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 13, 2023


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 137 by Senator Holscher
In accordance with KSA 75-3715a, the following fiscal note concerning SB 137 is
respectfully submitted to your committee.
SB 137 would create the crime of unlawful storage of a firearm, which would be defined
as storing or leaving a firearm that is not secured by a trigger lock mechanism; placed in a securely
locked safe, box, or other container; or placed in some other location that a reasonable person
would believe to be secure from any minor gaining access to the firearm. For the person who
unlawfully stored the firearm, a minor accessing the firearm would be a class C person
misdemeanor, a minor using the firearm to cause bodily harm to another person would be a severity
level 9, person felony, and a minor using the firearm to cause great bodily harm to or the death of
another person would be a severity level 5, person felony. The bill would outline several
exceptions, including if a minor unlawfully entered the area where the firearm was being stored or
if the firearm was used by a minor in lawful self-defense.
The Kansas Sentencing Commission estimates that enactment of SB 137 would result in
an increase of one, three, or four adult prison beds needed by the end of FY 2024 depending on
the scenario. By the end of FY 2033, four, nine, or 13 additional beds would be needed. The
current estimated available bed capacity is 9,428 for males and 936 for females. Based upon the
Commission’s most recent ten-year projection contained in its FY 2023 Adult Inmate Prison
Population Projections report, it is estimated that the year-end population will total 7,933 male
and 764 female inmates in FY 2023 and 8,043 male and 740 female inmates in FY 2024. The
Department of Corrections indicates enactment of the bill would have a negligible fiscal effect that
could be absorbed within existing resources.
The Honorable Kellie Warren, Chairperson
Page 2—SB 137

The Office of Judicial Administration indicates enactment of the bill could increase the
number of cases filed in district courts because it creates a new crime. This could increase the
time spent by district court judicial and nonjudicial personnel in processing, researching, and
hearing cases. Since the crime carries misdemeanor and felony penalties, there could also be more
supervision of offenders required to be performed by court services officers. The bill could also
result in the collection of supervision fees, docket fees, and fines, which would be deposited into
the State General Fund. However, the Office states a precise fiscal effect cannot be determined
until the Judicial Branch has had an opportunity to operate under the bill’s provisions.
The Attorney General states enactment of the bill could increase the number of cases that
are prosecuted, but a precise fiscal effect cannot be estimated at this time. Any fiscal effect
associated with SB 137 is not reflected in The FY 2024 Governor’s Budget Report.


Sincerely,

Adam Proffitt
Director of the Budget

cc: John Milburn, Office of the Attorney General
Scott Schultz, Sentencing Commission
Vicki Jacobsen, Judiciary
Randy Bowman, Department of Corrections