Brief(1)
S.B. 482 amends criminal procedure statutes dealing with expungement to expand the law to permit the expungement of arrest records, diversion agreements, and proceedings resulting in diversion agreements. The provisions apply to arrest and diversion records involving city ordinance violations and municipal courts as well as state violations and district courts. Persons arrested or entering into diversion agreements must be informed of their right to expunge these records. Municipal courts are authorized to set a docket fee for the expungement proceeding but no docket fee is permitted for expungement actions filed in district courts.
S.B. 482 defines "expungement" in Section 1 to mean the sealing of records so they are unavailable except to the petitioner and criminal justice agencies as provided in K.S.A. 22-4701 et seq.
The court may grant the petition to expunge the arrest records upon finding:
1. the arrest resulted from mistaken identity;
2. the arrest resulted in a finding of no probable cause by the court;
3. the arrest resulted in a not guilty verdict; or
4. the expungement would be in the best interests of justice and:
a. charges have been dismissed; or
b. no charges have been or are likely to be filed.
If the expungement falls within categories 1, 2, or 3, the records are not available except to the petitioner and to agencies as allowed under K.S.A. 22-4701 et seq. If the expungement is allowed under the circumstance where charges have been dismissed or are not likely to be filed, the court has the discretion to make the records available under certain circumstances such as where background checks are being performed or application is being made for employment positions in criminal justice agencies, positions in institutions licensed by Social and Rehabilitation Services, or in gaming and racing businesses.
The list of crimes for which there can be no expungement for adults or juvenile offenders is expanded to include capital murder, murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The Senate Committee amended the bill to require the person to disclose the expungement when on any application seeking securities registration as a broker-dealer, agent, or investment advisor. A provision requiring a diversion agreement which has been fulfilled to be confidential and only available to prosecutors or the courts also was deleted.
The Senate Committee of the Whole made a technical amendment.
The bill also modifies the law regarding handicapped accessible parking spaces to allow for a fine of no more than $10 for a violation of parking in a handicapped accessible parking space when the person violating the provision can produce in court a permanent or temporary placard which was valid at the time of the violation. Current law makes a violation punishable by a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $100.
Background
The bill was supported by the Kansas Judicial Council. Proponents said that the disclosure of arrest records and diversion agreements can also be damaging to an individual and the current law does not cover expungement.
The bill was opposed by the Kansas Peace Officers Association, which said arrest and diversion agreements are not generally available to the public and that wholesale expungement of these records will jeopardize peace officer safety. The bill was also opposed by the League of Kansas Municipalities and several cities which said the bill would be a costly mandate on cities.
The fiscal impact on the state has not been determined to date.
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.