Brief ⁽¹⁾

Sub. for HB 2077 amends the protection from abuse law by changing the application of the definition of abuse to cover the prohibited abusive acts that occur between intimate partners or household members, in addition to the current law which applies to persons who reside together, who formerly resided together, or who have had a child together. An intimate partner can include persons in a dating relationship.

Protection from abuse orders will be entered into the National Criminal Information Center (NCIC) and other appropriate databases. When the order is a foreign protective order, the sheriff's office will notify the issuing jurisdiction to verify the order and request the entry of the order into NCIC and other appropriate databases.

Background

Those who appeared in support of the bill included conferees representing the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, the Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Center in Hutchinson, the YWCA Battered Women Task Force in Topeka, the Shawnee County Sheriff's Office, and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

An official with the Johnson County Sheriff's Office expressed concern with the procedures involving a foreign jurisdiction entry into NCIC and the fact that, under the bill, cities would no longer receive a copy of the protection from abuse order.

The fiscal note on the original bill indicates there would likely be some costs due to additional cases that could be 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.cgi