Brief ⁽¹⁾

The bill would enact the Newborn Infant Protection Act and amend existing law regarding abandonment of infants.

The new statute would provide that anyone who has legal custody of an infant under 46 days old would not be charged with criminal child abandonment if the infant is given unharmed to an employee at a fire station, local health department, hospital, ambulatory surgical center, or recuperation center. The person who assumes custody of the infant would be required to protect the child and would be immune from liability for injury that might result from any protective action. As soon as possible after the infant is given to an employee of one of those entities, the employee would notify the local law enforcement agency which would take the child to a person designated by the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS).

Procedures under the Code for Care of Children would be amended to provide that:

• �petitions under the Code in these situations ask the court to find that reintegration is not a viable alternative and to sever parental rights;



• �the court conduct an expedited hearing on the petition to sever parental rights;



• �if the court finds that the situation is covered by the Protection Act, parental rights could be severed; and



• �parents granted immunity under the Infant Protection Act would be presumed to be unfit parents.

The bill would become effective upon publication in the Kansas Register.

Background

The bill was requested for introduction by Senator Oleen, Chair of the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs. At the hearing on the bill before that Committee, proponents of the bill included Senator Oleen, Representative O'Connor; and representatives of the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, Planned Parenthood, Kansas Children's Service League, and Right to Life of Kansas. A representative of the Kansas Hospital Association presented information to the Committee. Written testimony in support of the bill was submitted by the Kansas State Nurses Association, the Manhattan Department of Fire Services, and the Social Concerns Committee of the First United Methodist Church in Manhattan. The Department of SRS, the Hospital Association, and Representative O'Connor suggested clarifying amendments to the Senate Committee. No opponents of the bill presented testimony to the Senate Committee.

A bill addressing the same issue, HB 2927 was introduced by Representative O'Connor and 20 others. The bill was in the House Committee on Appropriations at the time the Senate Committee took action on the Senate bill.

The Division of the Budget's fiscal note on the introduced version of the bill states that while the caseloads for the courts and the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services would be impacted, the occurrence would be rare and would not have a noticeable 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