Committee hears mixed evidence on recidivism as HB 2527 targets off-site work release for certain offenders
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Summary
During a February committee hearing on HB 2527, proponents pointed to long-term studies and underreporting of child victimization to argue certain offenders should be barred from off-site work-release; witnesses described both program benefits and data complexity. No vote was held on the bill.
The Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice continued its hearing on HB 2527 in February 2026, focusing on whether certain offenders should be prohibited from participating in work-release placements off Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) property.
Representative Barrett, speaking in favor of narrowing the bill, told the panel the amendment would apply to people convicted of a level-5 felony or greater and to certain offenses against minors, and would bar participation in chain-gang work, state-fair and state-lake activities, and off-site work-release placements. He argued the measure is a public-safety mitigation while individuals remain in KDOC custody. "When recidivism is measured by new arrests or convictions within a short time frame, we are, measuring detected crime, not the actual victimization," Barrett said, urging the committee to consider long-term follow-up studies.
Barrett cited national research and long-term follow-ups showing reoffense risk can persist for decades, saying a Pritzke and colleagues study found reconvictions as far as 10 to 31 years after release and that short follow-up periods "significantly underestimate true recidivism." He acknowledged limitations in the data, including persistent underreporting of child victimization, and framed the amendment as a way to mitigate risk while people remain in state custody.
Opposing portions of the bill, conferee Ratzlaff described a long-running, supervised choir program that combined volunteers and minimum-security inmates and traveled off-site for concerts. Ratzlaff said the program "never had an issue" in 30 years and warned that anticipation of the bill has already "crippled" programs that provide outside supervised contact. He said his experience was anecdotal and that program participants helped with rehabilitation and community reintegration.
Miss Johnson summarized a comprehensive, 70-year literature review on sexual-offender recidivism and cautioned against simplistic conclusions: "On the whole, for all [sexual] offenses, recidivism rates are lower for [these offenses] than all other crimes taken as a whole," she said, stressing variation by offender type, measurement method, follow-up period and context.
Committee members pressed for more specific state-level data and legal context. Representative Smith asked whether Kansas had residency restrictions for registered offenders; legislative research later located the relevant statute (KSA 49-13) and said a statewide prohibition on local residency restrictions remains in effect with a subsequent carve-out to be clarified for the committee.
No motion or final committee action was taken on HB 2527 at the hearing. Chair closed the portion of the meeting on the release bill after receiving testimony and directed staff to circulate written memoranda from the Sentencing Commission and KDOC, which the committee relied on in the agencies' absence.
The committee scheduled follow-up work and a separate hearing on a correctional facility the next day.
