Brief ⁽¹⁾

SB 470 provides that inmates who commit a new felony crime while serving an indeterminate sentence with a maximum term of life imprisonment are to remain on postrelease supervision for life or until discharged from supervision by the Kansas Parole Board. Additionally, the bill provides that offenders who commit a new felony while serving a sentence for an off-grid offense are likewise to remain on postrelease supervision for life or until discharged from supervision by the Kansas Parole Board, irrespective of whether the new crime was committed while the offender was on postrelease supervision or incarcerated.

The Senate Committee amendment was technical.

The House Committee of the Whole made several additional changes to the bill as follows:

• The bill provides that before an incarcerated person can be released from custody, it must be determined whether there are any outstanding warrants for that person's arrest.



• The bill would expand the crime of eavesdropping to include installing or using a concealed camcorder, motion picture camera, or photographic camera of any type to secretly videotape, film, photograph, or record by electronic means, another, identifiable person either nude or under or through the clothing being worn by that other person, for the purpose of viewing the body of, or the undergarments worn by the other person without the consent or knowledge of that other person, with the intent to invade the privacy of that other person, under circumstances in which the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy. This provision is taken from HB 2614.



• The bill would amend the cruelty to animals statute to include the intentional burning or causing serious physical injury to an animal. Also amended into the bill is a provision that includes intentionally causing any physical injury other than serious physical injury to an animal. The penalty for the first provision is a nonperson felony punishable by confinement of not less than 30 days but not more than one year and a fine of $100. The second provision carries a class A nonperson misdemeanor. These provisions are from SB 181.



• The bill would add a section regarding sting operations involving the purchase of alcoholic liquor or cereal malt beverages by minors. Any authorized person that directs a minor to violate provisions of the Kansas Liquor Control Act must have the permission of the minor's parent or guardian.

The provisions regarding "controlled buys" of alcoholic liquor or cereal malt beverages reflects standard operating procedures used by Alcoholic Beverage Control officials.

Background

The original bill was supported by the Department of Corrections. A proponent said that SB 470 prevents offenders incarcerated for an indeterminate sentence of life from having their lifetime postrelease supervision obligation reduced due to the commission of a new crime. Under current law, if an inmate serving an indeterminate sentence with a maximum term of life commits a new felony while incarcerated, the new felony sentence does not begin until the inmate is paroled from the original indeterminate sentence. However, once the new sentence begins and the prison portion of that sentence is served, the inmate's postrelease supervision obligation is determined by the period of postrelease supervision applicable to the new sentence. Thus, an incarcerated offender serving a life sentence, which would normally require the offender to remain under parole supervision for life once released from prison, can reduce the postrelease supervision obligation to 24 to 60 months by committing a new felony crime.

SB 470 also prevents offenders serving an off-grid sentence of life from having an incentive to commit a new felony while incarcerated or on postrelease supervision. The bill negates this incentive by providing that offenders serving a sentence with a maximum term of life shall remain on postrelease supervision for life or until discharged from supervision by the Kansas Parole Board, irrespective of the postrelease supervision period applicable to the new sentence.

The fiscal note said the bill would have no impact on the state.

The fiscal note on HB 2614 indicates no fiscal impact.

The fiscal note on SB 181 indicates a negligible fiscal impact.

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/bill_search.html