----------------------------------------------------------------------------


A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION requesting the Kansas Legislature to
  enact legislation to prescribe more severe penalties for violations of
  laws in circumstances relating to abuse, neglect or exploitation of
  adults.
  WHEREAS, The Kansas Legislature enacted K.S.A. 39-1402, and
amendments thereto, which prescribes that any person who is required
to report information or to cause a report to be made of information
regarding instances of a person who is a resident of an adult care home,
adult family home, medical care facility or who is receiving services from
a community mental retardation facility or a facility licensed under K.S.A.
75-3307b, and amendments thereto, or care or treatment from a state
psychiatric hospital or a state institution for the mentally retarded, being
abused, neglected or exploited or of any such person in need of protective
services and who knowingly fails to make such report or cause such report
not to be made, shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor; and
  WHEREAS, The Kansas Legislature has enacted K.S.A. 39-1431, and
amendments thereto, which prescribes that any person who is required
to report information or to cause a report to be made of information
regarding instances of an adult being abused, neglected or exploited or
of an adult in need of protective services and who knowingly fails to make
such report or cause such report not to be made, shall be guilty of a class
B misdemeanor; and
  WHEREAS, During the 1996 regular session, the Kansas Legislature
enacted 1996 Senate Bill No. 297, which is published in Chapter 121 of
the 1996 Session Laws of Kansas and which provides for enhanced civil
penalties under the Kansas consumer protection act when elder or disa-
bled persons are victims of violations of the Kansas consumer protection
act; and
  WHEREAS, The Kansas Silver Haired Legislature adopted SHL Res-
olution No. 1315 during the Kansas Silver Haired Legislature's Session
in October, 1996, requesting the Kansas Legislature to enact more severe
penalties for violations of laws in circumstances relating to abuse, neglect
or exploitation of adults: Now, therefore,
  Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Kansas,
the Senate concurring therein: That the Kansas Legislature is hereby re-
quested to enact more severe penalties for violations of statutes requiring
the reporting of instances of adults who are being abused, neglected or
exploited or who are in need of protective services and for acts or
omissions which are violations of statutes and which result in abuse, ne-
glect or exploitation of adults.