SB 186 Kansas Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Modifying elements in the crimes of sexual exploitation of a child, unlawful transmission of a visual depiction of a child and breach of privacy, prohibiting certain acts related to visual depictions in which the person depicted is indistinguishable from a real child, morphed from a real child's image or generated without any actual child involvement, prohibiting dissemination of certain items that appear to depict or purport to depict an identifiable person, requiring affidavits or sworn testimony in support of probable cause to be made available to law enforcement, requiring the statement of facts sufficient to show probable cause justifying a search warrant to be made by a law enforcement officer, requiring that certain prior convictions be considered when bond is being set for certain sex offenses and specifying minimum requirements and conditions for such bond; relating to appearance bonds, requiring warrants for failure to appear to be given to sureties, allowing bond forfeiture to be set aside in certain circumstances and requiring remission in certain circumstances and prohibiting a compensated surety from making a loan for certain portions of the minimum appearance bond premium required.

SB 186 requires law enforcement to have access to written statements or sworn testimony supporting probable cause before executing a warrant. After a warrant is executed, these documents can be shared with the defendant, their attorney, and the public, but sensitive information - such as victim identities, confidential sources, or details endangering safety - must be redacted. The bill establishes a five-day window for the defendant, their attorney, or prosecutor to request redactions or a seal on the documents. This change aims to balance transparency in criminal proceedings with protections for vulnerable individuals and ongoing investigations.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
Apr 2025
House Passage
Mar 2025
Signed into Law
Apr 2025
Introduced Feb 4, 2025 Signed Apr 11, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

As Amended by House Committee on Judiciary Enrolled · 7 edits · Apr 11, 2025
MODERATE
The bill was significantly rewritten to expand its scope from solely addressing sentencing guidelines and prior convictions to include new crimes regarding child sexual exploitation, artificial imagery, and privacy breaches, while also updating rules on search warrants and bond procedures.
Scope change
The bill's scope broadened from a focus on criminal history scoring to include new substantive crimes related to digital child exploitation and privacy, alongside procedural updates on warrants and bail.
SCOPE

Added new crimes for sexual exploitation of a child involving artificially generated visual depictions and morphed images of real children.

Added provisions prohibiting the dissemination of items that appear to depict identifiable persons.

Added specific exceptions for cable services in the crime of breach of privacy.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the requirement for probable cause affidavits to include a statement of facts sufficient to justify a search warrant.

Revised bond rules to allow forfeiture to be set aside if a surety proves the defendant was deported from the United States.

Prohibited compensated sureties from making loans for certain portions of the minimum appearance bond premium.

TECHNICAL

Updated the list of amended statutes to reflect the new substantive crimes and procedural changes.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
21
Key actions
15
Committee
8
Apr 11, 2025
Signed into law
Approved by Governor on Thursday, April 24, 2025
upper
Apr 10, 2025
Upper · Passed
Conference Committee Report was adopted; Yea 40, Nay 0
upper
Apr 10, 2025
Upper · Passed
Motion to suspend Joint Rule 4 (k) to allow consideration adopted
upper
Mar 27, 2025
Lower · Passed
Conference Committee Report was adopted; Yea 124, Nay 0, Absent 1
lower
Mar 27, 2025
Lower · Passed
Conference committee report now available
lower
Mar 24, 2025
Lower · Passed
Motion to accede adopted; Rep. Susan Humphries, Rep. Laura Williams and Rep. Dan Osman appointed as conferees
lower
Mar 24, 2025
Upper · Passed
Nonconcurred with amendments; Conference Committee requested; appointed Sen. Kellie Warren, Sen. Kenny Titus and Sen. Ethan Corson
upper
Mar 20, 2025
Lower · Passed
Emergency Final Action - Passed as amended; Yea 100, Nay 18, Absent 7
lower
Mar 20, 2025
Lower · Passed
Motion to advance to Emergency Final Action adopted
lower
Mar 20, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee of the Whole - Be passed as amended
lower
Mar 20, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee of the Whole - Committee Report be adopted
lower
Mar 19, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee Report recommending bill be passed as amended by House Committee on Judiciary
lower
Feb 20, 2025
Committee
Referred to House Committee on Judiciary
lower
Feb 20, 2025
Introduced
Received and Introduced
lower
Feb 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Emergency Final Action - Passed; Yea 40, Nay 0
upper
Feb 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee of the Whole - Be passed
upper
Feb 17, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee Report recommending bill be passed and placed on Consent Calendar by Senate Committee on Judiciary
upper
Feb 5, 2025
Committee
Referred to Senate Committee on Judiciary
upper
Feb 4, 2025
Introduced
Introduced
upper
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.