The 2020 Legislative Session

As always, KCSDV worked to advocate on behalf of the interests of survivors. We offered testimony on several important issues, and we were on track to create some significant changes in the state. However, everything unexpectedly shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bills on which we worked have been set aside, and with our partners, we will address them again next year.

Three bill highlights that we look forward to advocating for again next year:
1. House Bill (HB) 2646 was designed to increase adequate tracking for missing and murdered Indigenous women, a first step in addressing this issue in Kansas.

2. Senate Bill (SB) 404 would have created a process for terminating the parental rights of a rapist to a child conceived through rape.

3. HB 2467 would have finally removed the spousal exception to sexual battery from Kansas statutes.

KCSDV also spent some time advocating against the passage of other legislation. The most notable was SB 157. This bill would create a presumption in favor of 50/50 shared parenting time. The bill did contain an exception for cases of domestic violence. Even with the exception, the creation of a presumption in favor of shared parenting time would create a significant hurdle for survivors to overcome to keep themselves and their children safe. We will continue to oppose this measure in any form in the future.

Despite the abrupt ending to this year’s legislative session, we were able to have significant conversations with legislators about the important issues that survivors across Kansas still face. Any opportunity we have to work with those who have the ability to enact laws that result in real change is a victory for survivors across the state. As always, please contact KCSDV with any suggestions for legislative priorities for next year.

This project was supported by Grant No. 2019-MU-AX-0021 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.