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SENATE BILL No. 462
AN A CT concerning civil actions; relating to actions in negligence; prohibiting certain
persons from recovering damages in such actions; relating to public nuisance;
prohibiting civil actions for certain nuisances; providing that only the attorney
general may file claims regarding public nuisances that are not wholly contained in
one political subdivision unless the attorney general delegates authorization to one or
more political subdivisions of the state to file such claims; requiring special injury for
certain public nuisance actions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
person who engaged or participated in wrongful conduct or attempted
to engage or participate in wrongful conduct shall not bring an action
for negligence or collect damages for negligent conduct related to such
wrongful conduct. The party against whom negligence is alleged shall
have the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that a
person was engaging or participating in wrongful conduct or attempting
to engage or participate in wrongful conduct.
(b) This section applies to any claim that is filed on and after July
1, 2026.
(c) As used in this section:
(1) "Wrongful conduct" means any violation of:
(A) Federal law that constitutes a crime, regardless of whether
such violation results in an arrest, citation, indictment or conviction; or
(B) state law or an ordinance or resolution adopted by a political
subdivision of the state that constitutes a felony or a class A or B
misdemeanor, regardless of whether such violation results in an arrest,
citation, indictment or conviction; and
(2) notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), "wrongful
conduct" does not include conduct that constitutes trespass if:
(A) The person committing such conduct is under 18 years of age;
(B) the attractive nuisance doctrine applies to such conduct; and
(C) such person did not have the intent to commit any other
violation described in paragraph (1).
Sec. 2. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the
contrary, the following actions or conditions shall not be considered a
public nuisance or form the basis of a public nuisance cause of action:
(A) The design, manufacturing, distributing, selling, labeling or
marketing of a product sold in commerce unless such product is an
illegal product;
(B) an action or condition that is authorized, approved, licensed or
mandated by law unless such action or condition is alleged to have
resulted from negligent conduct; or
(C) the aggregation of individual injuries or private rights,
including, but not limited to, private nuisances.
(2) Nothing in paragraph (1)(A) shall preclude claims or causes of
action based on other theories of tort liability, including, but not limited
to, product liability, consumer protection, design, labeling or marketing.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (d), in a public nuisance
claim, the plaintiff shall have the burden of proving by a preponderance
of the evidence that the defendant's actions were the proximate cause of
the alleged public nuisance.
(1) A public nuisance claim may be brought by a political
subdivision of the state if the alleged public nuisance is wholly
contained within the jurisdiction of such political subdivision.
(2) If the alleged public nuisance is not wholly contained within a
political subdivision of the state, the attorney general is the only
governmental official or agency in this state that may file a claim
regarding such public nuisance unless the attorney general delegates in
writing authorization to one or more political subdivisions of the state
to file a claim regarding such public nuisance.
SENATE BILL No. 462—page 2
(3) A public nuisance claim by a political subdivision or the
attorney general shall be brought by verified complaint, counter-claim
or third-party complaint that pleads each element with particularity as
required by K.S.A. 60-209, and amendments thereto.
(d) In addition to all other legal requirements, a public nuisance
claim may be brought by a private person only if such person has
sustained a special injury. A private person shall not bring a class action
pursuant to K.S.A. 60-223, and amendments thereto, for a public
nuisance claim.
(e) This section applies to all claims that are pending on or filed
after July 1, 2026.
(f) As used in this section:
(1) "Governmental entity" means an officer, agency or
instrumentality of the federal government, the state or a political
subdivision of the state.
(2) "Illegal product" means a product, the possession of which by
the party alleged to be creating the nuisance is specifically prohibited
by law, including, but not limited to, a controlled substance as defined
in K.S.A. 21-5701, and amendments thereto.
(3) "Special injury" means an injury that is different in kind, not
just degree, from an injury sustained by the general public exercising
the same public right.
(g) The provisions of this act are severable. If any portion of this
act is held by a court to be unconstitutional or invalid, or the
application of any portion of this act to any person or circumstance is
held by a court to be unconstitutional or invalid, the invalidity shall not
affect other portions of this act that can be given effect without the
invalid portion or application, and the applicability of such other
portions of this act to any person or circumstance remains valid and
enforceable.
SENATE BILL No. 462—page 3
Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.
I hereby certify that the above BILL originated in the
SENATE, and passed that body
__________________________
SENATE adopted
Conference Committee Report ________________
_________________________
President of the Senate.
_________________________
Secretary of the Senate.
Passed the HOUSE
as amended _________________________
HOUSE adopted
Conference Committee Report ________________
_________________________
Speaker of the House.
_________________________
Chief Clerk of the House.
APPROVED _____________________________
_________________________
Governor.