Brief⁽¹⁾

S.B. 435 amends a criminal procedure statute dealing with imposition of consecutive sentences. The bill adds persons who are released on bond to provisions of the current law which provide that when a new felony is committed by a person who is already incarcerated for a felony or who is on probation, parole, in community corrections, postrelease supervision, or conditional release, the new sentence shall be served consecutive to the original sentence. Further, a judge is given the authority to sentence the person to prison even if the sentence for the new crime presumes a nonprison sentence and this new sentence shall not be considered a departure from the sentencing guidelines law.

In addition, the bill amends a number of criminal statutes to do the following:

• Alters the crime of contributing to a child's misconduct by adding a runaway's parents or guardians to those individuals to whom a failure to provide information about the runaway can constitute the crime.



• Adds a new provision regarding bail bondspersons or bounty hunters to prohibit forcible entry or the use of deadly force to capture a defendant or fugitive not charged with a felony. Any attempt to capture a defendant or fugitive must be preceded by notice to the local police or sheriff's department. A bonding company would have to maintain general liability insurance for damage of $350,000 per occurrence. Immunity will not be provided for actions when unreasonable force is used and an arrest warrant must be issued for the surrender on such a warrant.



• Aggravated robbery is amended to include instances when a firearm is used and there is the infliction of great bodily harm and the property taken was a vehicle. The crime is punishable as a severity level 1 person felony.



• Criminal discharge of a firearm at an unoccupied dwelling would be raised to a level 1 person felony from the current level 3 person felony.



• Criminal actions which could impose the "hard 40" sentence would be expanded to include a conviction of murder in the first degree or murder in the second degree as a result of the criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied building or vehicle or aggravated robbery when the property taken is a vehicle and which results in the death of a person.

Background

The bill was supported by the Kansas County and District Attorneys Association. A proponent said the bill would correct the effect of State v. Arculeo, 261 Kan. 286 (1997), which held that a conditional release (as defined in K.S.A. 21-4603d) does not include release on bond, hence a prison sentence for a presumptive nonprison offense becomes a departure.

The bill has an indeterminable fiscal impact on the state.

The House Committee of the Whole inserted the criminal statute changes.

1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/fulltext-bill.html.