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Minutes for SB385 - Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice
Short Title
Requiring registration as a sex offender for certain violations of the crime of breach of privacy.
Minutes Content for Tue, Mar 8, 2022
Chairperson Owens opened the hearing on SB385. Natalie Scott provided an overview of the bill. (Attachment 1) There were no questions for Ms. Scott.
Senator Kellie Warren testified in support of the bill. Senator Warren stated that SB385 is a common-sense bill that protects the privacy of all Kansans by eliminating a potential loophole in the Kansas Offender Registration Act that could be exploited by stalkers or other similar offenders. While these types of individuals may try to hide in the shadows to commit their crimes, this bill ensures they will not be able to do so once convicted. (Attachment 2). There were no questions for Senator Warren.
The chair asked that questions for the remaining conferees on this bill be held until all had testified.
Emily Lang testified in support of the bill. She shared her personal experience as a victim and the impact it had on her life. She said laws regarding privacy have failed to keep pace with the fact that mobile cameras on phones are in nearly everyone's possession. (Attachment 3)
Annabelle Davis testified in support of the bill. She shared her personal experience as a victim and the impact it had on her life. She stated the perpetrator was on probation for the same crime at the time she was victimized and that current laws are outdated and not current with the technology and accessibility individuals have to cameras and video recording. (Attachment 4)
Beth Heirigs testified in support of the bill. She shared her personal experience as a witness and as an advocate for a friend who had been victimized. (Attachment 5)
Jason Covington testified in support of the bill. He shared that while he was at the district attorney's office, he prosecuted sexual-motivated crimes for over 10 years and that the prevalence of breach of privacy crimes rose year after year. He said this was due in large part to the proliferation of smaller high quality inexpensive cameras easily obtained in the marketplace. Mr. Covington stated the typical perpetrator was often serial in nature and and it was common to find countless victims on their electronic devices spanning many different time periods at many different locations. (Attachment 6)
Christa Dubill testified in support of the bill. She shared her personal experience as a victim. She said she shared her story publicly to raise awareness and that she has learned from the district attorney's office how prevalent this sort of thing is, how often they see it, how tiny the cameras have gotten, and how hidden those cameras are. (Attachment 7)
Amber Burns testified in support of the bill. She shared her personal story as a victim and the impact it had on her life. (Attachment 8)
Heather Townsend testified in support of the bill. She shared she is the mother of a daughter who was a victim and she supports this bill that would require registration as a sex offender for certain violations of the crime of breach of privacy. (Attachment 9)
Written only testimony was submitted by Rebecca Rossman in support of the bill. (Attachment 10)
There were no questions for the conferees.
There was no neutral or opponent testimony.
Chairperson Owens closed the hearing on SB385.
