Kansas Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Kansas, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Can one Kansas community college absorb another college's taxing district if the other college closes?
No. If a Kansas community college closes, its taxing district ceases to exist and another college cannot absorb it automatically, though the remaining college may seek to add the territory under K.S.A…
Does Kansas SB 244 require veterans nursing-home rooms, state park cabins, and prison housing to be separated by biological sex?
Only some prison cells. The Kansas AG concluded that shared prison cells with toilets are covered by SB 244, while veterans nursing-home rooms, state park cabins, and prison dormitories with separate …
Does a Kansas county hospital board have to get its annual budget approved by the county commission even if it isn't asking for tax money?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a non-elected county hospital board must submit its proposed budget to the county commission for approval every year under K.S.A. 19-4607(c), even when the hos…
Is Kansas's in-state tuition law for immigrant students without lawful status still enforceable?
No, according to the opinion. The Attorney General concluded that K.S.A. 76-731a, which grants in-state tuition to certain students without lawful immigration status, conflicts with two federal statut…
Does Kansas have to pay ACT exam fees for students at a private school that isn't accredited by the state board?
No. The Attorney General concluded that K.S.A. 72-5179 only requires the Kansas State Board of Education to pay ACT and related exam fees for students at public schools or nonpublic schools accredited…
Can a Kansas county use home rule to let commissioners appoint the county extension council instead of holding elections?
No. The Attorney General concluded that K.S.A. 2-611 requires county extension council members to be elected by county residents, and because that statute concerns elections, counties cannot use home …
Do Kansas cities and counties have to honor ICE detainer requests and can local officers arrest people for immigration violations?
Yes to both. The Attorney General concluded that K.S.A. 12-16,140 and 12-16,141 require Kansas cities and counties to communicate and cooperate with ICE detainer requests, including holding a person u…
Can a Kansas county offer a property tax rebate program without specific state statutory authorization?
Likely no. The Attorney General concluded that taxation is purely a creature of state statute, so a county cannot lawfully implement an ad valorem property tax rebate program unless it is authorized b…
Can a Kansas governor refuse to extradite a fugitive to a state that will seek the death penalty?
No. The Attorney General concluded that under Article IV, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution and Kansas's Uniform Criminal Extradition Act, K.S.A. 22-2701 et seq., the Governor has no discretion to re…
Can a Kansas county destroy ballots on the usual schedule even if they're wanted for a criminal investigation?
It depends on the legal process involved. The Attorney General concluded that K.S.A. 25-2708(b)'s duty to destroy ballots after 6 or 22 months is directory, not mandatory, so it must give way to a sea…
If a Kansas city misses its newspaper notice deadline for a revenue neutral rate hearing, can the county clerk just send a new notice for a later date?
No, in the situation presented. The Attorney General concluded that because K.S.A. 79-2988(b)(2) requires a taxing subdivision to notify the county clerk of its public hearing date on or before July 2…
If a Kansas public employee is convicted of official misconduct from a past job, does he lose his current, different public job too?
No. The Attorney General concluded that K.S.A. 21-6002(b)(2)'s office-forfeiture penalty applies only to the specific public office or job that was abused to commit official misconduct, not to a diffe…
Does someone need a Kansas public adjuster license to help a homeowner negotiate a residential insurance claim?
No license is required under this Act. The Attorney General concluded the Kansas Public Adjusters Licensing Act only defines and regulates public adjusting for first-party claims under commercial line…
Does a limited liability partnership need county approval to build a swine production facility in a Kansas county, the same as a limited partnership would?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a limited liability partnership is legally distinct from a limited partnership, so it does not need county commission approval under K.S.A. 17-5908 to establish…
Can a spouse or heir inherit a Kansas doctor's, dentist's, or vet's practice and just hire someone licensed to run it?
No, not on an ongoing basis. The Attorney General concluded an unlicensed heir cannot own or operate a doctor's, veterinarian's, or dentist's practice; the heir must sell or close the practice within …
If a Kansas governor or lieutenant governor candidate dies or drops out after filing but before the deadline, can the other one just find a new running mate and stay on the ballot?
No, not as the same candidacy. The Attorney General concluded that when one member of a Governor/Lieutenant Governor candidacy withdraws or dies after filing but before the filing deadline, the joint …
Does an old Kansas city-school joint recreation commission have to update its membership rules to match the current state statute?
No. The Attorney General concluded that because the Independence/U.S.D. 446 joint recreation commission's membership rules matched state law when the commission was created in 1979, K.S.A. 12-1926(b)'…
Does HIPAA let a Kansas hospital refuse a law enforcement subpoena for medical records?
No. The Attorney General concluded that once a law enforcement subpoena or court order meets HIPAA's procedural requirements, Kansas healthcare providers are legally obligated to disclose the protecte…
If an electronic deed was notarized out of state, who has to certify the paper copy filed with a Kansas register of deeds?
The same notarial officer who executed the notarial certificate in the original electronic record, even if that notary acted in another state, must be the one who certifies that a printed (tangible) c…
Can a Kansas city or school district still block a tax-incentive housing district after a 2013 disaster exemption expired?
The Attorney General concluded that the disaster-declaration exemption from holding a public hearing to create a Reinvestment Housing Incentive District, found in K.S.A. 12-5252(a), only applied throu…
If a city accidentally includes a defeated Sunday alcohol sales ordinance in a code update, are Sunday sales legal?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Sabetha has not validly authorized Sunday sales of alcoholic liquor and cereal malt beverages. The 2005 ordinance that would have allowed it was defeated by a v…
Can a Kansas county put mental health and EMS funding on the ballot as a 'renewal' of an existing public-safety sales tax?
No, according to the Attorney General. Johnson County's ballot resolution exceeded the Board of County Commissioners' authority under K.S.A. 12-187(b)(21) because that statute only lets the county fun…
If Kansas transfers the Shawnee Indian Mission to the Shawnee Tribe, can the state still enforce a no-gaming restriction?
Only if the Shawnee Tribe clearly and unequivocally waives its sovereign immunity. The Attorney General concluded that a proposed state bill authorizing transfer of the Shawnee Indian Mission to the T…
Can Kansas legally negotiate a gaming compact with the Wyandotte Nation without violating its existing state-run casino contracts?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded the Governor has a federal duty under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) to negotiate in good faith with the Wyandotte Nation over a Class III gaming compact, …
Can a Kansas school district use bond money to improve a sports complex it only leases, not owns?
Yes, with a limit. The Attorney General concluded that a school district's limited home-rule authority under K.S.A. 72-1138(e) lets it spend district funds to improve leased property for district purp…
If a Kansas county cites the wrong sales tax statute in a resolution, does that void voter-approved funding for the county hospital?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Morton County's citation to the wrong statutory subsection (K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 12-187(b)(1) instead of (b)(5)) in its 2015 hospital sales tax resolution was a cl…
Does Kansas City, Kansas's Community ID card program for undocumented residents break state or federal law?
The Attorney General concluded that neither issuing nor possessing a Kansas City, Kansas Community ID card violates the state's human smuggling statute, K.S.A. 21-5432(a)(1), because the card does not…
Can a car manufacturer sell new vehicles directly to Kansas customers without going through a franchised dealer?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the Kansas Vehicle Dealers and Manufacturers Licensing Act only lets a dealer sell new vehicles if it holds a franchise agreement with the manufacturer, and a m…
Can a Kansas city let golf carts share a sidewalk-style path with pedestrians?
No, not on any part of a path that counts as a sidewalk. The Attorney General concluded that K.S.A. 8-1575 bans driving any vehicle, including a golf cart, on a sidewalk, and that a city cannot pass a…
Does a Kansas school have to keep paying life insurance premiums for a teacher who gave notice they won't return next year?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Kansas's teacher continuing contract law only keeps a teacher's employment relationship alive between contract terms when the teacher has not given notice of no…
Can a Kansas county attorney be paid extra for temporarily covering the county counselor's job during a vacancy?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that once a county has established the position of county counselor, that office's civil duties belong to the county counselor, not the county attorney. So when a t…
Can a doctor who works at a Kansas county hospital also sit on that hospital's board of trustees?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a physician employed by a county hospital cannot simultaneously serve on that hospital's board of trustees. Because no Kansas statute expressly allows or forbid…
Can the Kansas Governor veto just the strings attached to a school grant while leaving the money itself untouched?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Governor Kelly's line-item veto of a proviso restricting how a $5 million school safety and security grant could be spent, while leaving the $5 million appropri…
Is it legal for Kansas to require the State Board of Cosmetology to have at least one African-American member?
It's constitutionally uncertain. The Attorney General concluded that K.S.A. 74-2701(a)'s requirement that at least one member of the State Board of Cosmetology be African-American is a race-based clas…
If a Kansas city's population drops, does it automatically get reclassified to a lower city class, and does that affect campaign finance rules?
No, generally. The Attorney General concluded that Kansas statutes provide clear procedures for reclassifying a city upward as its population grows, but only one narrow statute, K.S.A. 14-901, lets a …
Can a Kansas city annex a small slice of a larger farm without the owner's consent?
No. The Attorney General concluded that K.S.A. 12-520(b)'s 21-acre threshold applies to the size of the entire unplatted agricultural tract the land comes from, not just to the portion a city wants to…
Can a candidate for Kansas office accept nominations from two different political parties for the same race?
No. The Attorney General confirmed that K.S.A. 25-306(a) makes a person ineligible to accept more than one party's nomination for the same office in Kansas, a rule known as a ban on "fusion" candidaci…
When a Kansas county adds new commissioner seats, do the old 25-day nomination deadlines apply even if the new seats are filled at the regular general election?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the expedited 25-day party-convention and independent-petition process in the former K.S.A. 19-203a(b) and (c) applied only when a new county commissioner vacan…
Does working at Wichita State University qualify an employee for Kansas's aviation and aerospace tax credit?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Wichita State University does not meet the definition of a "qualified employer" under K.S.A. 79-32,290(g) for purposes of the Kansas Aviation/Aerospace Tax Cred…
Can Kansas ban a campaign yard sign on private property near a polling place on election day?
Yes, most likely. The Attorney General concluded that K.S.A. 25-2430's ban on electioneering within 250 feet of a polling place entrance on election day is facially constitutional even as applied to p…
Can a Kansas county raise its hotel tax rate above the state cap using its home-rule power?
Yes, mostly. The Attorney General concluded that because the Transient Guest Tax Act does not apply uniformly to all counties (it blocks a county from taxing if a city within it already has), Sherman …
If a Kansas school district wants to lease out a closed school building instead of selling it, does it have to give the state legislature a chance to claim it first?
No, not for an ordinary lease. The Attorney General concluded that "dispose of" in the new school-building notice law means a permanent, conclusive giving up of the district's interest, such as a sale…
Can a Kansas register of deeds refuse to record a land survey unless the surveyor certifies it meets local zoning rules?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a register of deeds cannot require the land surveyor who submits a survey plat to personally certify that it complies with local zoning ordinances. K.S.A. 58-20…
Can a Kansas public board keep a member out of a closed-door legal meeting if that member is threatening to sue the board?
Yes, under these narrow circumstances. The Attorney General concluded that a groundwater management district's board may exclude directors who have joined a petition to remove territory from the distr…
If someone requests a hand recount of paper ballots in a Kansas election, can the county substitute scanned ballot images instead?
No. The Attorney General concluded that when someone requesting an election recount asks for a hand count of the original paper ballots, the county board of canvassers must count the actual paper ball…
If a Kansas county clerk forgets to mail the revenue neutral rate notice on time, can the taxing district still raise taxes above that rate?
No. The Attorney General concluded that K.S.A. 79-2988(b)(2)'s requirement that the county clerk mail each affected taxpayer a notice at least 10 days before the public hearing is mandatory, not optio…
Can a Kansan use a bank certificate of deposit as their official first-time home buyer savings account?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a certificate of deposit (CD) at a financial institution qualified to do business in Kansas can be designated as a first-time home buyer savings account under …
Can a Kansas city post official notices on its own website instead of in a newspaper?
Yes, with a step in between. The Attorney General concluded that K.S.A. 12-1651, which requires second- and third-class cities to designate an official newspaper for city business, is not a uniform st…
If a Kansas city hires another city's newly trained police officer within a year, does it owe the full training cost or just a prorated share?
The full amount, not a prorated share. The Attorney General concluded that K.S.A. 74-5609a(b) requires a city that hires a law enforcement officer within one year of that officer completing training t…
Are Kansas's assigned-risk auto insurance plans subject to open records and open meetings laws?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that both the Kansas Automobile Insurance Plan (KAIP) and the Kansas Automobile Assigned Claims Plan (KAACP) qualify as instrumentalities of the Insurance Commissio…
Does Kansas's Women's Bill of Rights law require driver's licenses and birth certificates to show a person's sex at birth?
Yes for driver's licenses and birth certificates, no for a general prison-housing mandate. The Attorney General concluded that 2023 Senate Bill 180, together with K.S.A. 8-243(a), requires the Departm…
Can a Kansas groundwater rights holder use both a multi-year flex account and a water bank safe deposit account for the same water right?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a holder of a groundwater right who has placed that right, at any point in time, into a safe deposit account with a chartered water bank cannot also establish a…
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Attorney general opinions in Kansas are written by the Kansas Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.