Brief (1)
SB 235 recodifies the crime of domestic battery to make it a separate criminal statute set apart from the current crime of misdemeanor battery. Penalties for the crime of domestic battery remain the same as under current law.
The Senate Committee amendments were technical.
Background
The bill was requested by the Kansas County and District Attorneys Association as a tool to make it easier to track prior convictions for domestic battery. Under current law, the crime of domestic battery is covered under KSA 21-3412 - misdemeanor battery. Prosecutors and law enforcement have to research the original domestic battery conviction(s) in order to determine whether the crime was domestic battery.
Third and subsequent domestic battery convictions are a non-grid felony.
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/fulltext.cgi