Kansas lawmakers pass trio of crime bills dealing with juvenile justice, fentanyl

Rep. Stephen Owens, a Republican from Hesston, spoke in support of changes to current Kansas Department of Corrections policy regarding juvenile offenders. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

TOPEKA — New bills passed in the last frenzied days of the legislative session would allow Kansans to seek potentially life-saving drug overdose treatment without fear of arrest, expand parameters for teenagers held in state custody and increase penalties for fentanyl-related crimes.

Senate Bill 420, which passed 113-1 in the House and 36-0 in the Senate, would establish work and educational program access for teenagers held in juvenile correctional facilities. Current law only allows the corrections secretary to grant leave to teens for medical services, or when reintegrating into the community accompanied by a staff member or other adult. The change would allow teens who meet the criteria to leave the facilities for beneficial educational or vocational programs not offered at the facilities.

Rep. Stephen Owens, a Hesston Republican who chairs one of the Legislature’s juvenile justice committees, pointed out that youths held at the state’s only juvenile correctional facility in Topeka eventually would be released anyway. State law allows for the holding of a young offender until the age of 22½ in a juvenile correctional facility.

“The vast majority are going to get out, a limited few will just cycle right into the adult facility,” Owens said Friday during negotiations on the bill. “This provides the mechanism for the Department of Corrections to allow those juveniles out under certain circumstances, to begin to reintegrate into society, get used to being around other people.”

Earlier versions of the legislation would have put guardrails on juvenile case limits. Current law allows for courts to extend a juvenile’s overall case length limit incrementally in cases of failure to complete an evidence-based program. Juvenile justice advocates have spoken against the practice because it can lead to quasi-indefinite probation.

An early form of the bill also would have restricted courts’ ability to extend case lengths, and would have set a time limit on how long cases can be extended.

Owens said the provision had to be removed during negotiations with Senate lawmakers. 

“Unfortunately, the Senate didn’t want to have that in there,” Owens said Friday during bill discussion in the House.

Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita Democrat and one of the lawmakers tasked with shaping juvenile justice policies, called the resulting piece of legislation a “salvage job.”

“This is what happens when the Senate just doesn’t do its work,” Carmichael said. “… And so we were in a situation where we could really stand by what you all voted for and get nothing or we could salvage what we could. This is a salvage job, but I’m gonna vote for it.”

Citing alarm over the spread of fentanyl in the state — the extent of which is unknown — lawmakers approved two bills meant to combat fentanyl overdoses.

Senate Bill 414 would increase criminal penalties for distribution of fentanyl-related substances. It also would add fentanyl to the list of drugs included under the crime of child endangerment. Allowing a child to be in an environment where the person knows or suspects fentanyl is present would come with a heightened charge.

The bill passed 114-0 in the House and 36-0 in the Senate.

Senate Bill 419, which passed 114-0 in the House and 36-0 in the Senate, would put a Good Samaritan law in place, providing exceptions from drug and alcohol charges for those who call for help from law enforcement or emergency medical services when someone requires life-saving intervention in cases of overdose. The legislation marks a significant change from current practice, where people who call for help for themselves or others during overdoses can be arrested.

All three bills will go to the governor for consideration.

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