SESSION OF 2024
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE
BILL NO. 2676
As Recommended by the House Committee on
Judiciary

Brief*
Sub. for HB 2676 would create the crime of encouraging
suicide and would establish penalties for the crime under the
Kansas Criminal Code.

Encouraging Suicide
The bill would define “encouraging suicide” as knowingly
encouraging a person to commit or attempt to commit suicide
when:
● Such person knows the other person has
communicated a desire to commit suicide;
● Encouragement of suicide is made proximate in
time to the other person committing or attempting
to commit suicide; and
● Such encouragement substantially influences the
other person’s decision or methods used to commit
or attempt to commit suicide.
Definitions
The bill would define “attempt to commit suicide” as any
physical action done by a person with the intent to commit
suicide.
____________________
*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
 For purposes of the new crime, the bill would define
“encouraging a person to commit or attempt to commit
suicide” as oral, written, or visual communication that is
persuasive or intended to be persuasive and that gives
advice to commit suicide, attempt to commit suicide, or
develop a plan to commit suicide.

Penalties
Encouraging suicide would be a severity level 5 person
felony if the other person attempts to commit suicide, and a
severity level 4 person felony if the other person commits
suicide.

Background
The bill was introduced by the House Committee on
Judiciary at the request of Representative Landwehr.
As introduced, the bill would have amended Kansas
Criminal Code provisions concerning the crime of assisting
suicide.

House Committee on Judiciary
In the House Committee hearing, proponent testimony
was provided by seven private citizens. The proponents
generally stated the bill would help reduce suicide deaths by
limiting the dissemination of harmful information and deter the
encouragement of suicide.
Written-only proponent testimony was provided by a
representative of the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police,
Kansas Peace Officers Association, and Kansas Sheriffs
Association and representatives of the Kansas Bureau of
Investigation, Kansas Catholic Conference, and Kansas
Mental Health Coalition.

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 Neutral testimony was provided by a private citizen. The
testimony addressed a website that provides information to
help facilitate suicide.
Opponent testimony was provided by a representative
of the State Board of Indigents’ Defense Services. The
opponent generally stated the bill would raise constitutional
concerns and limit free speech.
The House Committee replaced the original provisions
of the bill, which would have amended the crime of assisted
suicide, with language that would create a new crime and
would specifically:
● Make knowingly encouraging suicide a crime under
the Kansas Criminal Code;
● Define “attempt to commit suicide” and
“encouraging a person to commit or attempt to
commit suicide”;
● Establish the criteria for knowingly encouraging
suicide; and
● Establish penalties for encouraging suicide.
The House Committee recommended a substitute bill
incorporating the above provisions.

Fiscal Information
A fiscal note for the substitute bill was not immediately
available.
Crimes; suicide; assisting suicide; encouraging suicide; attempting suicide; felony


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Statutes affected:
As introduced: 21-5407