Printable Format19-101b. Charter resolutions; exemption of county from acts of legislature; procedure; election. (a) Any county, by charter resolution, may elect in the manner prescribed in this section that the whole or any part of any act of the legislature applying to such county other than those acts concerned with those limitations, restrictions or prohibitions set forth in subsection (a) of K.S.A. 19-101a, and amendments thereto, shall not apply to such county.
(b) A charter resolution is a resolution which exempts a county from the whole or any part of an act of the legislature and which may provide substitute and additional provisions on the same subject. Such charter resolution shall be so titled, shall designate specifically the act of the legislature or part thereof made inapplicable to such county by the passage of the resolution and shall contain any substitute and additional provisions. Such charter resolution shall require the unanimous vote of all board members unless the board determines prior to passage it is to be submitted to a referendum in the manner hereinafter provided, in which event such resolution shall require a 2 / 3 vote of the board. In counties with five or seven county commissioners, such charter resolution shall require a 2 / 3 vote of all board members unless the board determines prior to passage it is to be submitted to a referendum in the manner hereinafter provided, in which event such resolution shall require a majority vote of the board. Every charter resolution shall be published once each week for two consecutive weeks in the official county newspaper. A charter resolution shall take effect 60 days after final publication unless it is submitted to a referendum in which event it shall take effect when approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon.
(c) If within 60 days of the final publication of a charter resolution, a petition signed by a number of electors of a county equal to not less than 2% of the number of electors who voted at the last preceding November general election or 100 electors, whichever is the greater, shall be filed in the office of the county election officer demanding that such resolution be submitted to a vote of the electors, it shall not take effect until submitted to a referendum and approved by the electors. An election if called, shall be called within 30 days and held within 90 days after the filing of the petition. The board, by resolution, shall call the election and fix the date. Such resolution shall be published once each week for three consecutive weeks in the official county newspaper, and the election shall be conducted in the same manner as are elections for officers of such county. The proposition shall be: "Shall charter resolution No. ______, entitled (title of resolution) take effect?" The board may submit any charter resolution to a referendum without petition in the same manner as charter resolutions are submitted upon petition, except elections shall be called within 30 days and held within 90 days after the first publication of the charter resolution. Each charter resolution which becomes effective shall be recorded by the county election officer in a book maintained for that purpose with a statement of the manner of adoption, and a certified copy shall be filed with the secretary of state, who shall keep an index of the same.
(d) Each charter resolution passed shall control and prevail over any prior or subsequent act of the board and may be repealed or amended only by charter resolution or by an act of the legislature uniformly applicable to all counties.
History: L. 1974, ch. 110, § 3; L. 1987, ch. 100, § 1; July 1.
Law Review and Bar Journal References:
"Legislation: Citizen Participation via Media Referendum," Mark A. Meyerdirk, 15 W.L.J. 120, 130 (1976).
"Municipal Corporations: Home Rule—The Power of Local Self-Government and the Effect of State Enabling Legislation [Blevins v. Hiebert, 247 Kan. 1, 795 P.2d 325 (1990)]," Tonya L. O'Hern, 30 W.L.J. 554, 555 (1991).
"Should There Be Home Rule for Kansas School Districts?" Charles Benjamin, 5 Kan. J.L. & Pub. Pol'y, No. 3, 175, 176, 183 (1996).
"Home Rule Power for Cities and Counties in Kansas," Michael R. Heim, 66 J.K.B.A. No. 1, 26 (1997).
Attorney General's Opinions:
Home rule powers; budget law limitations on use of proceeds from sale of county farm. 79-26.
Hospitals; medical clinics. 79-47.
County hospital; lease of hospital facilities. 79-66.
Home rule powers; establishment and operation of fire districts. 79-103.
General provisions; home rule powers. 79-113, 79-115.
County buildings; power of county commission to construct; fees and salaries; allowance for deputies. 79-279.
Sheriff; duties. 80-36.
County homes; management by board of trustees created under county's home rule powers. 80-59.
Home rule powers. 80-87, 80-144.
Intangibles tax; effect of repeal on county's tax levy authority. 80-242.
Limitations on tax levies; charter resolution exempting county from limitation on tax levy for library. 81-34.
Aggregate tax limitations; applicability to taxes levied by counties to support district courts. 81-134.
Cemetery corporations; establishment of cemetery district; procedure. 81-167.
Employees; public officers and employees; conflicts of interest. 81-170.
Hospitals; additions to medical clinics. 81-243.
Planning and zoning; inapplicability of county home rule powers. 82-87.
Planning and zoning; county engineer's status on planning board. 82-93.
Detention homes; public youth residential facilities; levy of county therefor subject to tax lid. 82-126.
Roads; general provisions; vacation without viewing. 82-255.
Public improvements; sewage disposal works; costs; methods of assessment. 82-276.
County commissioners; eligibility to serve simultaneously as county hospital trustee. 83-11.
General provisions; home rule powers; limitations, restrictions and prohibitions. 84-5.
Charter resolution election; use of mail ballot. 86-49.
Counties and county officers; powers and duties; conveying real property for use as federal prison site; home rule powers. 87-164.
County ambulance service; tax levy; home rule powers. 88-63.
Charter resolutions; procedure. 89-22.
Regional system of cooperating libraries. 89-129.
Aggregate tax levy limitations; public libraries. 89-130.
Petition form and election to exclude county from legislative act. 90-64.
Aggregate tax levy limitations; procedure for exemption; effect of L. 1990, ch. 66, amendments on prior exemption. 90-97.
Aggregate tax levy limitations; suspension of fund and levy limitations; hospital districts. 92-65.
County authority to rescind corporate farming resolution; effect; rights of property owner. 96-21.
District courts in Johnson and Sedgwick county; purchase of supplies through county purchasing officer; constitutionality; exercise of county home rule. 96-40.
Partial payment of delinquent real estate taxes; foreclosure proceedings; county home rule. 96-50.
One county commissioner, absent and not voting, rendered charter resolution invalid. 97-4.
Corporate swine production facilities; county authority. 97-72.
County home for the aged; authority of county commissioners over administrator and board of trustees in management and control of home. 97-90.
All county roads are required to be classified pursuant to K.S.A. 68-116, and this requirement may not be modified by charter resolution. 2002-33.
County may charter out of provisions of Consolidated Law Enforcement Act, but with limitation. 2003-9.
School district may use proceeds from its general fund, supplemental general fund and capital outlay fund to pay the costs of remodeling or renovating a building that it intends to lease or sell to a third party. 2011-12.
CASE ANNOTATIONS
1. Charter resolutions exempting application of statutes (K.S.A. 13-13a26 and 71-301) held invalid. State ex rel. Stephan v. Board of Lyon County Comm'rs, 234 Kan. 732, 737, 676 P.2d 134 (1984).
2. County's authority to use home rule powers to opt out of nonuniform state law (arterial highway act, K.S.A. 68-580 et seq.) and issue general obligation bonds for highway projects examined. Blevins v. Hiebert, 13 Kan. App. 2d 318, 770 P.2d 486 (1989); opinion at 245 Kan. 646 (1989) reversing Court of Appeals withdrawn by Supreme Court order filed Jan. 31, 1990; affirmed, 247 Kan. 1, 795 P.2d 325 (1990).