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2 | Page March 7 I ssueBelieve it or not, there are only a few committee meeting days until the legislature returns to the floor full time. With adjournment scheduled for mid-April, there is less time than most realize to actually finalize business in committees and get bills passed across the floor. That means the next week and a half could be the busiest we have seen all year. Schedules are likely to change frequently with little (if any) advance notice. Floor action is just around the corner. Buckle up.SB 195 would create a property tax task force. This bill was proposed by a contingent of Democrats. While there is a need to have a deeper discussion on property tax reform, it is doubtful this task force bill moves.SB 242 would require the Attorney General to give counties permission to enter into contingent fee contracts. KAC is opposed to this bill because it interferes with the ability of counties to enter into contingent contracts for legal representations. There may be amendments, but KAC is concerned that this will disrupt the ability of counties to obtain legal representation in some cases if the AG does not consent.The House KORA bill (HB 2134), which was heavily amended in the House, continues to move forward with the amendments as agreed in the House. An additional amendment allowing for requestors to ask for an itemized list of fees, was added in the Senate committee. HB 2116 would require the use of Form DA-146a by counties with populations under a certain threshold. This is compromise language agreed on when a similar bill was introduced last year. This bill is advancing to the Senate floor.HB 2160, the Whistleblower protections legislation for local government employees will likely see action next week after a hearing this week. KAC supports the bill as is, but is open to additional amendments in some circumstances.The hearing in Senate Tax for SB 280, which would require an election to exceed a certain threshold, was continued to Monday, March 10. Opponents and neutral conferees will present on Monday. KAC opposes this bill. SB 178, which would require local governments to agree to memoranda of understanding with Immigration and Customs Enforcement was pulled from the calendar. The implementation of this bill was problematic since it stripped counties of any ability to negotiate the terms of these memoranda of understanding.HB 2152, the banker%u2019s bill, is likely moving to the Senate next week if it clears the House early in the week. Thank you again to those in our membership that lent their expertise to these discussions. This may move quickly given the lack of time remaining in the session. HB 2376, which deals with cereal malt beverage licensure, passed out of committee. This bill represents an agreement between Alcohol Beverage Control, KAC and the League of Municipalities. This bill will continue to allow localities to collect licensing fees, while moving much of the work of licensure to the state level.HB 2396, the ASTRA fund, had its hearing on Tuesday, was moved out of committee and had floor action on Friday. The bill passed the House with a 115-6 vote. This bill has the support of House leadership, which is why it has moved so quickly. It faces an uncertain fate in the Senate.The House also took action on HCR 5011, the rolling average for residential property. Because this is a constitutional amendment, it requires a two thirds majority. It passed easily, 117-4. It should be