, 19 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 84- 92 David H. Heilman Council Grove City Attorney 200 West Main Street Council Grove, Kansas 66846 Re: Automobiles and Other Vehicles--Act Regulating Traffic; Equipment of Vehicles--One-Way Glass or Glazing of Windows Prohibited Syno…

June 11, 1984 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION 84- 53 Kenneth Moore, Sheriff Dickinson County Sheriff's Department 109 East 1st Street Abilene, Kansas 67410 Re: Counties and County Officers -- Sheriff -- Meetings and Seminars; Discretionary Authority to Send Per- sonnel Counties and Coun…

Section 5(a)(3) of 1984 Senate Bill No. 654 authorizes the Kansas Real Estate Commission to provide the names of persons licensed under the Real Estate Brokers and Salesmen Act to organizations and in- stitutions authorized to provide educational courses and materials to such licensees under K.S.A. 58-3046a(d). Such lists may be sold or given to the authorized organ- izations for the sole purpose of providing the persons listed with information relating to the availability of educational materials or courses offered by such organizations.

K.S.A. 19-1204 requires a Register of Deeds to main- tain certain handwritten record books. Although K.S.A. 58-2224 provides that certain other forms of record keeping will satisfy this requirement, it does not authorize the exclusive use of computerized re- cording. Thus, while a Register of Deeds may use a computer to aid in the recording functions of the office, he or she must also maintain the books re- quired by K.S.A. 19-1204 until the legislature specifically allows computerized record keeping to be substituted for the handwritten records.

Incomplete notations of the date of signature on a petition do not constitute a defect or irregu- larity which would invalidate the entire petition or the individual signatures, if the incomplete notations of the date do not prevent the election officer from determining whether the petition was filed within the time limit established by the statute. Even if individual signatures are invalid, they do not necessarily operate to in- validate the entire petition if sufficient valid signatures remain to meet the statutorily required minimum.

K.S.A. 1983 Supp. 21-3913, as amended, prohibits a person from knowingly selling, giving or receiving, for the purpose of selling or offering for sale any property or service to persons listed therein, any list of names and addresses contained in or derived from public records. This statute prohibits the Kansas Real Estate Commission from knowingly pro- viding lists of names maintained as a public record to private schools for the purpose of offering to sell to persons listed services provided by the school.

December 19, 1984 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION 84- 125 Marvin S. Steinert Savings and Loan Commissioner 503 Kansas Avenue, Room 220 Topeka, Kansas 66603 Re: Corporations -- Savings and Loan Association; Incor- poration and Organization -- Use of Words "Banking" and "Bank" in Advertis…

STATE OF KANSAS OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 2ND FLOOR, KANSAS JUDICIAL CENTER, TOPEKA 66612 ROBERT T. STEPHAN MAIN PHONE: (913) 2ge-221S ATTORNEY GENERAL CONSUMER PROTECTION: 296-3751 December 17, 1984 ANTITRUST: 296-5299 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 84- 124 The Honorable Ben …

Pursuant to K.S.A. 1983 Supp. 22-4501 et seq., theStateBoardofIndigentDefenseServices has the authority to deny authorization of claims for compensation in cases where the attorneys seeking compensation were appointed without regard to the applicable system for providing legal services to indigent defendants as established by the board.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) does not come under the definition of supervised lender [K.S.A. 1983 Supp. 16a-1-301(38)] or supervised financial organization [K.S.A. 1983 Supp. 16a-1-301 (37)] when it acquires supervised loans as the re- sult of a take-over of a state or national bank which it has insured. As a result, it does not need a license issued by the Consumer Credit Commissioner prior to accepting payments on such loans or taking steps to enforce those loans which are in default.

October 11, 1984 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION 84- - 106 The Honorable Rex B. Hoy State Representative, 24th District 2801 Johnson Drive Shawnee Mission, Kansas 66205 Re: Laws, Journals and Public Information -- Records Open to Public -- Lists of Names and Addresses; Prohibition Again…

K.S.A. 8-237 permits the holder of a restricted drivers license between the age of 14 and 16 to operate a motor vehicle on days while school is in session over the most direct and accessible route between the licensee's residence and school of enrollment for the purpose of school attendance. The term "school attendance" has a narrower meaning than "school activities;" therefore, the holder of a restricted license is not permitted by this statute to operate a motor vehicle for transportation to mere school activities.

Sheriffs and their deputies may properly operate county- owned law enforcement vehicles outside the territorial boundaries of the county when exercising lawful juris- diction outside such county or in carrying out the statutory duties of the sheriff.

To become a certified arson investigator and exercise the police powers attendant thereto, an individual must meet the requirements established by rules and regulations of the state fire marshal and successfully complete a firearm training course as prescribed for law enforcement officers under K.S.A. 1982 Supp. 74-5604a. An individual need not complete the basic training course established for law enforcement officers in accordance with K.S.A. 74-5607a in order to be certified as an arson investigator.

A sheriff may refuse access to the jail to a person claiming to be a minister if, after inquiry of the person's professional status, the sheriff is convinced that the person does not qualify as a "minister" within the meaning of K.S.A. 19-1906. The sheriff may consider the credentials of ordination, any acknowledgment of a sect that such person is a minister and the extent to which the person is practicing the ministry as a vocation.

K.S.A. 1981 Supp. 74-2622 provides that one of the members of the Kansas Water Authority be a board member of a western Kansas groundwater management district. Such a representative is appointed by the governor from a list of three names submitted by the presidents of groundwater management district boards nos. 1, 3 and 4. Upon the individual's removal from his respective board, whether by resignation or defeat at an annual elec- tion, the individual's position on the authority also is vacated and the nomination process must be repeated to fill the vacancy.

The maintenance and repair of township buildings is entrusted to the township board, which may fund such repairs either from the general budget, through special levies or through the issuance of general obligation bonds. Only in the latter case is an election required, with a decision otherwise left to the discretion of the township board.

Due to the provisions of K.S.A. 1981 Supp. 79-213, the State Board of Tax Appeals is the appropriate agency to determine which property is exempt from property taxation.

The increased penalty provisions of K.S.A. 21-4501 (as amended by L. 1982, ch. 137, §1) and K.S.A. 21-4608, (as amended by L. 1982, ch. 150, §1) do not apply to crimes committed before July 1, 1982 (the effective date of the amendments), but are applicable to sentencing for crimes committed after July 1, 1982.

August 9, 1982 ATIORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 82-16 8 Mr. David K. Martin P.O. Box 10 The Tower Building 200 South Chestnut Olathe, Kansas 66061 Re: Criminal Procedure -- Search and Seizure -- Custody and Disposition of Seized Property Cities, Second Class -- Sale of Firearms Found…

A county resolution which requires an ambulance service to have at least four operational ambulances to operate within the county is valid insofar as it establishes minimum operational standards within the county in compliance with K.S.A. 1980 Supp. 19-262. However, such a standard may not be im- posed upon a city which provides ambulance service within the city limits.

K.S.A. 75-4304 prohibits a county commissioner from contracting, in his official capacity, with a business in which the commissioner has a sub- stantial interest. The prohibition is not elim- inated if the other county commissioners approve the subject contracts.

In a prosecution for the crime of giving a worthless check, the presumption of notice that results when the holder of a Check that has been returned by the drawee sends written notice in compliance with K.S.A. 21-3707(2) is a conclusive presumption. Actual receipt of the written notice need not be shown by the prosecution, if the holder has satisfied the requirements of K.S.A. 21-3707(2). However, evidence that defendant did not receive the formal written notice is admissible pursuant to K.S.A. 60-460(m), as an exception to the hearsay rule of evidence, but merely as mitigating evidence at the