Legislation

During last summer’s town halls, we saw a phenomenal outpouring of civic engagement from our communities. Kansans from across the state tuned in, showed up, and provided comment on redistricting. Two themes came across loud and clear…

The ACLU of Kansas supports the passage of HB 2133 restricting the use of so-called “no-knock warrants” as a first step toward banning this dangerous practice. No-knock warrants rely on the element of surprise and, because of this, they can have tragic consequences.

The ACLU of Kansas supports the passage of the proposed bill prohibiting the unjustified shackling of juveniles appearing before Kansas courts. Shackling children causes physical and emotional damage while creating bias against them in court, infringing upon their rights…

We support HB 2025 as a positive step to protect Kansans from unwarranted surveillance and invasions of privacy, because government surveillance and monitoring by Kansas law enforcement agencies has the potential to erode Kansans’ First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment Rights.

HB 2226 offers much needed reform that will have tremendous benefits for people that have touched the criminal legal system by removing unnecessary barriers to reentry. The ACLU not only supports expungement, but views this legislation as a critical tool for increasing public safety.

This bill is a positive step forward because it allows a person’s sentence to be deemed completed and eligible for expungement regardless if the person still owes fines, fees, or restitution. This bill requires the court to prohibit the denial of expungement for inability to pay…

We support SB 7 as a positive step in ongoing criminal justice reform efforts in Kansas. This bill is sound policy because it affirms that terminally ill people no longer pose a public safety risk. Releasing people within 120 days of death is humane as those individuals are clearly very sick.

We support HB 2030 as it represents a positive step in ongoing criminal justice reform efforts in Kansas. This bill could impact the aging population of our prisons. An estimated 19% of the Kansas prison population is age 50 or older.

We support HB 2192 as a positive step toward giving Kansans on probation the tools and resources necessary for success. Simply lacking the requisite documents to get a valid driver’s license should not be a roadblock to successfully completing probation in Kansas.