Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Division of the Budget
Landon State Office Building                                                                           Phone: (785) 296-2436
900 SW Jackson Street, Room 504                                                                        larry.campbell@ks.gov
Topeka, KS 66612                                 Division of the Budget                               http://budget.kansas.gov
Larry L. Campbell, Director                                                                          Laura Kelly, Governor


                                                     March 6, 2019


         The Honorable Russell Jennings, Chairperson
         House Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice
         Statehouse, Room 151-S
         Topeka, Kansas 66612
         Dear Representative Jennings:
                   SUBJECT:       Fiscal Note for HB 2284 by House Committee on Corrections and Juvenile
                                  Justice
                 In accordance with KSA 75-3715a, the following fiscal note concerning HB 2284 is
         respectfully submitted to your committee.
                   HB 2284 would create and amend penalties for the following crimes:
         1.        Unlawful interference with a healthcare provider would be a class A person misdemeanor;
         2.        Assault of a healthcare provider would be a class A person misdemeanor;
         3.        Aggravated assault of a healthcare provider would be a severity level six, person felony:
         4.        Battery against a healthcare provider engaged in the performance of the provider’s duty
                   would be a class A person misdemeanor;
         5.        Battery against a healthcare provider engaged in the performance of the provider’s duty or
                   intentionally causing human bodily fluid to make physical contact with a healthcare
                   provider engaged in the performance of the provider’s duty would be a severity level seven,
                   person felony;
         6.        Aggravated battery against a healthcare provider engaged in the performance of the
                   provider’s duty would be a severity level three, person felony;
         7.        Aggravated battery against a healthcare provider engaged in the performance of the
                   provider’s duty or intentionally causing human bodily fluid to make physical contact with
                   a healthcare provider engaged in the performance of such provider’s duty and the offender
                   has knowledge that the source of the human bodily fluid is infected with human
                   immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B, or hepatitis C at the time the offense is committed
                   would be a severity level four, person felony;
The Honorable Russell Jennings, Chairperson
Page 2—HB 2284

8.     The penalty for unlawful interference with a firefighter would be changed from a class B
       person misdemeanor to a class A person misdemeanor; and
9.     The penalty for unlawful interference with an emergency medical services attendant would
       be changed from a class B person misdemeanor to a class A person misdemeanor.
       HB 2284 has the potential for increasing litigation in the courts because of the new crimes
and changes in penalties created by the bill. If litigation would increase, the Office of Judicial
Administration indicates that there would be a fiscal effect on the operations of the court system.
However, it is not possible to estimate the number of additional court cases that would arise or
how complex and time-consuming the cases would be. The fiscal effect would most likely be
negligible and could be accommodated within the existing budget resources.
        The Kansas Sentencing Commission estimates that enactment of HB 2284 would result in
an increase of either five, ten, or 15 adult prison beds needed by the end of FY 2020. By the end
of FY 2029, an additional 11, 22, or 33 beds would be needed. The Commission’s estimates are
based on three scenarios. The current estimated available bed capacity is 9,056 for males and 915
for females. Based upon the Commission’s most recent ten-year projection contained in its FY
2019 Adult Inmate Prison Population Projections report, it is estimated that the year-end
population for available male capacity will be over capacity by 264 inmates in FY 2019 and 581
inmates in FY 2020. The Department of Corrections indicates it would require additional State
General Fund expenditures of either $9,060 for an additional five beds; $18,120 for an additional
ten beds; or $27,180 for an additional 15 beds in FY 2020 resulting from the enactment of HB
2284. Any fiscal effect associated with HB 2284 is not reflected in The FY 2020 Governor’s
Budget Report.


                                                     Sincerely,

                                                     Larry L. Campbell
                                                     Director of the budget


cc: Cody Gwaltney, Aging & Disability Services
    Joe House, EMS
    Janie Harris, Judiciary
    Scott Schultz, Sentencing Commission
    Linda Kelly, Corrections
Statutes affected: 
As introduced: 21-5412, 65-6111, 21-5413, 21-6325, 21-6326