Kansas Judiciary Committee requests five bill introductions, schedules three hearings

The Committee on Judiciary on Oct. 12 recorded requests to introduce five legislative files and announced hearings this week on two House bills and a planned Thursday hearing on jailhouse-witness testimony.

The committee chair requested RS 0576, described as the annual review of exemptions under the Kansas Open Records Act, “on behalf of the office of reviser of statutes pursuant to KSA 45-229,” and asked whether there were objections; none were raised and the chair said the bill would be requested without objection. Representative John Schreiber requested RS 25RS0635 concerning the Offender Registration Act; Representative Melissa Barrett requested RS 25RS0636 to add artificial-intelligence-related language to statutes covering child-exploitation crimes and breach of privacy. Representative Brenda Wasinger requested 25RS0174, a House concurrent resolution authored by Representative Blake Carpenter that would add a new section to Article II of the Kansas Constitution to provide legislative oversight of executive-branch rules and regulations. Speaker Ron O'Neil requested 25RS0413 on behalf of the Kansas Policy Institute; that file would amend the Kansas Open Records Act to limit certain charges for copies of records.

Why it matters: the requests put a range of issues on track for committee hearings and potential drafting—open-records fees and exemptions, criminal statutes and registration requirements, and a proposed constitutional amendment changing how the Legislature reviews executive rules.

Most of the introductions were processed by unanimous consent. The committee chair said HB 2061 (infrastructure protection), introduced by Fred Patton, will be heard on Tuesday; HB 2062 (introduced by Representative Williams) is scheduled for Wednesday. The chair also said the committee plans to hold a Thursday hearing on a bill addressing jailhouse witnesses; that bill did not yet have a number and may be placed on the committee agenda after referral. The chair noted the committee did not plan to meet Friday but reserved the right to change that.

Committee members frequently used unanimous-consent language. Representative Barrett, when asking to request RS 25RS0636, said the language "updates language to both the child exploitation, crime as well as breach of privacy to include artificial intelligence, say aye." The chair and members raised no objections when requests were made and the items were entered for introduction.

The chair also explained the agenda was posted late because committee assistant Linae was absent Friday; members were asked to be prepared for the scheduled hearings on Tuesday through Thursday.

Votes at a glance

- RS 0576 (annual Open Records Act review): requested by Committee Chair (on behalf of the Office of Reviser of Statutes); outcome: requested without objection (consensus). - RS 25RS0635 (Offender Registration Act): requested by Representative John Schreiber; outcome: requested without objection (consensus). - RS 25RS0636 (add AI references to child exploitation/breach of privacy statutes): requested by Representative Melissa Barrett; outcome: requested without objection (consensus). - 25RS0174 (House concurrent resolution to add legislative oversight language to Article II of the Kansas Constitution; requested by Representative Brenda Wasinger on behalf of Representative Blake Carpenter): outcome: requested without objection (consensus). - 25RS0413 (amend Kansas Open Records Act to limit certain copy charges; requested on behalf of Kansas Policy Institute): requested by Speaker Ron O'Neil; outcome: requested without objection (consensus).

The meeting adjourned after confirmations of the upcoming schedule.