Faculty and Unclassified Staff Handbook
Chapter 4 -- Faculty: Benefits, Responsibilities, and Specific Requirements
Political Activity by State Employees
Two general prohibitions are applicable to all state employees. First, K.S.A. 75-2953 provides:
1. No officer, agent, clerk, or employee of this state shall directly or indirectly use their authority or official influence to compel any officer or employee in the unclassified and the classified services to apply for membership in or become a member of any organization, or to pay or promise to pay any assessment, subscription or contribution, or to take part in any political activity. Any person who violates any provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be punished accordingly. If any officer or employee in the classified service is found guilty of violating any provision of this section, such officer or employee shall be automatically separated from the service.
2. Any officer or employee in the state classified service shall resign from the service prior to taking the oath of office for a state elective office.
Second, K.S.A. 75-2974 provides:
a. No supervising official shall solicit any contribution to or on behalf of any state officer or candidate for state office from any state employee under the supervision of such supervising official.
b. The director of the division of personnel services is prohibited from giving any list of names and residence addresses of state employees to any person knowing that such list will be used for the purpose of soliciting contributions from, or mailing political campaign literature or advertising to, such state employees.
c. No state employee who lawfully, willingly, and voluntarily makes a contribution to or on behalf of any state officer or candidate for state office shall be dismissed, demoted, suspended, or subjected to any other disciplinary action because of the making of such contribution.
d. Violations of this section shall be enforced by the attorney general or a county or district attorney in the county in which the violation took place. Violations of this section shall be punishable by a civil penalty of up to $2,500 per violation.
e. As used in this section:
1. "State employee" means any person holding a position in the classified service under the Kansas civil service act; and
2. "contribution" has the meaning ascribed thereto in the campaign finance act.
Updated to correspond with current Kansas statutes (02-08-13, 07-19-16).