New state laws now in effect

As of last Friday, July 1, Kansas residents may carry concealed weapons without a permit — and state and municipal employees may take those weapons to work.

As one of more than 100 laws signed into law this year by Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and taking effect on July 1, the law enabling state residents age 21 and older to carry concealed weapons without a permit makes Kansas one of just 10 states out of 50 in the country to allow its residents to do so.

Previously, Kansans had to get a permit to conceal-carry weapons and undergo safety training, with an estimated cost of about $230. Even though those costs have been eliminated by the new law, the state will still continue to offer the formal permit for those who wish to carry in other states that recognize Kansas permits.

Another law taking effect on Friday in Kansas enables public employees working for city, county or state government entities to conceal and carry guns on the job. If those public employers do not wish their employees to do so, they must not have adequate posting, metal detectors and armed personnel at each government office entrance, but apart from that, concealed carry is allowed on the job.

Prior to the new law, which does not apply to privately-owned companies, taking effect, the posting of signage prohibiting concealed-carry weapons inside municipal or state government buildings was enough to enforce such a ban. Those signs may still be posted at entrances to privately-owned company buildings.

Furthermore, K-12 schools are exempted from the definition of “public employer” under the new law, it was reported. Federal laws prohibit persons who are not licensed to conceal-carry weapons from possessing a loaded firearm within school zones, except on private property. This law will change on July 1, 2017, the effective date of Kansas Board of Regents-approved law permitting concealed-carry weapons on college and university campuses. 

The state approved concealed-carry for Kansans age 21 and up without need for permit or training in 2015. Prior to that, the state approved open carrying of firearms for Kansans age 18 and up in 2014.

Other bills approved by the Kansas Legislature that went into law on Friday included:

• Elections: The resetting of municipal government and school board elections from spring to fall. That means members of school boards and city councils and commissions will be elected at the same time as county, state and national leadership positions. Also, a new law giving the Kansas Secretary of State’s office authority to prosecute allegations of voting fraud is in effect.

• Criminal activity: For those convicted of first-time marijuana possession, the maximum sentence, previously one year in jail, will now be six months. Also, a new law bans the placement of “revenge porn” — nude photos or videos of other people taken without their consent — on the internet, and anyone violating this law faces criminal prosecution.

Another new law allows victims of human trafficking to bring civil lawsuits against traffickers. Previously, traffickers could be put in jail, but their victims were not allowed to seek damage settlements.

It is also now illegal to use drones to stalk or harass people, as new laws have gone into effect that redefine harassment in the state’s Protection from Stalking Act to include “flying a drone over or near any dwelling, occupied vehicle or other place where one many reasonably expect to be safe from uninvited intrusion or surveillance.”

• Government transparency: A new law empowers the state attorney general to take action enforcing local government open-meetings and open-records laws. Another makes private e-mails from public officials pertaining to public business subject to the Kansas Open Records Act.

• Liquor: Kansas residents may bring their own bottles of wine or other alcoholic beverages to any business that will let them, thanks to expansion of a law that originally allowed BYOB classes at art studies but now includes all businesses. Another new law bans the sale of “powdered alcohol,” but loosens laws on drinking on public property and handing out samples of alcoholic beverages.

Another new law, known as “Mija’s Law,” sets harsher sentences for drunken and drugged drivers who crash and cause disabling injuries to others. The new law is named for Mija Stockman, a McPherson teacher who suffered disabling injuries in a 2013 accident. Still another new law makes it more difficult to expunge a DUI conviction or breathalyzer refusal from a person’s criminal record.

• Cigarettes: Smokers will now be charged an extra 50 cents per pack in tobacco taxes, bringing the total tax to $1.29 per pack, as a means of helping the state clear its budget shortfall.

• Welfare: Kansans will only be able to receive cash assistance from the state for two years over the course of their lifetimes. That cash assistance had previously been limited to 36 months, or three years.

• Religious freedom: Religious-based campus groups at public colleges and universities may now restrict group membership to those who share their particular beliefs. This new law does not affect private universities.

• Gambling: As of Friday, Kansans are now allowed to bet on daily “fantasy league” contests without breaking the state’s gambling laws. Another new law legalizes the practice of selling chance tickets for prizes to raise money for non-profit groups, a practice that has been widespread but technically illegal for several years.

• Wildlife: A new law that applies to ranch owners who raise “cervids” — any member of the deer, elk or moose family of animals — requiring them to identify animals that are transferred off their ranches to the state, unless the cervid is bound for the slaughterhouse. Previously, domestic cervids had to be identified with tags, tattoos or ear notches.

• Tanning beds: Anyone under the age of 18 is prohibited from using tanning beds, according to a new law. The law’s supporters contend that it will reduce the risk of skin cancer for young Kansans, while its critics say whether minors should be allowed to “fake bake” should be decided on by their parents.

• Restraints: A new law prohibits the restraint and seclusion of students in schools, except in cases where those students present an immediate danger of harm to themselves or others.

• Parking for veterans: Disabled military veterans are now allowed to park in publicly-owned parking facilities without charge.