Brief⁽¹⁾

H.B. 2867 amends the crimes of sexual exploitation of a child and lewd and lascivious behavior. The crime of sexual exploitation of a child was amended as follows:

• the computer generated image of a child would be changed from that of a "real" child to a "visual depiction" of a child;



• the definitional age of a child would be raised from the current 16 to 18 years; and



• the definition of sexually explicit conduct is expanded to include the exhibition of female breasts.

The bill also bifurcated the crime of lewd and lascivious behavior to provide it is a class B nonperson misdemeanor if committed in the presence of a person 16 or older and a severity level 9 person felony if committed in the presence of a person under 16 years old.

The Senate Committee added provisions of S.B. 583 dealing with the crime of lewd and lascivious behavior and a severability clause to the bill.

Background

The sponsor of the bill appeared in support of the bill. Support was also expressed by the Johnson County District Attorney.

S.B. 583 was supported by the Kansas Peace Officers Association.

The fiscal note indicates a potential fiscal impact if passage of the bill results in an increased number of actions filed.

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.