{"data":{"id":"us-ks/k.s.a.-77-438","jurisdiction":"us-ks","citation":"K.S.A. 77-438","heading":"Guidance documents.","body":"(a) (1) A state agency may issue a guidance document without following the procedures set forth in this act for the adoption of rules and regulations.\n(2) For the purposes of this section, \"guidance document\" means a record of general applicability that:\n(A) Is designated by a state agency as a guidance document;\n(B) lacks the force of law; and\n(C) states:\n(i) The agency's current approach to, or interpretation of, law; or\n(ii) general statements of policy that describe how and when the agency will exercise discretionary functions.\n(b) A guidance document may contain binding instructions to state agency staff members except officers who preside in adjudicatory proceedings.\n(c) If a state agency proposes to act in an adjudication at variance with a position expressed in a guidance document, the state agency shall provide a reasonable explanation for the variance. If an affected person in an adjudication claims to have reasonably relied on the agency's position, the state agency's explanation for the variance shall include a reasonable justification for the agency's conclusion that the need for the variance outweighs the affected person's reliance interests.\n(d) Each state agency shall:\n(1) Maintain an index of all of its currently effective guidance documents;\n(2) publish the index on its website; and\n(3) make all guidance documents available to the public.\n(e) A guidance document may be considered by a presiding officer or agency head in an agency adjudication, but such guidance document shall not bind any party, the presiding officer or the agency head.\n(f) Any agency that issues a guidance document shall provide a copy of such document to the joint committee on administrative rules and regulations. Such document may be submitted electronically.","path":["Chapter 77.—STATUTES; ADMINISTRATIVE RULES AND REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURE","Article 4.—RULES AND REGULATIONS"],"source_url":"https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch77/077_004_0038.html","current_through":"2025 legislative session","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-04T15:15:06Z","sha256":"f7572ace775ba1602e1a34be33385539e2ff0813bddb3f8f1eab02e7815a57fe","source_id":"us-ks","stale":false,"prev":"us-ks/k.s.a.-77-437","next":"us-ks/k.s.a.-77-440"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}