Bill
HB 2173
Allows certain long-term registrants to petition a court to be removed from Kansas offender registry after meeting rehabilitation and safety criteria.
Authorizing certain offenders to petition for relief from registration requirements under the Kansas Offender Registration Act
Status and introduction
- Introduced: January 28, 2025 (requested by Rep. Schreiber).
- Current committee status (per bill header): Withdrawn from Committee on Calendar and Printing; rereferred to Committee on Judiciary.
- Proposed effective date: upon publication in the Kansas Register.
Purpose
- To create/clarify a statutory path allowing certain persons currently required to register under the Kansas Offender Registration Act to petition a district court to be relieved of continuing registration obligations—primarily addressing offenders affected by retroactive registration-term extensions made by 2011 legislation.
Key provisions
- Who may petition:
- Any offender who has continuously registered for at least 10 years following the most recent parole, discharge, or release, or (if never confined) 10 years after conviction/adjudication.
- Specifically includes persons convicted/adjudicated before July 1, 2011, who were not required to register at that time but became required due to retroactive application of section 6 of 2011 Ch. 95, and persons who originally had a 10‑year registration term but had it lengthened retroactively by that 2011 law.
- Exclusions:
- Offenders required to register in Kansas solely because of an out‑of‑state conviction/adjudication remain ineligible to petition here if the other jurisdiction still requires registration.
- Petition process and contents:
- Filed in the district court of conviction (or where the offender currently registers if not convicted in Kansas).
- Required petition details specified (identification, offense(s), conviction date/court, subsequent criminal history, treatment providers/agencies).
- Judicial Council to prepare a petition form; court must set a hearing and notify the county/district attorney and victims (if known).
- County/district attorney has access to confidential records; victims not compelled to testify.
- Evidence and burdens:
- Court may require a risk assessment for drug offenders (at the offender’s expense).
- Relief granted only upon clear and convincing evidence that:
1. No felony conviction (with limited exceptions) in the five years before filing and no pending such charges;
2. The offender’s history, behavior, and treatment demonstrate sufficient rehabilitation;
3. Registration is no longer necessary to promote public safety.
- Outcomes and limitations:
- If granted: court orders removal from registry; court must notify KBI and local registrants within 14 days; KBI removes offender from any public website.
- If denied: petitioner generally must wait 3 years to refile (unless court orders a shorter interval).
- Petitioners may combine this petition with an expungement petition if eligible.
Fiscal and operational impacts (from Division of the Budget / KBI)
- KBI estimates increased State General Fund expenditures of $159,266 in FY2026 and FY2027 to fund 2.0 Administrative Officer positions (processing removals).
- KBI data: 25,409 persons currently on registry; roughly 5,500 sex offenders and 1,500 violent offenders (≈7,000 total) could be eligible to petition based on pre‑2011 convictions. KBI estimates ~75 minutes of staff time per removal.
- Local revenue impact: counties/sheriffs collect $20 per offender per quarter; KBI estimates a potential loss of about $560,000 in local fee revenue if many are removed.
- Judicial Branch: potential increased workload for district courts; fiscal effect indeterminate.
- Criminal justice impact: Kansas Sentencing Commission expects decreased prison admissions/bed need and reduced workload, but totals are undetermined.
- KBI testified neutral that the change could risk Kansas’ compliance with the federal SORNA requirements and potentially affect federal justice assistance grant eligibility.
What the bill does not do
- It does not automatically remove any offender; relief requires court action and meeting statutory standards.
- It does not change registration obligations for offenders whose registration is required by another state’s law (unless that jurisdiction no longer requires registration).
Implications
- Provides a judicially supervised relief pathway for some long‑term registrants—especially those affected by retroactive 2011 changes—balancing rehabilitation and public safety standards.
- May create modest state administrative costs, potentially reduce local fee revenue, and raise federal compliance considerations (SORNA).
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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