Committee reviews bill to ensure law enforcement gets probable-cause affidavits before warrants are served

The House Committee on Judiciary on March 5 heard from the Revisor's office and law enforcement on Senate Bill 186, a measure that would require affidavits or sworn testimony supporting probable cause to be made available to law enforcement prior to execution of a warrant or summons.

Jason Thompson of the Revisor's Office told the committee the bill would amend KSA 22-2302, the statute governing issuance of arrest warrants, by inserting language that makes clear affidavits and sworn testimony must be provided to law enforcement prior to execution. "So the bill provides there with the changes on lines 28 and 29 that those affidavits and sworn testimony shall be made available to law enforcement agencies prior to execution of the warrant or summons," Thompson said in his briefing.

Why it matters: Proponents say the change resolves an access problem created after the state adopted a new statewide court-management system. Sheriff Jeff Easter, representing the Kansas Sheriffs Association and Kansas Chiefs of Police Association, said the Office of Judicial Administration's rollout of the Odyssey system removed access platforms local agencies previously used to share affidavit information with law enforcement and that some jurisdictions now effectively have the same access as the general public.

"We are simply asking that OJA opens that portal to law enforcement so that we can electronically get the affidavit to do what we're required to do by statute," said Sheriff Jeff Easter, describing a workaround he had to create in Sedgwick County to fetch affidavits from the district attorney's office.

Committee discussion focused on whether the bill should be limited to the agency executing the warrant or available to all law enforcement statewide. Representative Carmichael asked whether the bill's wording — "law enforcement agencies" plural — would give unrelated agencies access to a county's warrants. Sheriff Easter said statewide access is necessary because warrants filed by one agency sometimes must be executed by another and because the Odyssey system is configured as a statewide platform.

No vote: The committee heard the reviser's briefing and proponent testimony and closed the hearing on Senate Bill 186 with no formal motion recorded to advance the bill during the meeting.

Ending: Committee members said they would ask further questions later if needed; the reviser stood by to answer technical questions about the statute's drafting and effective date.