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Corrections committee agrees to sponsor peer-support, reentry and jail-credit bills
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Summary
The Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice agreed to sponsor multiple bills including a peer-support program with a $500,000 state transfer, a reentry-ID bill to help inmates get identification and employment documents before release, and statutory fixes for driving-privilege and jail-time-credit issues.
During the same hearing, members of the Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice unanimously agreed to sponsor several bills addressing corrections staffing, reentry and sentencing mechanics.
Representative Proctor asked the committee to sponsor 26RS2837, which the sponsor described as establishing a dedicated peer-support program and fund for the Kansas Department of Corrections and authorizing a transfer of $500,000 from the state general fund to finance mental-health, wellness and suicide-prevention training for corrections officers and staff. The chair asked for objections and, ‘‘seeing none,’’ the committee agreed to sponsor the bill.
Jennifer King, executive director of public affairs for the Kansas Department of Corrections, presented four additional bills the department supported. She described RS3066 as a measure requiring the Secretary of Corrections to assist inmates in obtaining identification and employment-related documentation prior to release — a reintroduction of prior-session legislation — and RS3126 as a proposal that would prohibit courts or division of vehicles from considering failure-to-comply sanctions more than five years old when determining suspended or restricted driving privileges. The committee sponsored each of those bills after brief discussion.
King also introduced clean technical proposals related to habeas counsel procedures and retroactivity for certain calculations of time spent in confinement; the committee likewise agreed to sponsor those measures. Later, the chair requested sponsorship of 26RS2594 to expand specialty courts into municipal courts and provide expungement on completion; the committee sponsored that measure as well.
Committee members indicated they plan further work on House Bill 25-27 at a follow-up session but took immediate action to back the peer-support and reentry bills so KDOC and other stakeholders can move forward with planning and outreach.
