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25 Jun

Posted at 10:47h in Industry News
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Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association (KARA) President and CEO Ron Seeber, Senior Vice President Randy Stookey and Vice President Trae Green recently met with United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 Administrator Jim Macy and staff members to discuss various regulatory issues. Throughout the two-hour meeting, KARA, along with the Kansas Cooperative Council and association professionals from Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska reviewed agency initiatives and how they're affecting agribusiness. Specifically, KARA took the lead in coordinating the meeting, drafting the agenda and thoroughly covering issues such as: Waters of the United States,...

06 Jun

Posted at 10:15h in Industry News
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Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association diligently works with a coalition of industries and organizations to oppose high electric utility rates. Information regarding Evergy’s proposed rate increase, and how to submit comments and attend public hearings, is below. Evergy has filed an Application with the Kansas Corporation Commission (Commission) requesting a $196.4 million rate increase (8.62%) for Evergy Kansas Central (EKC) customers. If approved, prices would become effective in September 2025. EKC residential customers would have an average monthly increase of $13.05. Evergy’s Application requests updated prices to include nearly $1 billion investment infrastructure...

29 May

Posted at 09:03h in Industry News
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In 2024, the Kansas legislature passed House Bill 2477 to amend the Remediation Reimbursement Program statutes. The bill increased the maximum amount an eligible person may receive in reimbursement from the Remediation Reimbursement Fund to $300,000 per location. In addition, the Kansas Agricultural Remediation Board has now amended board regulation K.A.R. 125-1-7 to remove a separate reimbursement limit. The new maximum reimbursement limit will become effective on June 13, 2025. All new applications to the remediation reimbursement program will be subject to the new maximum reimbursement limit. In addition, any eligible person...

20 May

Posted at 15:19h in Regulatory
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The state of Kansas will no longer issue commercial driver licenses (CDLs) to non-domicile, temporary residents working in the United States. Instead, those workers coming from Mexico and Canada must obtain a CDL in their home country. That license will then be honored in Kansas and across the U.S. Please see further details from the Kansas Department of Revenue below. “The Kansas CDL program is subject to audit annually by the FMCSA.  It was during one of these federal audits a few years back that KDOR was informed that due to the...

02 May

Posted at 07:39h in Regulatory
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The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued a field assistance bulletin providing guidance on how to determine employee or independent contractor status when enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act. While the department reviews the 2024 final rule, Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act – which is also being challenged in federal court – agency investigators are directed not to apply the 2024 rule’s analysis in current enforcement matters. Instead, the division will rely on longstanding principles outlined in USDOL Fact Sheet #13 and further informed by...

29 Apr

Posted at 13:44h in Industry News, Regulatory
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final Insecticide Strategy that identifies protections for federally endangered and threatened species from the use of insecticides. The Strategy identifies mitigations aimed at protecting more than 900 species listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) that EPA considers when it registers a new insecticide or reevaluates an existing one. “Today’s action is another example of how protecting our environment and safeguarding our economy can go hand in hand,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. “We have found commonsense ways to keep endangered...

25 Apr

Posted at 14:46h in Advocacy
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During the Kansas Legislature’s brief veto session earlier this month, a handful of bills were passed and sent to the Governor for consideration. Because the legislature adjourned sine die on April 11th, there was no opportunity for the legislature to attempt to override any bill that was vetoed by the governor. Below is a brief update of bill activity following the Veto Session. Next year’s legislative session is scheduled to begin on January 12, 2026. Water Program Task Force CCR on HB 2172 established a water program task force to evaluate the state's...

12 Apr

Posted at 16:12h in Advocacy
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Through a two-day veto session this week, the Legislature put its finishing touches on a condensed session and then adjourned sine die (final day). The adjournment, which concludes the 2025 Kansas legislative session, came one day before the 90th scheduled day. During its veto session, the Legislature busied itself overriding about a dozen bills vetoed by Governor Laura Kelly, and also overrode 15 budget line-items that had been vetoed by the Governor. Additionally, this week, the Legislature passed a handful of bills that will be sent to the Governor for initial...

29 Mar

Posted at 16:11h in Advocacy
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Around 11:30 p.m., on Thursday, March 27, 2025, after narrowly passing a state budget bill for fiscal years 2025 – 2027, and numerous other bills, the Kansas legislature gaveled out for the First Adjournment of the 2025 session. Lawmakers will return to Topeka on April 10 for a short Veto Session where they could take final action on remaining legislation and also attempt to override any vetoes of bills by Governor Laura Kelly. Prohibiting Foreign Ownership of Real Property and Drone Critical Components The House placed into Sub for SB 9 the...

21 Mar

Posted at 15:37h in Advocacy
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The 2025 Kansas legislative session is quickly drawing to a close as legislators spent the majority of the session’s 10th week debating and ultimately passing a combined 160 bills, including the preliminary state budget ahead of First Adjournment scheduled for March 28. Conference committees, a six-person panel consisting of each committee’s chairmen, vice chairmen and ranking member, begin meeting on Monday to negotiate differences in House and Senate-passed legislation. The most-watched conference committee will be the budget, which began meeting on Friday to finalize 25 pages worth of differences in the...

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