Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

Kansas House Bill HB2401

Introduced
3/5/25  

Caption

Providing that prior convictions of a crime that is determined unconstitutional by an appellate court shall not be used for criminal history scoring purposes unless the basis of the determination of unconstitutionality by the appellate court is later overruled or reversed.

Impact

If enacted, HB 2401 would significantly alter the landscape of criminal history evaluations in Kansas. Currently, prior convictions contribute to an individual's criminal history score and can impact sentencing outcomes. By excluding unconstitutional convictions, the bill seeks to promote fairness and justice within the judicial system, allowing offenders who were penalized under invalid laws to have their pasts treated with greater leniency. This aligns with a larger trend in criminal justice reform, focusing on reducing recidivism driven by outdated and unjust legal precedents.

Summary

House Bill 2401, proposed in the state of Kansas, addresses the treatment of prior criminal convictions that have been deemed unconstitutional by appellate courts. The bill stipulates that such convictions shall not be counted for criminal history scoring purposes, unless the ruling of unconstitutionality is later overturned or reversed by a higher court. This legislative attempt aims to reform sentencing practices by acknowledging the wrongful application of laws that no longer hold constitutional validity.

Contention

However, the bill is not without its contention. Critics may argue that the exclusion of certain convictions could undermine public safety or lead to perceived leniency for repeat offenders. There may be concerns regarding the subjective nature of determining which convictions are unconstitutional and the potential for abuse of these provisions by defendants attempting to evade responsibility for their actions. The bill's supporters, on the other hand, champion it as a necessary reform to rectify historical injustices within the criminal justice system, and as a necessary measure for promoting rehabilitation over punishment.

Companion Bills

No companion bills found.

Similar Bills

KS SB174

Increasing the criminal penalties for battery of a healthcare provider, adding the placing of controlled substances into pills into the definition of manufacture, increasing the criminal penalties for manufacturing fentanyl and for manufacturing or distributing any controlled substances that are likely to be attractive to minors because of their appearance or packaging, creating a special sentencing rule to make sentences for distributing fentanyl presumptive imprisonment, excluding materials used to detect the presence of fentanyl, ketamine or gamma hydroxybutyric acid from the definition of drug paraphernalia, adding domestic battery and violation of a protection order to the crimes that a person can have the intent to commit when committing burglary or aggravated burglary, increasing criminal penalties for the crime of interference with law enforcement when the violation involves fleeing from a law enforcement officer and authorizing the attorney general to prosecute certain crimes that are part of an alleged course of criminal conduct that occurred in two or more counties.

KS HB2067

Increasing the felony loss thresholds for certain property crimes to match the crime of theft.

KS SB186

Modifying elements in the crimes of sexual exploitation of a child, unlawful transmission of a visual depiction of a child and breach of privacy, prohibiting certain acts related to visual depictions in which the person depicted is indistinguishable from a real child, morphed from a real child's image or generated without any actual child involvement, prohibiting dissemination of certain items that appear to depict or purport to depict an identifiable person, requiring affidavits or sworn testimony in support of probable cause to be made available to law enforcement, requiring the statement of facts sufficient to show probable cause justifying a search warrant to be made by a law enforcement officer, requiring that certain prior convictions be considered when bond is being set for certain sex offenses and specifying minimum requirements and conditions for such bond; relating to appearance bonds, requiring warrants for failure to appear to be given to sureties, allowing bond forfeiture to be set aside in certain circumstances and requiring remission in certain circumstances and prohibiting a compensated surety from making a loan for certain portions of the minimum appearance bond premium required.

KS HB2816

Prohibiting entering or remaining on and knowingly making false statements to gain access to animal facilities and field crop production areas, providing penalties therefor and removing the intent to destroy property in the farm animal and field crop and research facilities protection act.

KS HB2047

Senate Substitute for HB 2047 by Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources - Requiring approval of livestock brand applications by the animal health commissioner, increasing the maximum amount for brand registration and renewal fees, prohibiting entering or remaining on and knowingly making false statements to gain access to animal facilities and field crop production areas, providing penalties therefor and removing the intent to destroy property in the farm animal and field crop and research facilities protection act.

KS SB389

Prohibiting entering or remaining on and knowingly making false statements to gain access to animal facilities and field crop production areas, providing penalties therefor and removing the intent to destroy property in the farm animal and field crop and research facilities protection act.

OR HB2473

Relating to criminal procedures; declaring an emergency.

KS SB550

Prohibiting persons under 21 years of age from purchasing and possessing semiautomatic rifles with high capacity ammunition magazines.