Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

Kansas Senate Bill SB255 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	Session of 2025
2	2	SENATE BILL No. 255
3	3	By Committee on Federal and State Affairs
4	4	2-10
5	5	AN ACT concerning crimes, punishment and criminal procedure; enacting
6	6	the second look act; relating to sentencing; authorizing certain inmates
7	7	in the custody of the secretary of corrections to petition the court that
8	8	originally sentenced such inmate for a resentencing hearing.
9	9	Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
10	10	Section 1. (a) This section shall be known as the second look act.
11	11	(b) An inmate in the custody of the secretary of corrections described
12	12	in this subsection may file a verified petition as provided in subsection (c).
13	13	Such petition may be filed:
14	14	(1) After 10 years have elapsed from the date of sentencing if the
15	15	inmate was less than 25 years of age on the date the offense was
16	16	committed;
17	17	(2) after 15 years have elapsed from the date of sentencing if the
18	18	inmate was 25 or more years of age but less than 50 years of age on the
19	19	date the offense was committed;
20	20	(3) after 10 years have elapsed from the date of sentencing if the
21	21	inmate was 50 or more years of age on the date the offense was
22	22	committed;
23	23	(4) after 10 years have elapsed from the date of sentencing if the
24	24	inmate is a veteran and the veteran status of the defendant was not
25	25	considered at sentencing;
26	26	(5) after 10 years have elapsed from the date of sentencing and the
27	27	inmate completed any rehabilitative programming that was required as part
28	28	of the original sentence; and
29	29	(6) on the effective date of a legislative enactment that was not made
30	30	retroactive but that would have reduced the inmate's sentence if the law
31	31	was made retroactive.
32	32	(c) A verified petition for resentencing shall be filed in the district
33	33	court in the county where the inmate was convicted of the offense for
34	34	which with inmate is requesting resentencing. The petition shall include:
35	35	(1) The inmate's full name;
36	36	(2) the inmate's full name at the time of conviction if different from
37	37	the inmate's current name;
38	38	(3) the conviction for which the inmate is requesting resentencing;
39	39	(4) the date of conviction for the offense for which the inmate is
40	40	1
41	41	2
42	42	3
43	43	4
44	44	5
45	45	6
46	46	7
47	47	8
48	48	9
49	49	10
50	50	11
51	51	12
52	52	13
53	53	14
54	54	15
55	55	16
56	56	17
57	57	18
58	58	19
59	59	20
60	60	21
61	61	22
62	62	23
63	63	24
64	64	25
65	65	26
66	66	27
67	67	28
68	68	29
69	69	30
70	70	31
71	71	32
72	72	33
73	73	34
74	74	35
75	75	36 SB 255 2
76	76	requesting resentencing; and
77	77	(5) the original criminal case number of the case associated with the
78	78	conviction for which the inmate is requesting resentencing.
79	79	(d) When the petition is filed, the court shall set a date for a hearing
80	80	on such petition and cause notice of the hearing to be given to the county
81	81	or district attorney in the county where the petition is filed.
82	82	(e) The county or district attorney shall notify any victim of the
83	83	offense for which the inmate has requested a hearing for resentencing who
84	84	is alive and whose address is known or, if the victim is deceased, the
85	85	victim's family if the family's address is known. The victim or the victim's
86	86	family shall have the right to testify at the hearing but shall not be
87	87	compelled to testify or provide discovery to the inmate.
88	88	(f) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of article 68 of chapter 21 of
89	89	the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto, if the court finds
90	90	good cause to resentence the inmate, the court may impose a new sentence
91	91	that:
92	92	(A) Reduces the total length of the sentence;
93	93	(B) releases the inmate from the custody of the secretary of
94	94	corrections and adds the remainder of such inmate's sentence to such
95	95	inmate's postrelease supervision term; or
96	96	(C) discharges the inmate from the remainder of the defendant's
97	97	sentence.
98	98	(2) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any portion of a
99	99	sentence imposed that is a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment.
100	100	(g) If the court denies a petition under this section, the inmate shall
101	101	not file another petition under this section until five years have elapsed
102	102	after such denial, unless a shorter time period is authorized by the court in
103	103	an order denying a petition.
104	104	Sec. 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
105	105	publication in the statute book.
106	106	1
107	107	2
108	108	3
109	109	4
110	110	5
111	111	6
112	112	7
113	113	8
114	114	9
115	115	10
116	116	11
117	117	12
118	118	13
119	119	14
120	120	15
121	121	16
122	122	17
123	123	18
124	124	19
125	125	20
126	126	21
127	127	22
128	128	23
129	129	24
130	130	25
131	131	26
132	132	27
133	133	28
134	134	29
135	135	30