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HB 2008

An Act providing for School-Based Youth Court Pilot Program and for awarding grants; establishing the Youth Court Program Account; and making a transfer.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Heather Boyd and 13 co-sponsors

HB 2008 adds certain juvenile corrections officer roles to KPERS as correctional employees, aligning statute with current practice and preserving retirement benefits.

Referred to Judiciary
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Bill Summary · HB 2008

HB 2008 — Summary (Kansas, 2025 session)

Status: Referred to House Committee on Financial Institutions and Pensions
Introduced: January 22, 2025 (sponsors: Rep. Proctor et al.)
Primary change: Amend K.S.A. 74-4914a and 74-4914e (and repeal existing sections)

Purpose / intent

HB 2008 would amend Kansas law to explicitly include certain juvenile corrections officer job classes within the statutory definition of “security officer” for purposes of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) — Correctional Employees Group. The change clarifies that those juvenile corrections positions qualify for the KPERS correctional employee retirement rules, benefits and employer contribution rates.

Key provisions

  • Amends K.S.A. 74-4914a to define “security officer” to include employees in juvenile corrections job classes (listed examples: juvenile corrections officer I (A), juvenile corrections officer I (B), juvenile corrections officer II, juvenile corrections officer III) and related successor job classes with substantially the same duties.
  • Specifies that employees promoted from listed job classes into higher/administrative correctional positions (e.g., wardens, deputy wardens, juvenile facility superintendents, work release supervisors, training officers, corrections administrator — security specialist) may retain security-officer status if they had at least three consecutive years of service in qualifying positions immediately prior to promotion.
  • Retains (and codifies) other categories already treated as security officers — positions involving operation of power plants, correctional industries, food service supervision, or maintenance supervision within correctional institutions that require regular contact with inmates.
  • Amends K.S.A. 74-4914e definitions to reflect that a “correctional employee” includes security officers and other Department of Corrections employees with regular contact with inmates or juvenile offenders; preserves related disability and service‑connected retirement provisions (including defined service‑connected benefits).
  • The bill repeals the prior versions of the amended sections and restates the statutory definitions and benefit rules with the added juvenile corrections language.

Who is affected

  • Juvenile corrections officers and related job classes employed by the Department of Corrections (these employees would be explicitly treated as members of the KPERS Correctional Employees Group).
  • Department of Corrections (as KPERS employer for these positions).
  • KPERS administration and potentially current/future retirees and beneficiaries whose eligibility or benefit calculations depend on classification as correctional employees.

Fiscal impact / implementation

  • Division of the Budget fiscal note (Jan. 27, 2025) reports no fiscal effect. The Department of Corrections indicated HB 2008 merely codifies the current KPERS classification for juvenile correctional officer positions — these employees were authorized to move into the KPERS-Corrections Group effective July 1, 2023 (based on prior legislation that recognized the Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex). As a result, employer KPERS contributions for these employees are already being paid by the Department of Corrections; HB 2008 would formalize that status in statute without changing contribution levels.

Procedural notes / related legislation

  • Referred to House Committee on Financial Institutions and Pensions (current status per bill information).
  • Companion bill: SB 625 (listed as related).
  • Bill amends/updates K.S.A. 74-4914a and 74-4914e and repeals prior versions of those sections.

If enacted, HB 2008 would mainly serve to remove any remaining statutory ambiguity by explicitly placing specified juvenile corrections positions within the KPERS Correctional Employees Group — aligning statute with current administrative and payroll practice (per the fiscal note).

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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