This act shall not require the following carriers to obtain a certificate, license or permit from the commission or file rates, tariffs, annual reports or provide proof of insurance with the commission:

(a) Transportation by motor carriers wholly within the corporate limits of a city or village in this state, or between contiguous cities or villages in this state or in this and another state, or between any city or village in this or another state and the suburban territory in this state within three miles of the corporate limits, or between cities and villages in this state and cities and villages in another state which are within territory designated as a commercial zone by the relevant federal authority, except that none of the exemptions specified in this subsection (a) shall apply to wrecker carriers;

(b) a private motor carrier who operates within a radius of 25 miles beyond the corporate limits of its city or village of domicile, or who operates between cities and villages in this state and cities and villages in another state which are within territory designated as a commercial zone by the relevant federal authority. For the purpose of this subsection, “domicile” shall mean the principal place of business of a motor carrier;

(c) the owner of livestock or producer of farm products transporting livestock of such owner or farm products of such producer to market in a motor vehicle of such owner or producer, or the motor vehicle of a neighbor on the basis of barter or exchange for service or employment, or to such owner or producer transporting supplies for the use of such owner or producer in a motor vehicle of such owner or producer, or in the motor vehicle of a neighbor on the basis of barter or exchange for service or employment;

(d) (1) the transportation of children to and from school; (2) to motor vehicles owned by schools, colleges, and universities, religious or charitable organizations and institutions, or governmental agencies, when used to convey students, inmates, employees, athletic teams, orchestras, bands or other similar activities; or (3) motor vehicles owned by nonprofit organizations meeting the qualification requirements of section 501(c) of the internal revenue code of 1986, and amendments thereto, when transporting property or materials belonging to the owner of the vehicle;

(e) a new vehicle dealer as defined by Kan. Stat. Ann. § 8-2401, and amendments thereto, when transporting property to or from the place of business of such dealer;

(f) motor vehicles carrying tools, property or material belonging to the owner of the vehicle and used in repair, building or construction work, not having been sold or being transported for the purpose of sale;

(g) persons operating motor vehicles which have an ad valorem tax situs in and are registered in the state of Kansas, and used only to transport grain from the producer to an elevator or other place for storage or sale for a distance of not to exceed 50 miles;

(h) the operation of hearses, funeral coaches, funeral cars or ambulances by motor carriers;

(i) motor vehicles owned and operated by the United States, the District of Columbia, any state, any municipality or any other political subdivision of this state, including vehicles used exclusively for handling U.S. mail, and the operation of motor vehicles used exclusively by organizations operating public transportation systems pursuant to 49 U.S.C. §§ 5307, 5310 and 5311;

(j) any motor vehicle with a normal seating capacity of not more than the driver and 15 passengers while used for vanpooling or otherwise not-for-profit in transporting persons who, as a joint undertaking, bear or agree to bear all the costs of such operations, or motor vehicles with a normal seating capacity of not more than the driver and 15 passengers for not-for-profit transportation by one or more employers of employees to and from the factories, plants, offices, institutions, construction sites or other places of like nature where such persons are employed or accustomed to work;

(k) motor vehicles used to transport water for domestic purposes, as defined by Kan. Stat. Ann. § 82a-701(c), and amendments thereto, or livestock consumption;

(l) transportation of sand, gravel, slag stone, limestone, crushed stone, cinders, calcium chloride, bituminous or concrete mixtures, blacktop, dirt or fill material to a construction site, highway maintenance or construction project or other storage facility and the operation of ready-mix concrete trucks in transportation of ready-mix concrete;

(m) the operation of a vehicle used exclusively for the transportation of solid waste, as the same is defined by Kan. Stat. Ann. § 65-3402, and amendments thereto, to any solid waste processing facility or solid waste disposal area, as the same is defined by Kan. Stat. Ann. § 65-3402, and amendments thereto;

(n) the transporting of vehicles used solely in the custom combining business when being transported by persons engaged in such business;

(o) the operation of vehicles used for servicing, repairing or transporting of implements of husbandry, as defined in Kan. Stat. Ann. § 8-1427, and amendments thereto, by a person actively engaged in the business of buying, selling or exchanging implements of husbandry, if such operation is within 100 miles of such person’s established place of business in this state;

(p) transportation by taxi or bus companies operating commercial motor vehicles, as defined in 49 C.F.R. § 390.5, as in effect on July 1, 2017, or any later version as established in rules and regulations adopted by the state corporation commission and operated exclusively within any city or within 25 miles of the point of its domicile in a city. For the purpose of this subsection, “domicile” shall mean the principal place of business of a motor carrier;

(q) a vehicle being operated with a dealer license plate issued under Kan. Stat. Ann. § 8-2406, and amendments thereto, and in compliance with Kan. Stat. Ann. § 8-136, and amendments thereto, and vehicles being operated with a full-privilege license plate issued under Kan. Stat. Ann. § 8-2425, and amendments thereto;

(r) the operation of vehicles used for transporting materials used in the servicing or repairing of the refractory linings of industrial boilers;

(s) transportation of newspapers published at least one time each week;

(t) transportation of animal dung to be used for fertilizer;

(u) the operation of ground water well drilling rigs;

(v) the transportation of cotton modules from the field to the gin;

(w) the transportation of custom harvested silage, including, but not limited to, corn, wheat and milo; and

(x) private motor carriers domiciled in Kansas operating commercial motor vehicles (CMV) with a gross vehicle weight (GVW), gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR), gross combination weight (GCW), or gross combination weight rating (GCWR) of 10,001 to 26,000 pounds and registered pursuant to Kan. Stat. Ann. § 8-126 et seq., and amendments thereto. This exception does not apply to commercial motor vehicles, regardless of weight, which are designed or used to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver, or intrastate public (for hire) motor carriers of property or passengers, or any motor vehicles which are used in the transportation of hazardous materials and required to be placarded pursuant to 49 C.F.R. part 172, subpart F. For the purpose of this subsection, “domicile” shall mean the principal place of business of a motor carrier or a permanent location in Kansas for a vehicle or vehicles annually registered in Kansas.