SESSION OF 1998



SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON SENATE BILL NO. 552



As Recommended by Senate Committee on

Judiciary





Brief(1)



S.B. 552 amends a criminal procedure statute dealing with presentence reports regarding misdemeanor crimes to parallel the procedures currently in the law for felony crime presentence reports. The bill provides that these reports shall become part of the court record and shall be accessible to the public. However, the official version, the defendant's version, and the victim's statement, any psychological reports and drug and alcohol reports shall be accessible only to the parties, the sentencing judge, the Department of Corrections, and if requested, the Kansas Sentencing Commission.



Current law requires various parties to request these report or various portions of the reports before disclosure is permitted.





Background



The bill was requested by the Office of Judicial Administration.



The bill has no fiscal impact on the state.



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.