Session of 1999
House Concurrent Resolution No. 5043
By Committee on Federal and State Affairs
4-9
9 A
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION declaring the intent and purpose of
10 the Kansas Legislature
in enacting 1999 House Bill No. 2574.
11
12 WHEREAS, The
State of Kansas recognizes that some products and
13 services can present dangers or hazards to
the public due to the nature
14 of such product or service or such product
or service's use, consumption
15 or application and that the dangers or
hazards of such products or services
16 may be increased or enhanced if such
products and services are utilized
17 inappropriately or not as intended; and
18 WHEREAS, The
state acknowledges that many of these same prod-
19 ucts or services are desired or necessary
for public use, possession or
20 consumption despite their nature which
might result in harm and chooses
21 to allow the lawful trade and commerce of
such products and services;
22 and
23 WHEREAS, The
state acknowledges the right to prohibit or severely
24 limit access, through prohibition,
regulation and taxation, to products or
25 services the state determines constitute or
could constitute an unreason-
26 able danger or hazard to the public health,
safety and welfare; and
27 WHEREAS, To
protect the public health, safety and welfare from
28 known and suspected dangerous elements of
identified products and serv-
29 ices, the federal, state or other
governmental units, collectively or sepa-
30 rately, enact and enforce product and
service-specific regulations and levy
31 product and service-specific taxes or fees
to compensate governmental
32 units for the expense of any product or
service-specific regulations and
33 for any future government expense resulting
from the product or service;
34 and
35 WHEREAS, When
federal, state or other governmental units enact
36 product or service-specific regulations and
levy product or service-specific
37 taxes or fees, it is presumed federal,
state and other governmental units
38 suspect or know of the possible dangerous
nature of the product or service
39 and accept the same; and
40 WHEREAS, Any
federal, state or other governmental unit which lev-
41 ies a product or service-specific tax or
fee, levied such fee for the purpose
42 of adequately compensating all governmental
units for all anticipated and
43 realized expenses associated with the trade
and commerce of the products
HCR 5043
2
1 or services; and
2 WHEREAS,
The state acknowledges that government actions for
3 monetary damages brought against
participants in the interstate and in-
4 trastate commerce and trade of lawful
products diminishes the ability of
5 individuals to recover damage awards
for actual injuries sustained from
6 use of the product or service;
and
7 WHEREAS,
The state acknowledges that actions for damages realized
8 from injury have traditionally been
reserved for individuals and not gov-
9 ernmental units and by adopting
legislation prohibiting government ac-
10 tions for injury associated with the trade
and commerce of products or
11 services, the state is acting to preserve
and enhance an individual's private
12 right of action: Now, therefore,
13 Be it resolved by
the House of Representatives of the State of Kansas,
14 the Senate concurring
therein: That the State of Kansas has enacted
15 1999 House Bill No. 2574 which prohibits
the state or any political sub-
16 division thereof from bringing an action
for damages against any partici-
17 pant acting in a legal manner while
engaging in the interstate or intrastate
18 commerce of a legal product or service
which is subject to federal, state
19 or other governmental unit product or
service-specific regulations and
20 such product or service is subject to a
product or service-specific tax or
21 fee levied by federal, state or other
governmental unit; and
22 Be it further
resolved: Such prohibition does not affect any govern-
23 mental unit's authority to enforce
regulations and laws or to bring actions
24 founded in contract or breach of warranty
arising out of purchase
25 agreements.
26