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 Division of the Budget http://budget.kansas.gov
Adam Proffitt, Director Laura Kelly, Governor


February 6, 2023


The Honorable Stephen Owens, Chairperson
House Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice
300 SW 10th Avenue, Room 546-S
Topeka, Kansas 66612
Dear Representative Owens:
SUBJECT: Fiscal Note for HB 2217 by House Committee on Judiciary
In accordance with KSA 75-3715a, the following fiscal note concerning HB 2217 is
respectfully submitted to your committee.
HB 2217 would amend the sentencing guidelines for nondrug felony crimes to include
language that if a finding beyond a reasonable doubt is made that an offender committed a person
felony because of such person’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin,
or sexual orientation, the sentence for such offense would be presumptive imprisonment. The
sentence would not be considered a departure from the sentencing grid and would not be subject
to appeal. The bill would also allow the court to impose an option nonprison sentence.
The Sentencing Commission does not track whether a felony offense was committed
against a person based on their actual or perceived race, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin,
or sexual orientation and indicates enactment of the bill may have an effect on prison beds, but the
effect cannot be determined.
The Office of Judicial Administration indicates enactment of the bill could extend the time
length of some trials because it could result in additional litigation to review more facts regarding
a case. This would increase time spent by district court judicial and nonjudicial personnel in
processing, researching, and hearing cases. However, a precise fiscal effect cannot be determined
because the amount of additional time cannot be estimated.
The Honorable Stephen Owens, Chairperson
Page 2—HB 2217

The Department of Corrections indicates enactment of the bill would not have a fiscal
effect. Any fiscal effect associated with HB 2217 is not reflected in The FY 2024 Governor’s
Budget Report.


Sincerely,

Adam Proffitt
Director of the Budget

cc: Randy Bowman, Department of Corrections
Vicki Jacobsen, Judiciary
Scott Schultz, Sentencing Commission


Statutes affected:
As introduced: 21-6804