SESSION OF 2019
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON SENATE BILL NO. 108
As Amended by Senate Committee of the Whole

Brief*
SB 108, as amended, would amend the penalties for the
crimes of involuntary manslaughter and abuse of a child and
a mitigating factor for sentencing when a victim is an
aggressor or participant in the criminal conduct associated
with a crime of conviction, as follows.

Penalties for Involuntary Manslaughter and Abuse of a
Child
The bill would amend the penalty for the crime of
involuntary manslaughter to raise it from a severity level 5 to
a severity level 3 person felony if the victim is under six years
of age.
The bill would amend the penalty for the crime of abuse
of a child to raise it from a severity level 5 to a severity level 4
person felony if the victim is under six years of age.
The bill would state these provisions would be known as
“Mireya’s Law.”

Mitigating Factor when Victim is an Aggressor or
Participant in Criminal Conduct
The bill would amend the statute setting forth a
nonexclusive list of mitigating factors that may be considered
by a sentencing court in determining whether substantial and
____________________
*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
compelling reasons for a departure sentence exist.
Specifically, the bill would amend a mitigating factor that may
be applied when the victim was an aggressor or participant in
the criminal conduct associated with the crime of conviction,
to prohibit the application of this factor to a sexually violent
crime or to electronic solicitation, when:
● The victim is less than 14 years of age and the
offender is at least 18 years of age; or
● The offender hires any person by giving, or offering
to or agreeing to give, anything of value to the
person to engage in an unlawful sex act.
Continuing law defines “sexually violent crime” to include
the following offenses:
● Rape;
● Indecent liberties with a child and aggravated
indecent liberties with a child;
● Criminal sodomy and aggravated criminal sodomy;
● Indecent solicitation of a child and aggravated
indecent solicitation of a child;
● Sexual exploitation of a child;
● Aggravated sexual battery;
● Aggravated incest;
● Aggravated human trafficking, if committed in
whole or in part for the purpose of the sexual
gratification of the defendant or another;
● Internet trading in child pornography or aggravated
internet trading in child pornography;
● Commercial sexual exploitation of a child; or
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 ● An attempt, conspiracy, or criminal solicitation of
the above offenses.
Background
As amended by the Senate Committee of the Whole, SB
108 contains the contents of SB 108, as amended by the
Senate Committee on Judiciary, regarding the penalties for
involuntary manslaughter and child abuse, and HB 2283, as
introduced, regarding the mitigating factor when the victim is
an aggressor or participant.

SB 108 (Penalties for Involuntary Manslaughter and Child
Abuse)
SB 108 was introduced by the Senate Committee on
Judiciary at the request of Senator Rucker. As introduced, the
bill would have raised the penalty for both crimes to a severity
level 3 person felony and would have added a presumption of
parental unfitness to the Revised Code for Care of Children
(CINC Code) upon the first conviction of either crime if the
victim was under six years of age.
In the Senate Committee hearing, a private citizen
testified in support of the bill. A representative of the
Department for Children and Families provided neutral
testimony regarding the CINC Code amendment. No
opponent testimony was provided.
The Senate Committee amended the bill to raise the
child abuse penalty to severity level 4 instead of severity level
3, remove the CINC Code provision, and name the bill
“Mireya’s Law.”
The Senate Committee of the Whole amended the bill to
add language taken from HB 2283, regarding a mitigating
factor.

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 According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on SB 108 as introduced, the Kansas Sentencing
Commission indicates enactment of the bill would increase
prison bed needs by between 2 and 10 beds by the end of FY
2020 and by between 6 and 35 beds by the end of FY 2029.
Based upon the Commission’s most recent 10-year
projections, it is estimated the year-end population for
available male capacity will be exceeded by 264 inmates in
FY 2019 and 581 inmates in FY 2020. The Department of
Corrections indicates an additional two beds in FY 2020
would require State General Fund expenditures of $3,624, an
additional five beds would require $9,060, and an additional
ten beds would require $18,120. Any fiscal effect associated
with enactment of the bill is not reflected in The FY 2020
Governor’s Budget Report.

HB 2283 (Mitigating Factor when Victim is an Aggressor
or Participant)
HB 2283 was introduced by the House Committee on
Corrections and Juvenile Justice at the request of the Office
of the Attorney General.
The House Committee held a joint hearing on HB 2283
and HB 2299, which would have made similar changes to the
same mitigating factor. Representative Holscher and
representatives of the Metropolitan Organization to Counter
Sexual Assault and the Office of the Attorney General testified
as proponents. A social worker and a citizen submitted
written-only proponent testimony. A representative of the
Kansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers testified as
an opponent.
At the time of Senate Committee of the Whole action on
SB 108, HB 2283 had been tabled by the House Committee,
and the House Committee had not taken further action on HB
2299.


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 According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on HB 2283, the Kansas Sentencing Commission
indicates enactment of the bill would result in additional
prison beds and admissions, but an effect cannot be
estimated. The Office of Judicial Administration indicates
enactment of the bill would have a negligible fiscal effect on
Judicial Branch operations. Any fiscal effect associated with
enactment of HB 2283 is not reflected in The FY 2020
Governor’s Budget Report.


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Statutes affected:
As introduced: 21-5602, 38-2271, 21-5405, 38-2266
As Amended by Senate Committee: 21-5405, 21-5602, 38-2271, 38-2266
{As Amended by Senate Committee of the Whole}: 21-5405, 21-5602, 38-2271, 38-2266, 21-6815