25-4169a. Use of public funds, vehicles, machinery, equipment and supplies and time of certain officers and employees to influence nomination or election of candidate prohibited; exceptions; distribution of political material in public buildings, limitations on; misdemeanor.
(a) (1) No officer or employee of the state of Kansas, or any municipality, shall use or authorize the use of public funds or public vehicles, machinery, equipment or supplies of any such governmental agency or the time of any officer or employee of any such governmental agency, for which the officer or employee is compensated by such governmental agency, to expressly advocate the nomination, election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate to state office or local office. The provisions of this section prohibiting the use of time of any officer or employee for such purposes shall not apply to an incumbent officer campaigning for nomination or reelection to a succeeding term to such office or to members of the personal staff of any elected officer. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the statutory duties of the commission on judicial performance pursuant to article 32 of chapter 20 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto.
(2) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to the use of internet connectivity provided by the state of Kansas or any municipality to any candidate or elected official.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in this section, no municipality shall permit or allow any person to distribute, or cause to be distributed, within any building or other structure owned, leased or rented by such municipality any brochure, flier, political fact sheet or other document which expressly advocates the nomination, election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate for state or local office unless each candidate for such state or local office is permitted or allowed to do so in the same manner.
(4) For the purposes of this subsection, the term municipality shall have the meaning ascribed to it in K.S.A. 12-105a, and amendments thereto.
(b) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a class C misdemeanor.
History: L. 1991, ch. 150, § 15; L. 1998, ch. 117, § 13; L. 2008, ch. 145, § 6; L. 2009, ch. 143, § 13; L. 2015, ch. 85, § 10; July 1.
Revisor's Note:
Section was amended twice in the 2008 session, see also 25-4169b.