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HB2433 • 2026

Clarifying county authority over the transfer or appropriation of water by placing such authority, except for domestic use, with the chief engineer and water transfer hearing panel.

Clarifying county authority over the transfer or appropriation of water by placing such authority, except for domestic use, with the chief engineer and water transfer hearing panel.

Budget
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Last action
2026-03-23
Official status
Approved by Governor on Friday, March 20, 2026
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Clarifying county authority over the transfer or appropriation of water by placing such authority, except for domestic use, with the chief engineer and water transfer hearing panel.

Clarifying county authority over the transfer or appropriation of water by placing such authority, except for domestic use, with the chief engineer and water transfer hearing panel.

What This Bill Does

  • Clarifying county authority over the transfer or appropriation of water by placing such authority, except for domestic use, with the chief engineer and water transfer hearing panel.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-23 House

    Approved by Governor on Friday, March 20, 2026

  2. 2026-03-17 House

    Enrolled and presented to Governor on Tuesday, March 17, 2026

  3. 2026-03-13 Senate

    Final Action - Passed; Yea 36, Nay 3, Absent 1

  4. 2026-03-12 Senate

    Committee of the Whole - Be passed

  5. 2026-03-12 Senate

    Committee of the Whole - Amendment by Sen. Michael Murphy was rejected

  6. 2026-03-12 Senate

    Sen. Dinah Sykes raised a question of germaneness. The amendment was ruled germane.

  7. 2026-03-12 Senate

    Committee of the Whole - Motion to Amend - Offered by Sen. Michael Murphy

  8. 2026-03-03 Senate

    Committee Report recommending bill be passed by Senate Committee on Local Government, Transparency and Ethics

  9. 2026-02-26 Senate

    Hearing: Thursday, February 26, 2026, 9:30 AM — Room 142-S event

  10. 2026-02-11 Senate

    Referred to Senate Committee on Local Government, Transparency and Ethics

Official Summary Text

Clarifying county authority over the transfer or appropriation of water by placing such authority, except for domestic use, with the chief engineer and water transfer hearing panel.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
HOUSE BILL No. 2433
AN A CT concerning the regulation of water use; clarifying county authority over the
transfer or appropriation of water; placing such authority with the chief engineer and
water transfer hearing panel; amending K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 19-101a and repealing the
existing section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 19-101a is hereby amended to read
as follows: 19-101a. (a) The board of county commissioners may
transact all county business and perform all powers of local legislation
and administration it deems appropriate, subject only to the following
limitations, restrictions or prohibitions:
(1) Counties shall be subject to all acts of the legislature which
that apply uniformly to all counties.
(2) Counties may not affect the courts located therein.
(3) Counties shall be subject to acts of the legislature prescribing
limits of indebtedness.
(4) In the exercise of powers of local legislation and
administration authorized under provisions of this section, the home
rule power conferred on cities to determine their local affairs and
government shall not be superseded or impaired without the consent of
the governing body of each city within a county which that may be
affected.
(5) Counties may not legislate on social welfare administered
under state law enacted pursuant to or in conformity with public law
No. 271 – 74th congress, or amendments thereof.
(6) Counties shall be subject to all acts of the legislature
concerning elections, election commissioners and officers and their
duties as such officers and the election of county officers.
(7) Counties shall be subject to the limitations and prohibitions
imposed under K.S.A. 12-187 through 12-195, and amendments
thereto, prescribing limitations upon the levy of retailers' sales taxes by
counties.
(8) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in statutes
made nonuniform in application solely by reason of authorizing
exceptions for counties having adopted a charter for county
government.
(9) No county may levy ad valorem taxes under the authority of
this section upon real property located within any redevelopment
project area established under the authority of K.S.A. 12-1772, and
amendments thereto, unless the resolution authorizing the same
specifically authorized a portion of the proceeds of such levy to be used
to pay the principal of and interest upon bonds issued by a city under
the authority of K.S.A. 12-1774, and amendments thereto.
(10) Counties shall have no power under this section to exempt
from any statute authorizing or requiring the levy of taxes and
providing substitute and additional provisions on the same subject,
unless the resolution authorizing the same specifically provides for a
portion of the proceeds of such levy to be used to pay a portion of the
principal and interest on bonds issued by cities under the authority of
K.S.A. 12-1774, and amendments thereto.
(11) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in the
provisions of K.S.A. 19-4601 through 19-4625, and amendments
thereto.
(12) Except as otherwise specifically authorized by K.S.A. 12-
1,101 through 12-1,109, and amendments thereto, counties may not
levy and collect taxes on incomes from whatever source derived.
(13) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in K.S.A.
19-430, and amendments thereto.
(14) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in K.S.A.
19-302, 19-502b, 19-503, 19-805 or 19-1202, and amendments thereto.
(15) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in K.S.A.
19-15,139, 19-15,140 and 19-15,141, and amendments thereto.
(16) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in the
provisions of K.S.A. 12-1223, 12-1225, 12-1225a, 12-1225b, 12-1225c
and 12-1226, and amendments thereto, or the provisions of K.S.A. 12-
HOUSE BILL No. 2433—page 2
1260 through 12-1270 and 12-1276, and amendments thereto.
(17) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in the
provisions of K.S.A. 19-211, and amendments thereto.
(18) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in the
provisions of K.S.A. 19-4001 through 19-4015, and amendments
thereto.
(19) Counties may not regulate the production or drilling of any
oil or gas well in any manner which that would result in the duplication
of regulation by the state corporation commission and the Kansas
department of health and environment pursuant to chapter 55 and
chapter 65 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto,
and any rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto. Counties may
not require any license or permit for the drilling or production of oil
and gas wells. Counties may not impose any fee or charge for the
drilling or production of any oil or gas well.
(20) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in K.S.A.
79-41a04, and amendments thereto.
(21) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in K.S.A.
79-1611, and amendments thereto.
(22) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in K.S.A.
79-1494, and amendments thereto.
(23) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in K.S.A.
19-202(b), and amendments thereto.
(24) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in K.S.A.
19-204(b), and amendments thereto.
(25) Counties may not levy or impose an excise, severance or any
other tax in the nature of an excise tax upon the physical severance and
production of any mineral or other material from the earth or water.
(26) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in K.S.A.
79-2017 or 79-2101, and amendments thereto.
(27) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in K.S.A. 2-
3302, 2-3305, 2-3307, 2-3318, 17-5904, 17-5908, 47-1219, 65-171d,
65-1,178 through 65-1,199 , and 65-3001 through 65-3028, and
amendments thereto.
(28) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in K.S.A.
80-121, and amendments thereto.
(29) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in K.S.A.
19-228, and amendments thereto.
(30) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in the
Kansas 911 act.
(31) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in K.S.A.
26-601, and amendments thereto.
(32) (A) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in the
Kansas liquor control act except as provided by paragraph
subparagraph (B).
(B) Counties may adopt resolutions which that are not in conflict
with the Kansas liquor control act.
(33) (A) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in the
Kansas cereal malt beverage act except as provided by paragraph
subparagraph (B).
(B) Counties may adopt resolutions which that are not in conflict
with the Kansas cereal malt beverage act.
(34) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in the
Kansas lottery act.
(35) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in the
Kansas expanded lottery act.
(36) Counties may neither exempt from nor effect changes to the
eminent domain procedure act.
(37) Any county granted authority pursuant to the provisions of
K.S.A. 19-5001 through 19-5005, and amendments thereto, shall be
subject to the limitations and prohibitions imposed under K.S.A. 19-
5001 through 19-5005, and amendments thereto.
(38) Except as otherwise specifically authorized by K.S.A. 19-
5001 through 19-5005, and amendments thereto, counties may not
HOUSE BILL No. 2433—page 3
exercise any authority granted pursuant to K.S.A. 19-5001 through 19-
5005, and amendments thereto, including the imposition or levy of any
retailers' sales tax.
(39) Counties may not exempt from or effect changes in K.S.A.
65-201 and 65-202(a), (b), (d), (e) and (f), and amendments thereto.
(40) (A) A county shall not enact or enforce any resolution or
otherwise regulate the transfer or appropriation of water in any
manner that conflicts or interferes with, is more stringent than or
would result in the duplication of the control, regulation, enforcement
or oversight of the transfer or appropriation of water by the chief
engineer or the water transfer hearing panel pursuant to chapter 82a
of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto, or any
rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto.
(B) Counties shall not:
(i) Require any license or permit, including, but not limited to, any
conditional use permit, to appropriate or transfer water; or
(ii) impose any condition, restriction, limitation, requirement, fee
or charge to appropriate or transfer water.
(C) The provisions of this paragraph shall be applied
prospectively and retroactively and shall apply to all existing and
future county resolutions to the extent that such resolutions affect past,
present or future transfers or appropriations of water.
(D) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prohibit a
county from utilizing zoning or sanitary code requirements to regulate
the location or use of domestic water wells.
(b) Counties shall apply the powers of local legislation granted in
subsection (a) by resolution of the board of county commissioners. If
no statutory authority exists for such local legislation other than that set
forth in subsection (a) and the local legislation proposed under the
authority of such subsection is not contrary to any act of the legislature,
such local legislation shall become effective upon passage of a
resolution of the board and publication in the official county
newspaper. If the legislation proposed by the board under authority of
subsection (a) is contrary to an act of the legislature which that is
applicable to the particular county but not uniformly applicable to all
counties, such legislation shall become effective by passage of a charter
resolution in the manner provided in K.S.A. 19-101b, and amendments
thereto.
(c) Any resolution adopted by a county which that conflicts with
the restrictions in subsection (a) is null and void.
HOUSE BILL No. 2433—page 4
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 19-101a is hereby repealed.
Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the Kansas register.
I hereby certify that the above BILL originated in the HOUSE, and passed
that body
Speaker of the House.
Chief Clerk of the House.

Passed the SENATE ______________________________________________________________________________
President of the Senate.
Secretary of the Senate.
APPROVED __________________________________________________________________________________________________
Governor.