SESSION OF 2024
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 190
As Recommended by House Committee on
Judiciary
Brief*
House Sub. for SB 190 would amend law regarding civil
actions for wrongful conviction and imprisonment and related
compensation that may be awarded pursuant to the Wrongful
Conviction Act (Act).
Eligibility for Damages
The bill would amend the facts that must be proved by
the claimant to be entitled to damages in an action for
wrongful conviction. Current law provides that the claimant
must establish certain facts by a preponderance of the
evidence, including:
●The claimant was convicted of a felony crime and
subsequently imprisoned;
●The claimant’s judgment of conviction was
reversed or vacated and either the charges were
dismissed or the claimant was found to be not
guilty upon retrial;
●The claimant did not commit the crime or crimes for
which the claimant was convicted and was not an
accessory or accomplice to the acts that were the
basis of the conviction and resulted in a reversal or
vacation of the judgment of conviction, dismissal of
____________________
*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.kslegislature.org the charges, or finding of not guilty upon retrial;
and
●The claimant did not commit or suborn perjury;
fabricate evidence; or, by the claimant’s own
conduct, cause or bring about the conviction.
The bill would modify this list to instead require the
claimant prove, by a preponderance of the evidence:
●The claimant was convicted of a felony crime and
subsequently imprisoned;
●The claimant’s judgment of conviction was
reversed or vacated and:
○Either the charges were dismissed or, upon
retrial, the claimant was found to be not guilty;
○The claimant did not commit the crime or
crimes for which the claimant was convicted,
causing the conviction to be reversed,
vacated, or the charges to be dismissed; and
○The claimant was not an accessory or
accomplice to the acts that were the basis of
the conviction;
●The claimant did not commit or suborn perjury or
fabricate evidence [Note: Continuing law would
provide a confession or admission later found to be
false or a guilty plea would not constitute perjury];
and
●The claimant’s own conduct, including any action
taken by the claimant before, during, or after the
commission of the acts that served as the basis for
the claimant’s conviction, did not contribute to,
cause, or bring about the conviction.
2- 190 Monetary Damages
Current law awards monetary damages to claimants on
a yearly basis at a rate of $65,000 per year of imprisonment,
and at least $25,000 for each additional year served on
parole or postrelease supervision, or each additional year
registered as an offender under the Kansas Offender Registry
Act, whichever is greater. Under the bill, damages would be
awarded on a daily basis at a rate of $180 per day of
imprisonment, and $70 for each additional day served on
parole or postrelease supervision or each additional day
registered as an offender.
The bill would also allow damages awarded at a rate of
$110 per day for each day spent under house arrest, and
would specify a claimant would not be entitled to
compensation for any period of lawful imprisonment or house
arrest served concurrently by the claimant for another crime.
The bill would specify compensation for days of
imprisonment would only include days spent in the custody of
the Secretary of Corrections and any time served in jail
awaiting post-trial transfer to the Department of Corrections
(KDOC).
Fees, Costs, and Other Non-Monetary Relief
Current law allows the court to award reasonable
attorney fees and costs and other non-monetary relief, such
as counseling, housing assistance, financial literacy
assistance, tuition assistance, and State health care benefits.
The bill would make clarifying changes to these awards, as
follows.
Attorney Fees and Costs
If compensation is awarded to a claimant, current law
provides the claimant is also entitled to reasonable attorney
fees and costs not to exceed a total of $25,000, unless a
3- 190 greater reasonable total is authorized by the court upon a
finding of good cause. The bill would remove the good cause
exception and increase the limitation on attorneys fees and
costs that may be awarded to $100,000.
Housing Assistance
The bill would clarify any housing assistance awarded
pursuant to the Act would be in the form of monthly payments
to a rental facility or financial institution in an amount not to
exceed $2,000, and for a period of time not to exceed five
years. The bill would specify this five-year limitation would
also apply to any housing assistance offered to the claimant
by way of reentry services through KDOC.
Counseling
The bill would define “counseling” to mean services for
mental health, career placement, substance abuse, disability
rehabilitation, and family renunciation.
Appeals
Current law provides that a district court’s decision in a
wrongful conviction action may be appealed directly to the
Kansas Supreme Court. The bill would remove this provision.
[Note: Removing this provision would make appeals in these
actions consistent with standard appellate procedure, which
provides that decisions of a district court are appealed to the
Kansas Court of Appeals.]
Background
The House Committee on Judiciary recommended a
substitute bill incorporating amended provisions of HB 2780,
pertaining to wrongful conviction compensation.
4- 190 SB 190, as amended by the Senate Committee of the
Whole, would have amended law to require persons charged
with a felony to execute a waiver of extradition as a condition
of bond. [Note: These provisions were not retained in the
substitute bill.]
HB 2780 – Wrongful Conviction Compensation
The bill was introduced by the House Committee on
Judiciary at the request of a representative of the Office of the
Attorney General (OAG).
House Committee on Judiciary
In the House Committee hearing, a representative of the
OAG provided proponent testimony, stating the bill would
address conflicting interpretations of the Act that have arisen
in district courts and improve the administration of
compensation under the Act.
Written-only opponent testimony was provided by a
representative of the Midwest Innocence Project.
No other testimony was provided.
The House Committee amended the bill to remove the
contents of SB 190 and insert contents of the HB 2780, with
the following amendments:
●Removing language excluding actions pursuant to
the Act on the basis of ineffective assistance of
counsel;
●Making technical changes to the structure of non-
monetary relief provisions; and
●Removing the definition of “housing assistance.”
[Note: A portion of this definition was added to the
5- 190 non-monetary relief provisions to clarify what
constitutes housing assistance.]
Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on HB 2780, as introduced, the OAG indicates
enactment of the bill would reduce State General Fund (SGF)
expenditures from the agency’s Tort Claims Fund by an
unknown amount due to the additional restrictions that would
be placed on claim eligibility.
The Judicial Branch indicates enactment of HB 2780
has the potential to decrease the number of cases filed in
district courts. This may decrease agency operating
expenditures due to the reduction of time spent by district
court judicial and nonjudicial personnel in processing,
researching, and hearing cases. However, the Judicial
Branch is unable to calculate an exact estimate of this effect.
The bill has the potential to decrease the collection of docket
fees, fines, and supervision fees, which are deposited in the
SGF; however, the size of this reduction is unknown.
KDOC indicates that enactment of the bill would have no
fiscal effect on its operations. Any fiscal effect associated with
enactment of HB 2780 is not reflected in The FY 2025
Governor’s Budget Report.
Crimes; criminal procedure; bond; extradition
6- 190