Division of the Budget
Landon State Office Building Phone: (785) 296-2436
900 SW Jackson Street, Room 504 adam.c.proffitt@ks.gov
Topeka, KS 66612 http://budget.kansas.gov
Adam C. Proffitt, Director Laura Kelly, Governor
Division of the Budget
February 24, 2025
The Honorable Kellie Warren, Chairperson
Senate Committee on Judiciary
300 SW 10th Avenue, Room 346-S
Topeka, Kansas 66612
Dear Senator Warren:
SUBJECT: Fiscal Note for SB 239 by Senate Committee on Judiciary
In accordance with KSA 75-3715a, the following fiscal note concerning SB 239 is
respectfully submitted to your committee.
SB 239 would revise the Kansas Sentencing Guidelines for nondrug and drug crimes. The
bill would create a special sentencing rule to add 100 months to a sentence for the crime of
distribution of a controlled substance causing great bodily harm that causes the death of a person
less than 18 years of age. The bill would also add 100 months to a sentence for the crime of
cultivation or distribution of a controlled substance when the substance is fentanyl, and the
distribution causes the death of a person less than 18 years of age. For both crimes, the sentence
would not be considered a departure and would not be subject to appeal.
The Kansas Sentencing Commission states that based on 10-year prison projections, SB
239 could increase prison beds by four beds in FY 2035. As a result of the long sentences imposed
under current law, the bill’s effect would only occur in the final two years of the 10-year
forecasting period. The Department of Corrections indicates that enactment of the bill would
increase its marginal cost for additional housing by $2,165 beginning in FY 2027. Marginal cost
represents the cost to add one inmate to the population. Under the bill, inmates would stay longer
in prison.
The Office of Judicial Administration would have a negligible fiscal effect on agency
operations. Any fiscal effect associated with SB 239 is not reflected in The FY 2026 Governor’s
Budget Report.
The Honorable Kellie Warren, Chairperson
Page 2—SB 239
The Kansas Association of Counties indicates enactment of SB 239 could have a fiscal
effect on counties if there were an increase in charges or prosecution which would lead to
additional court proceedings. The Association is unable to estimate a precise fiscal effect on
counties.
Sincerely,
Adam C. Proffitt
Director of the Budget
cc: Scott Schultz, Kansas Sentencing Commission
Jennifer King, Department of Corrections
Jay Hall, Kansas Association of Counties
Trisha Morrow, Judiciary