Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius has signed Senate Bill 443, establishing the Long-Term Care Partnership Program. 

“As the average life expectancy continues to increase so does the need for long-term care,” Sebelius said. “Since the cost of long-term care can be very expensive, it is my hope that this bill will provide an incentive for more Kansans to purchase long-term care insurance.”

The Long-Term Care Partnership Program will provide for the financing of long-term care through a combination of private insurance and medical assistance. The bill requires that the program:

*Provide incentives for individuals to insure against the costs of providing for their long-term care needs.
*Provide a mechanism for individuals to qualify for coverage under medical assistance while having certain assets disregarded for eligibility determination and recovery.
*Reduce the financial burden on the state’s medical assistance program by encouraging the pursuit of private initiatives. 

Sebelius also signed 14 additional bills, bringing the total number of bills signed in the 2008 Legislative Session to 51 with one bill having been vetoed.

**Establishing Republican River Water Conservation Projects Funds
Sub for SB 89 creates the Republican River Water Conservation Projects Nebraska Moneys Fund and the Colorado Moneys Funds. The bill also establishes the procedure for the distribution of money recovered from any settlement, judgment, or decree in any litigation relating to the Republican River Compact.

**Adopting National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Model Language
SB 209 incorporates the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ model language for accident and health insurance rates and form filings. The bill requires the Insurance Department to create a document detailing the file requirements of each type of insurance policies and requires the Insurance Department to act upon a filing within 30 days.

**Amending Journal Requirements in Criminal Proceedings
SB 419 amends current law regarding journal entries of judgment in criminal proceedings. The bill requires a judge to journalize that the defendant did not want counsel and if the defendant is sentenced to prison. The bill strikes the journal requirement to identify the presiding judge at the preliminary hearing or trial, any witness sworn to testify at the trial, and a statement of prior convictions.

**Applying Kansas Corporation Code to Cooperatives
SB 448 applies the Kansas General Corporation Code law to cooperative associations such as cooperative societies, electric cooperatives, and renewable energy electric cooperatives.

**Restricting Cemeteries’ Use of Permanent Maintenance Funds
SB 450 amends current law to remove the authority of a cemetery corporation to use its permanent maintenance fund to build a mausoleum.

**Amends Statute Relating to Motor Carrier Fees
SB 462 replaces reference in current law to a repealed federal statute related to fees paid by motor carriers with the current federal statute.

**Regarding the Sale of Manufactured Homes
SB 467 amends current law to allow a lender 30 days rather than 10 days after the sale or delivery of a manufactured home, to file a notice of security interest with the Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles.

**Allowing Pooled Money Investment Board to Invest in Corporate Bonds
SB 472 amends the law governing the investments of the Pooled Money Investment Board to allow the director to invest in corporate bonds which have received one of the two highest credit ratings by a nationally recognized investment rating firm.

**Implementing Name Change of Hunger Organization
SB 475 changes the name of the organization, Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry to Hunters Feeding the Hungry, Inc.

**Allowing for the Disposal of Vehicles Impounded by the KCC
SB 509 allows the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) to dispose of vehicles impounded from motor carriers and later abandoned by those carriers. The KCC most notify the vehicle owners and lien holders before disposing of an impounding vehicle. The KCC is directed to deposit the net proceeds into the State General Fund.

**Allowing EMS Board to Grant Temporary Variance from Regulations
SB 514 allows the Emergency Medical Services Board to grant a temporary variance from identified regulations when a literal application or enforcement of the regulations would result in serious hardship and the relief granted would not result in an unreasonable risk to the public interest, safety, or welfare.

**Designating Hwy 25 as Great Plains Indian Highway
SB 523 designates a portion of Kansas Highway 25, from the Nebraska state line to Interstate Highway 70, as the Great Plains Indian Highway.

**Clarifying Food Safety Rules and Regulations
SB 557 amends current law to clarify that the Kansas Department of Agriculture has the authority to promulgate rules and regulations that require food processing plants, food vending machine companies, and retail food stores to operate in a safe and sanitary manner. The bill also addresses rule and regulatory authority of the Secretary of Agriculture in the areas of meat and poultry. This bill was necessary to correct ambiguities between a 2004 Executive Reorganization Order, the Kansas Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and the Kansas Food Service and Lodging Act.

Sebelius issued a signing statement for SB 557: "Though I have grave reservations about ever limiting a secretary's power to do his or her job, I have been assured by Secretary Polansky that no provision in this bill appears to limit his ability to protect the health of Kansans or carry out his duties."