By Jessica Larson

KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA – In recent years, bullying has become cyberbullying, and stalking has become cyberstalking. Legislation to protect Kansans from such crimes has struggled to keep up with the changing climate, but a bill passed in the House this week will change this.

The House passed a bill 113-11 to further legal protection for Kansans against crimes committed on electronic devices.

Rep. Barbara Ballard, D-Lawrence, supported House Bill 2501 and said electronics are specified because they can create crimes that have never existed.

“Most of the laws that were written years and years ago did not address electronics. We didn’t have cyber sex crimes or anything like that,” Ballard said.

HB 2501 broadens definitions of crimes in Kansas, including blackmail, to include distribution of materials online. It also prohibits the dissemination of private photos in cyberspace without consent.

“These crimes are new,” Ballard said. “And they are new every day.”

Shawn Sullivan, director of the budget, wrote in a fiscal note that the bill could result in additional charges in existing cases. He said it could also create more revenue for the state through docket fees and fine revenue.

The House Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice introduced the bill at the request of the Kansas attorney general’s office. There were no opponents to the bill during public hearings.

The bill will be heard in the Senate next. The Kansas Sentencing Commission said in a supplemental note that if the bill passes the Senate, it could result in a higher prison population. This information is based on the commission’s Prison Population Projection report, which estimates that Kansas prisons will exceed their capacity for male prisoners in 2017 by 516 inmates.

 

– Edited by Leah Sitz