2025 Legislative Session
This Page Includes Current and Summary Information on the 2025 Legislative Session
Hearings for February 17-21 as of 2/15/25
Law Enforcement Related Bills as of 2/15/25

Week 5 Summary Feb 10-14

Week 5 was the last full week of committee hearings for the first “half” of the session. Our associations provided testimony on 17 bills last week. Next week there will be committee meetings on Monday, the last day for committee meetings until after February 24th. The House and Senate will devote all day Tuesday through Thursday to floor debates on bills that have been passed by committees and selected by leadership for consideration by the full Senate or full House.

Next week is referred to as “Turnaround Week,” the last week bills not having been in an exempt committee can be moved to the consideration of floor debate by the various committees. The exempt committees affecting bills of interest to us are House Appropriations; Senate Ways and Means; House or Senate Tax; House or Senate Federal and State Affairs. Non-exempt bills that do not pass the chamber they originated in will be dead for this session but come back to life in 2026.

The legislature will return on February 25 to start the next “half” of the session.

There were several big topics we were involved in this week.
  • Open Records Act: HB2134 limits the fees for costs of producing records under the Open Records Act. We worked with the League of Kansas Municipalities, the Association of Counties, and other groups as they work with proponents on possible compromise solutions. While not reaching total consensus on acceptable terms, many clarifications on allowable charges for open records were agreed to. We can expect to see those put into the bill by committee and move the bill forward to the full House.
  • Auto Theft: HB2347 proposes increased penalties for what is now misdemeanor thefts for about 14% of auto thefts with a value under $1500. The bill also changes the culpability of “knowing” property was stolen in possession cases to “knew or should have known.” Concerns were raised by a few committee members about the broad scope of the definition of “motor vehicle” in the statutes. We worked with the City of Wichita, who requested the bill, on an amendment to address those concerns. We expect those recommendations to be implemented into the bill.
  • Naloxone: We had discussions with various groups about our bill to remove law enforcement from the requirement to have a medical director if we distribute naloxone to our employees. As a result of those discussions the bills (SB193 and HB2159) moved forward with our amendments to simplify the changes in the bill and to narrow the scope to only the medical director requirement. That requirement was necessary as a mandate when naloxone was still available only by prescription, but is not necessary now that it is sold over the counter for anyone to buy, use, and administer to others. The change will still require policy and training, and will allow us to go back to the original procedure for any new drugs that might be more effective and require a prescription.
  • SB178 Immigration: ICE Agreement and Local Law Enforcement: We have also been working hard on the immigration bill, SB178. We have been gathering information and been in conversations with ICE and others. This bill is not currently set for a hearing, but it is a bill that is exempt from deadlines. It could be scheduled at any time. More information will be forthcoming later this week.

Bills Passing One Chamber: The following law enforcement or crime related bills have passed the House:
  • HB 2061: Relating to the crimes of trespassing on a critical infrastructure facility and criminal damage to a critical infrastructure facility; defining a critical infrastructure facility used for telecommunications or video services to include above ground and below ground lines, cables, wires and certain other structures and equipment
  • HB 2109: Law enforcement; relating to public utilities; authorizing law enforcement agencies to attach and operate law enforcement equipment on utility poles in the public right-of-way; exempting public utilities from civil liability.
 
Hearings Last Week: We appeared before committees for the following bills and presentations last week Feb. 10-17):
  • SB 137: Authorizing the sale or transfer of forfeited firearms under the Kansas standard asset seizure and forfeiture act to a licensed firearm dealer.
  • SB 145: Requiring immediate notification of a report of abuse or neglect to a law enforcement agency and providing for law enforcement agencies to request resources from the secretary for children and families.
  • SB 156: Creating the crime of unlawful use of a laser pointer and providing criminal penalties.
  • SB 157: Requiring warrants issued for failure to appear to be provided to a compensated surety, changing the criteria for setting aside bond forfeiture and requiring remission if the defendant is returned to custody in certain circumstances.
  • SB 186: Odyssey Court System: Requiring probable cause affidavits to be made available to law enforcement agencies prior to the execution of a warrant or summons.
  • SB 193: Removing law enforcement agencies and officers from the state board of pharmacy's statewide opioid antagonist protocol.
  • SB 244; Prohibiting a compensated surety from making loans for certain portions of the required minimum appearance bond premium.
  • SB 42: Providing for the establishment of an online insurance verification system for the verification of evidence of motor vehicle liability insurance.
  • HB 2159: Related to Narcan: Creating the emergency opioid antagonists assistance grant fund to provide emergency opioid antagonists to law enforcement agencies and removing law enforcement from the state board of pharmacy's statewide opioid antagonist protocol.
  • HB 2177: Attempt to Elude-Increasing penalties for repeat offenders.
  • HB 2222: Requiring ignition interlock device manufacturers to pay fees to the state for the administration of the ignition interlock program (KHP Bill)
  • HB 2253: Theft of Livestock: Making the theft of livestock or implements of husbandry a severity level 5, nonperson felony.
  • HB 2324: Increasing the criminal penalty for possessing or refusing to surrender any firearm in or on any school property or grounds.
  • HB 2325: Authorizing judges to commit juvenile offenders to detention for technical violations of probation, increasing the cumulative detention limit for juvenile offenders and increasing criminal penalties for juvenile offenders who use a firearm in the commission of an offense or who are repeat offenders.
  • HB 2347: Auto Theft: Crimes, punishment and criminal procedure; relating to theft; changing the culpability required for certain types of theft; increasing the criminal penalty when the property is a motor vehicle.
  • HB 2347: Auto Theft: Increasing penalties
  • HB 2349: Scrap Metal: Authorizing law enforcement officers to conduct investigations of violations of the act; establishing criminal penalties for certain violations of the act; permitting municipalities to enact or enforce ordinances, resolutions and regulations relating to scrap metal that are not in conflict with the act.
 
NEXT WEEK (Week 6) Feb. 17-21
There will be three hearings on bills we have an interest in during this week.
  • SB 204: Requiring the case and warrant information be sealed in criminal and juvenile offender cases
  • HB2365: Establishing the south central regional mental health hospital
  • HB 2378: Establishing the removal of squatters act, providing a procedure to remove a squatter from a dwelling unit, requiring owners or agents of dwelling units to provide an affidavit to the county sheriff, requiring notice to vacate by the sheriff, establishing the crime of providing a false affidavit and establishing a civil cause of action for wrongful removal of a person from a dwelling unit, allowing attorney fees and punitive damages
We will also be working with leadership attempting to bring our bills to floor debate.
Week 4 Summary
Week 4 was very busy, week 5 will be even busier. The legislature’s accelerated schedule is compressing committee action normally completed over 6 weeks into a 5-week schedule.

There were several big topics we were involved in this week.

Child in Need of Care Bills: There were two bill hearings on bills related to Child in Need of Care. HB2132 and HB2175. Both were problematic for law enforcement and for prosecutors.
  • HB2132 proposed changing the definition of “Neglect” by removing the phrase “likelihood of harm.” This would result in removing our ability to remove a child from the neglect conditions until the child has actually suffered harm. It also would change the word “failure” to “refusal” in regard to actions of the caretaker creating the neglect conditions.
  • HB2175 proposed creating the rights of parents whose child is the subject of abuse or neglect investigations. Those rights were expansive and required extensive written notification of procedures upon first contact in an investigation. It also would require the release of investigative reports to the parents almost immediately. Again, creating a problem for law enforcement investigations and prosecutor actions in court.
  • SB145 proposes DCF would have to notify law enforcement of every complaint they receive of abuse or neglect (that is over 70,000 complaints each year). The intent is to open join investigations with law enforcement and DCF participation. This is proposed far too broadly. We provided written testimony to limit the notice to law enforcement to only those cases DCF assigns to investigators where there is reason to believe a crime has occurred. This take is down to about 17,000 cases a year, most of which we are already receiving, if not initiating.

Open Records Act: HB2134 limits the fees for costs of producing records under the Open Records Act. We provided opposition testimony on the bill. We continue to work with the League of Kansas Municipalities and the Association of Counties as they work with proponents on possible compromise solutions.

The law enforcement associations appeared before committees for the following bills and presentations last week Feb. 3-7):
  • Provided proponent testimony on HB2155, a bill concerning liability related to jail operations.
  • Provided proponent testimony on HB2182, a bill on process fees for protection orders.
  • Provided opposing testimony on HB2134, a bill attempting to limit what can be charged for fulfilling an open records request. We continue to work with the League of Kansas Municipalities, the Association of Counties, and others on this issue.
  • Provided proponent testimony on HB2052 relating to cleanup amendments to the Personal and Family Protection Act (Concealed Carry). The bill also has a provision in it we have been working on for several years regarding off-duty carry into public venues.
  • Provided proponent testimony on HB2109, a bill granting utility companies liability immunity for certain acts related to installing pole cameras for law enforcement.
  • Provided proponent testimony on HB2183, a bill clarifying AI altered images of nudity or sexual content is covered under various statutes.
  • Provided proponent testimony on SB113, a bill addressing speeds in excess of 100 mph or 35 mph or more over any speed limit by making it reckless driving.
  • Provided neutral testimony on HB2086, a bill modifying KPERS Tier 3 system with enhancements that would increase the expected retirement benefits by about 10% on average.
  • Provided opponent testimony on HB2132, a bill proposing major changes to the definition of Neglect in the Code for Care of Children (CINC cases).
  • Provided opponent testimony on HB2175, a bill on parent rights during a CINC investigation.
  • Monitored committee hearings on several bills of interest.
  • Met with various legislators on 8 bills we are working on to discuss possible amendments.  
NEXT WEEK (Week 5) Feb. 10-14
There will be a large number of hearings on bills we have an interest in during this week. You can see the full hearing list for the week at this link. The list is updated through the week at the link above.
Send posting suggestions to this link.
Also see:
How to Contact Your Legislators 
Information from prior years is available by going to the Legislative:Archives option in the menu.

Looking for a bill? See a searchable list of all bills introduced in the 2024 session. Use keywords in the short title of the bill.
All bills introduced in the 2024 session