Kansas committee hears testimony to let municipal courts run specialty treatment courts and offer expungement
Loading...
Summary
Witnesses told the House Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee that HB 2655 would allow municipal court judges to run specialty (treatment) courts and permit petition-based expungement when participants complete program requirements; proponents said the change would create an early intervention and lower barriers for low-income defendants.
TOPEKA — The House Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee on Wednesday heard testimony on House Bill 26 55, which would permit the chief judge of a municipal court to establish specialty (treatment) court programs and allow petition-based expungement of municipal convictions after successful program completion, proponents said.
Jason Thompson of the Reviser's Office told the committee the bill adds municipal courts to the existing specialty court framework and adds expungement language to the municipal conviction expungement statute to mirror district-court law. "When you complete the requirements of a specialty court program, you can petition the court for expungement of the conviction and related arrest records," Thompson said.
Municipal Judge Jason Maxwell of Liberal said his city's treatment court, in operation since 2019, is an "intensive" program for high-risk, high-need participants that typically runs at least 14 months and often about 18 months. Maxwell described program components that include residential or outpatient treatment, frequent random drug testing, curfews, ankle monitors for continuous alcohol monitoring and team staffing that includes a therapist, prosecutor, defense counsel, probation officer, law enforcement and court administration.
"They would earn their expungement if they get through," Maxwell said, framing expungement as an important incentive that encourages voluntary participation in a demanding program. He added the programs serve as an "earlier intercept," noting the average age of entry in his program is about 24.7, compared with a national average of about 34.
Committee members questioned operational details. Representative Smith asked how participants obtain driver's licenses and identification when many enter without ID or are homeless; Maxwell said the court partners with community donors, supported-employment efforts and a contracted probation officer who helps participants obtain identification and housing. On testing frequency, Maxwell said detection windows vary by drug and that methamphetamine clears the body much faster than long-term marijuana use, which is why frequent, random testing is used.
Marilyn Harp, a retired attorney who volunteers to help people with expungements and license restorations, urged the committee to consider giving municipal judges explicit authority to accept poverty affidavits to waive expungement filing fees. She told the committee municipal filing fees range from about $50 to $250 and can prevent low-income people from benefiting from sealing their records. "Our municipal courts handled 278,000 cases in 2025," Harp said, and she described filing fees as a practical barrier to housing and employment stability for low-income applicants.
No formal vote on HB 26 55 occurred in this meeting; the committee closed the hearing and moved to other business. Supporters told the panel the bill would bring municipal programs under state statutory authority, standardize expungement eligibility, and create a tangible incentive for participants to complete lengthy, resource-intensive treatment programs. Opponents or explicit fiscal impacts were not recorded in testimony during the hearing.
The committee indicated it would continue work on other bills and follow up on the topic in future sessions; no implementation timeline was set at the hearing.
