Brief(1)
H.B. 2352 allows district magistrate judges to hear felony arraignments subject to the control of administrative judges to control assignment of cases; amends the residency requirements for district magistrate judges to require the person appointed or elected be a resident of the county for which they were elected or appointed at the time of taking the oath of office and to maintain residency while holding the office; and provides that appeals taken by prosecutors from district court decisions shall be to the Court of Appeals rather than the Supreme Court.
The Senate Committee of the Whole amended the right of appeal by prosecutors to eliminate the right and make appeals subject to the discretion of the Court of Appeals to grant the appeal.
The Senate Committee of the Whole also added provisions of S.B. 355 which permits a permanent guardian to be appointed after a finding of parent unfitness or with the consent and agreement of the parents. Upon appointment of the permanent guardian, the bill provides that the child in need of care proceeding shall be dismissed. The bill clarifies that, when parental rights are not terminated, the parents continue to have financial responsibility for the child. The length of time a child may be taken into protective custody under the child in need of care code is expanded from 48 to 72 hours excluding weekends and holidays. The bill also provides that no hearing is necessary to find the parents unfit, terminate parental rights, or appoint a permanent guardian when the parents relinquish their rights or agree to the appointment of a permanent guardian.
Background
The bill was supported by the Kansas Bar Association. The residency requirement as proposed in the bill is the same requirement that now applies to district judges.
The Senate Committee amended the bill to add provisions of S.B. 94 dealing with felony arraignments and the appeal to the Court of Appeals provision.
The Senate Committee of the Whole added provisions of S.B. 355.
The bill has no 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.