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Minutes for SB318 - Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice

Short Title

Requiring city attorneys to review certain audio and video evidence and removing the requirement that municipal courts collect fingerprints from persons convicted of violating certain municipal ordinance provisions related to driving without a valid driver's license or motor vehicle liability insurance coverage.

Minutes Content for Wed, Mar 6, 2024

The Chair opened the hearing on SB318.  Natalie Scott provided an overview of the bill.  (Attachment 9)

Karen Torline, Municipal Court Judge testified in support of the bill on behalf of the Kansas Municipal Judges Association (KMJA).  She said KMJA's support for this bill extends only to the bill as originally drafted and does not include support for the bill as amended.  The bill as originally drafted would improve court efficiency - the amendment as drafted would hinder court efficiency.  If the amendment language remains in the bill, she would anticipate substantial delays in the overall court system.  (Attachment 10)

Written only proponent testimony was submitted by:

  • Honorable Brenda Stoss, Municipal Court Judge, City of Salina, Kansas  (Attachment 11)
  • Greg Nickel, Kansas Municipal Judges Association Treasurer and Kansas Association for Court Management Past President  (Attachment 12)

Greg Smith, Special Deputy Sheriff for Governmental Affairs, Johnson County Sheriff's Office delivered testimony on behalf of Troy Mohror as neutral on the bill.  He said while he appreciates the time and effort it takes to collect known prints, the result can be worth it.  These statutes are what help build a large database of known prints which is central to their ability to generate investigative leads to law enforcement agencies and he would not want to see their ability to assist law enforcement investigations to be diminished because the number of reasons for which people are fingerprinted is reduced.   (Attachment 13)

Written only neutral testimony was submitted by:

  • Tim Danneberg, Director of External Affairs, City of Olathe, Kansas  (Attachment 14)
  • Robert Stuart, Executive Director, Kansas Bureau of Investigation  (Attachment 15)

Kelly Trussell, Chief of Prosecution testified in opposition to the bill and in particular to the amendment that was made on the Senate floor.  This bill as amended would significantly impact the operations of municipal prosecutors.  Ms. Trussell said the wording of the amendment itself is vague and problematic as well as being unnecessary.  She said her office works hard to provide an equitable judicial system and when relevant and admissible evidence is presented to prosecution, they review it and she believes most prosecutors across Kansas do this as it is part of their obligation to ethically present a case. (Attachment 16)

Nathan Eberline, Executive Director testified in opposition to the bill.  The League of Kansas Municipalities had no opposition to the original intent of the bill which dealt exclusively with fingerprinting requirements for municipal courts.  The bill was amended on the Senate floor to include provisions relating to new evidentiary-review requirements by city attorneys of audio and video submissions by defendants.  This change occurred without an opportunity to provide feedback and the result creates undue burdens on city attorneys while offering no tangible benefits to defendants.  (Attachment 17)

Michael Koss, City Attorney testified in opposition to an amendment made on the Senate floor to the bill.  Section 1 of the bill would open the floodgates to the introduction of irrelevant information, strain resources of municipal prosecution offices and seriously harm the ability to efficiently process municipal court cases.  (Attachment 18)

Written only opponent testimony was submitted by:

  • Jim Benage, Mayor, City of Bel Aire, Kansas  (Attachment 19)
  • Russ Kessler, Mayor, City of Haysville, Kansas  (Attachment 20)
  • Shawn DeJarnett, City Attorney, City of Wellington, Kansas  (Attachment 21)
  • Christopher Towle, City Attorney, City of Newton, Kansas  (Attachment 22)
  • Jennifer Mangana, City Attorney, City of Wichita, Kansas  (Attachment 23)
  • Sean McLaughlin, City Attorney, City of Lenexa, Kansas  (Attachment 24)
  • Dick Carter on behalf of the City of Shawnee, Kansas  (Attachment 25)
  • Stuart Little on behalf of the cities of Prairie Village, Mission, Merriam, Roeland Park and Westwood Hills, Kansas  (Attachment 26)
  • Stephen Angermayer, Attorney  (Attachment 27)
  • Katie Jackson, City Attorney, City of Manhattan, Kansas  (Attachment 28)
  • Tom Powell, City Attorney, City of Maize, Kansas  (Attachment 29)
  • Ron Shaver, City Attorney and Chad Sublet, City Prosecutor, City of Olathe, Kansas  (Attachment 30)
  • Randy Frazer, City Manager, City of Arkansas City, Kansas  (Attachment 31)

The Chair closed the hearing on SB318.  The meeting was adjourned at 3:09 PM.