House Bill No. 2071 — Expanding Protection for Minors against Stalking

Author: Betsy Donahue, Staff Editor

House Bill No. 2071 amends Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-5427 to include additional protections for individuals under fourteen years old in Section 1(a)(4).  Stalking now includes an individual’s intentional behavior toward a child under fourteen that would cause a reasonable person in that child’s position or a reasonable person in the position of an immediate family member of that child to fear for that child’s safety. H.B. 2071, 89 Leg., 2021 Reg. Sess. (Kan. 2021).  Section 1(b)(4) states stalking under the amended text, subsection (a)(4), is a “Severity level 7, person felony, except” . . . after a previous conviction when it is a “severity level 4, person felony . . . .”  H.B. 2071, 89 Leg., 2021 Reg. Sess. (Kan. 2021).

Senate Bill 127 amended provisions relating to costs, eligibility, and time limits of driving violations related to suspended licenses.  The Legislature in Section 3(b)(2) amended Kan. Stat. Ann. § 8-262 to state that any person found driving with a suspended license under Kan. Stat. Ann. § 8-2110 and relevant amendments would not have the 90 day additional period extending the suspension required in Section 3(b)(1).  The Legislature amended Section 5(b)(2)(A)–(B) of Kan. Stat. Ann. § 8-2110, removing the $25 application fee required when submitting a written request for restricted driving privileges.  The Legislature also removed the $59 reinstatement fee, but Section 5(c) still allows a court to assess a $100 reinstatement fee.  A court under Section 5(e) may remove the total amount or a portion of assessed fines assessed to a person if that person petitions the court that assessed the fines and the court finds “the amount due will impose manifest hardship on the person or the person’s immediate family. . . .”  S.B. 127, 89 Leg., 2021 Reg. Sess. (Kan. 2021).  The Supreme Court under Section 5(f) from July 1, 2019 until June 30, 2025 “may impose an additional charge, not to exceed $22 per reinstatement fee, to fund the cost of non-judicial personnel.”  S.B. 127, 89 Leg., 2021 Reg. Sess. (Kan. 2021).

Citation: S.B. 127, 89 Leg., 2021 Reg. Sess. (Kan. 2021).

Website: https://legiscan.com/KS/bill/SB127/2021