Kansas 2023-2024 Regular Session

Kansas Senate Bill SB240

Introduced
2/10/23  
Refer
2/13/23  

Caption

Amending the crime of aggravated endangering a child to increase the criminal penalties in certain environments where any person is distributing, possessing with intent to distribute, manufacturing or attempting to manufacture fentanyl-related controlled substances.

Impact

The amendment explicitly defines aggravated endangering a child, incorporating scenarios where children are placed in hazardous environments related to drug activity. The implications of this bill are significant, as it classifies aggravated endangering a child as a severity level 9 felony, subjecting offenders to more stringent sentencing. This change is aimed at deterring potential offenders by strengthening legal consequences and prioritizing child protection in cases involving substance misuse. The bill thereby reinforces the state's commitment to child welfare and enhancing criminal justice responses to drug-related offenses.

Summary

Senate Bill 240 is designed to amend existing state laws regarding the crime of aggravated endangering a child, specifically in relation to environments where fentanyl-related controlled substances are present. The bill proposes to increase the criminal penalties for those found in situations that pose a threat to children under the age of 18 where drugs are being distributed, manufactured, or possessed with intent to distribute. This legislative effort reflects the ongoing concern regarding the opioid crisis and its direct impact on vulnerable populations, particularly children.

Contention

While supporters of SB240 argue for the necessity of increased penalties to protect children from the dangers associated with drugs, potential points of contention focus on how these laws may be enforced and the ramifications on families dealing with substance abuse issues. Critics might raise concerns about the bill leading to the disproportionate criminalization of parents or guardians who may struggle with addiction, fearing that this could result in further stigmatization rather than addressing the root causes of substance abuse in families. The balance between child safety and supporting families in need is a delicate and complex issue that the bill must navigate.

Companion Bills

No companion bills found.

Previously Filed As

KS HB2398

Adding the placing of controlled substances into pills into the definition of manufacture, increasing the criminal penalties for manufacturing fentanyl and creating a special sentencing rule to make sentences for distributing fentanyl presumptive imprisonment.

KS SB414

Requiring certain persons on a third or subsequent conviction of driving under the influence to participate in a multidisciplinary model of services for substance use disorders, removing the requirement that municipal courts collect fingerprints from persons convicted of violating certain municipal ordinance provisions, amending the crime of aggravated endangering a child to increase the criminal penalties when bodily harm to the child results and when a child is in certain environments associated with fentanyl-related controlled substances, increasing the criminal penalties for unlawful distribution of fentanyl-related controlled substances, eliminating the element of concealment from the crime of breach of privacy related to installing or using a device to photograph or record another identifiable person under or through the clothing being worn by that other person or another identifiable person who is nude or in a state of undress, excluding certain types of incarceration time from being included in the allowance for time spent incarcerated when calculating a criminal defendant's sentence and updating the general terms of supervision for offenders on probation and postrelease supervision.

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 SB238

Increasing criminal penalties on drug-related crimes when the drug is fentanyl and creating special sentencing rules for mandatory imprisonment and additional terms of imprisonment for drug-related crimes when the drug is fentanyl or is attractive to minors because of its appearance or packaging.

KS SB413

Specifying criminal penalties for unlawful distribution of fentanyl-related controlled substances when distributed by weight or dosage unit.

KS A2473

Increases penalties for unlawfully manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing fentanyl.

KS A806

Increases penalties for unlawfully manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing fentanyl.

KS S112

Increases penalties for unlawfully manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing fentanyl.

KS SB239

Creating a special sentencing rule to add 100 months to a sentence for distribution of a controlled substance when the substance involved is fentanyl and the distribution causes the death of a child.

KS S442

Increases penalties for unlawfully manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing fentanyl.

Similar Bills

No similar bills found.