You may have heard that the state legislature stayed in session an extra 10 days — and in doing so spending an additional $400,000 in taxpayer funds — before it could fulfill one of its few mandatory functions: passing a budget.
But among the matters the legislature did manage to find time in its schedule to consider and approve before heading into overtime was HB 2052, requiring cities that ban concealed carry in municipal buildings to provide “adequate security measures” to ensure that no one bring a gun into a building undetected. These security measures would include expensive metal detectors and security personnel stationed at the entrances to city buildings — and would cost cities like Prairie Village tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The law goes into effect July 1, but Prairie Village has requested an exemption to buy some time as it considers its options. The bill includes a provision that allows any city to delay implementation of the law until January 1, 2014, provided the send the attorney general a written request.
The Prairie Village city council voted unanimously to seek that exemption at its meeting last week — and will in the coming months grapple with a decision about whether to put the expensive security measures in place, or amend city ordinance to allow for concealed weapons at city hall.
Mission and Fairway are considering seeking exemptions as well.
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