SESSION OF 2023
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2216
As Amended by Senate Committee on Judiciary

Brief*
HB 2216, as amended, would remove, for a first-time
offender, the mandatory term of imprisonment for driving with
a driver’s license that was canceled, suspended, or revoked
for failure to appear in response to a traffic citation or failure
to pay fines or otherwise comply with a traffic citation.
Convictions for the offense would be subject to a mandatory
fine of at least $100. [Note: Current law provides a mandatory
fine of at least $100 and a minimum of five days’
imprisonment.]
The bill would also replace all references to
“imprisonment” with “confinement” and would make technical
amendments to ensure consistency in statutory phrasing.
The bill would be in effect upon publication in the
Kansas Register.

Background
The bill was introduced by the House Committee on
Judiciary at the request of a representative of the City of
Topeka.

House Committee on Judiciary
In the House Committee hearing on February 7, 2023,
representatives of the City of Topeka; the League of Kansas
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org
Municipalities; and a representative of the Kansas
Association of Chiefs of Police, Kansas Peace Officers
Association, and Kansas Sheriffs Association testified as
proponents of the bill, stating the mandatory penalty for
driving with a suspended license is excessive and places
hardships on individuals attempting to break the cycle of
poverty. The proponents also stated the narrowly tailored bill
retains a judge’s discretion to order jail time where justified.
Representatives from the cities of Overland Park and
Wellington and a private citizen provided written-only
proponent testimony. No other testimony was provided.

Senate Committee on Judiciary
In the Senate Committee hearing on March 21, 2023,
proponent testimony was provided by the Ellis County
Attorney; representatives of the City of Topeka and the
League of Kansas Municipalities; a representative of the
Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police, Kansas Peace
Officers Association, and Kansas Sheriffs Association; and a
private citizen. The proponents provided substantially similar
testimony as in the House Committee hearing.
Written-only proponent testimony was provided by
representatives of the cities of Overland Park and Topeka.
No other testimony was provided.
The Senate Committee amended the bill to make it
effective upon publication in the Kansas Register.

Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, as introduced, the Kansas Sentencing
Commission indicates enactment of the bill would have no
fiscal effect on prison bed space or workload of the
Commission, and the Office of Judicial Administration

2- 2216
indicates enactment would have a negligible fiscal effect on
the Judicial Branch.
Driver’s license; suspension; revocation; failure to appear; fines; traffic citation


3- 2216


Statutes affected:
As introduced: 8-262
As Amended by Senate Committee: 8-262
Enrolled - Law effective July 1, 2023: 8-262
Enrolled: 8-262