Judiciary committee reports several bills favorably, including scrap-metal and gift-card changes

March 6 — After the SB 222 hearing and other testimony, the House Committee on Judiciary worked and reported several bills favorably for passage.

Key bills and committee actions at a glance:

- Senate Bill 135 (precedence of child-related orders under the Protection From Abuse Act): Representative Vaughn offered a technical renumbering amendment to correct a subsection; the amendment was adopted. Representative Williams moved and Representative Schreiber seconded the motion to report SB 135 favorably for passage; the committee approved the bill as amended.

- Senate Bill 71 (criminal offenses related to commercial sexual exploitation): The committee adopted a drafting amendment clarifying the treatment of prior diversion agreements tied to city ordinances and the effective date language to preserve the policy on diversion agreements. Committee discussion included concern about removing city-level enforcement authority when the conduct becomes a felony; Representative Carmichael warned that eliminating municipal misdemeanor enforcement could reduce local prosecutorial options. Representative Williams moved, and Representative Barrett seconded, to report SB 71 favorably as amended; the committee approved the motion.

- House Bill 2349 (Scrap Metal Theft Reduction Act): The committee adopted an amendment that preserved the civil nature of most existing provisions but granted law enforcement authority to conduct site investigations at scrap metal dealers — a change supporters said will allow local law enforcement, rather than only the attorney general's office, to inspect premises and investigate suspected violations. Representative Curtis moved and Representative Ward seconded the motion to report HB 2349 favorably as amended; the committee approved.

- Senate Bill 53 (county law libraries): The committee approved changes to county law library board membership and an expansion of certain fee-expenditure authorities outside Johnson and Sedgwick counties. Representative Carmichael moved to report SB 53 favorably; a second was recorded and the committee approved the motion.

- Senate Bill 84 (criminal use of a financial card amended to include gift cards): The committee adopted a technical effective-date amendment and then voted to report SB 84 favorably for passage after Representative Williams moved and Representative Barrett seconded the motion.

A number of members asked that their affirmative vote be recorded in the minutes; multiple committee members spoke for and against various technical elements during floor debate. The chair said the committee expects a busy schedule in upcoming weeks and adjourned after the final votes.

The committee did not record formal roll-call tallies for the committee votes in the transcript beyond speaking the result (e.g., “the ayes do have it”).