2018 Legislative Session
ACLU Testimony: HB 2579
The ACLU of Kansas is pleased to support HB 2579. This bill would allow exonerated people to obtain government compensation for their wrongful conviction and imprisonment.
ACLU Testimony: SB 360
The ACLU of Kansas is pleased to support SB 360. This bill allows the release of video footage documenting specified law enforcement conduct upon the request of anyone, and with permission of the next of kin to any deceased individual portrayed in the video footage.
ACLU Testimony: HB 2566
The ACLU of Kansas strongly opposes HB 2566, which increases the criminal penalty for possession of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) products to be equivalent to marijuana possession.
ACLU Testimony: HB 2535
The ACLU of Kansas supports HB 2535. The Kansas Constitution and Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution both guarantee an individual right to speedy trial in any criminal prosecutor. This bill would promote this right by changing the number of days within which a criminal defendant must be brought to trial from 150 to 90 days.
ACLU Testimony: HB 2523
The ACLU of Kansas strongly opposes HB 2523. While the ACLU strongly supports police accountability measures, this bill takes the wrong approach by continuing to punish candidates for county sheriff with a prior misdemeanor conviction after they have served their sentences.
ACLU Testimony: HB 2453
The ACLU of Kansas opposes HB 2453. This bill would assess a fee on intermediate intervention programs for juvenile defendants, and use the proceeds to fund development and operation of such programs.
ACLU Testimony: HB 2459
The ACLU of Kansas supports HB 2459. This bill would amend existing law to better protect the rights of Kansans whose property is forfeited, as well as require any agency seizing property for forfeiture to submit reports to the Kansas bureau of investigation documenting information about the property.
2017 Legislative Session
ACLU Testimony: SB 128
The ACLU of Kansas is neutral on SB 128, which increases the penalties when individuals are convicted of committing hate crimes.
ACLU Testimony: 2115
The ACLU of Kansas and Kansans for Smart Justice, a 17-member coalition dedicated to criminal justice reform, strongly support HB 2115. HB 2115 precludes the state of Kansas from asking job applicants about criminal history, unless a determination is made that the job is one where that information is directly relevant.
ACLU Testimony HB 2063
The ACLU of Kansas and Kansans for Smart Justice, a 17-member coalition dedicated to criminal justice reform, strongly support HB 2115. HB 2115 precludes the state of Kansas from asking job applicants about criminal history, unless a determination is made that the job is one where that information is directly relevant.
ACLU Testimony - HB 2116
The ACLU of Kansas strongly supports HB 2116, which would require that an individual be convicted of a crime before being stripped of his/her property rights through asset forfeiture, makes changes to forfeiture procedures to better protect individual rights, enhances the reporting requirements related to forfeiture, and directs forfeiture proceeds to elementary and secondary education.
ACLU Testimony - HB 2018
The ACLU of Kansas strongly supports HB 2018, which would require that an individual be convicted of a crime before being stripped of his/her property rights through asset forfeiture.
ACLU Testimony - HB 2001
The ACLU of Kansas strongly opposes HB 2001, which would eliminate what little transparency and accountability currently exists in the state’s system of civil asset forfeiture.