House Bill 50, a city-requested charter amendment for the City of Salina, moved forward after a 9-0 committee vote during the House Private Acts Committee meeting.

The bill, sponsored by Representative Trevor Kiesling, would increase the number of aldermen in Salina from three to five and keep the existing requirement that a majority is needed for motions, resolutions or ordinances to pass. "The only 2 changes that we're bringing before you today is they're they're moving and requesting their alderman to, from, from the number 3 to 5 members and it also continues the requirement of majority vote for any motion resolution or ordinance to pass," Kiesling said when presenting the measure.

The bill drew a short procedural question about whether the aldermen seats are elected at large. Committee counsel Mark Dobies read a charter provision indicating Salina's election timing and confirmed that the current language provides for citywide (at-large) election of the mayor and aldermen. After brief clarification, the committee voted. The clerk announced: "Mister chairman, you have 9 ayes, 0 no's." The chair then announced that HB 50 "moves and passes out to" the next step and the committee later corrected the referral so the bill will go to the State and Local Government Committee rather than Calendar and Rules.

Why it matters: Salina is a small municipality and the change would alter its governing body size and representation. The constitutional and statutory framework governing private acts requires local ratification in many cases; committee members and witnesses noted that private acts that affect a single jurisdiction typically must be ratified by a two-thirds vote of the local governing body or by referendum before the act takes effect.

The bill record in committee did not list individual roll-call votes by member name; the clerk reported only the tally of nine ayes and zero noes. The committee did not set a ratification deadline for Salina; if no deadline is specified in the enrolled bill, statute and constitutional practice mean ratification ordinarily must occur by Dec. 1 of that year or as otherwise set.

HB 50 will be considered next by the State and Local Government Committee. No further action or date for that hearing was announced at the committee meeting.