Kansas SB 91: Enacting the Kansas film and digital media industry production development act, providing a tax credit, sales tax exemption and loans and grants to incentivize film, video and digital media production in Kansas, establishing a program to be administered by the secretary of commerce for the purpose of developing such production in Kansas and requiring the secretary of commerce to issue reports on the economic impact of the act.

Bill Text

Session of 2025
SENATE BILL No. 91
By Senator Haley
1-28
AN ACT concerning civil actions; relating to actions for wrongful
conviction and imprisonment; providing for payment of interest;
directing the attorney general to file certain collateral actions;
amending K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 60-5004 and repealing the existing
section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 60-5004 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 60-5004. (a) As used in this section, "claimant" means a person
convicted and subsequently imprisoned for one or more crimes that such
person did not commit.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, a claimant may
bring an action in the district court seeking damages from the state
pursuant to this section.
(c) (1) The claimant shall establish the following by a preponderance
of evidence:
(A) The claimant was convicted of a felony crime and subsequently
imprisoned;
(B) the claimant's judgment of conviction was reversed or vacated
and either the charges were dismissed or on retrial the claimant was found
to be not guilty;
(C) the claimant did not commit the crime or crimes for which the
claimant was convicted and was not an accessory or accomplice to the acts
that were the basis of the conviction and resulted in a reversal or vacation
of the judgment of conviction, dismissal of the charges or finding of not
guilty on retrial; and
(D) the claimant did not commit or suborn perjury, fabricate
evidence, or by the claimant's own conduct cause or bring about the
conviction. Neither a confession nor admission later found to be false or a
guilty plea shall constitute committing or suborning perjury, fabricating
evidence or causing or bringing about the conviction under this subsection.
(2) The court, in exercising its discretion as permitted by law
regarding the weight and admissibility of evidence submitted pursuant to
this section, may, in the interest of justice, give due consideration to
difficulties of proof caused by the passage of time, the death or
unavailability of witnesses, the destruction of evidence or other factors not
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caused by such persons or those acting on their behalf.
(d) (1) The suit, accompanied by a statement of the facts concerning
the claim for damages, verified in the manner provided for the verification
of complaints in the rules of civil procedure, shall be brought by the
claimant within a period of two years after the: (A) Dismissal of the
criminal charges against the claimant or finding of not guilty on retrial; or
(B) grant of a pardon to the claimant.
(2) A claimant convicted, imprisoned and released from custody
before July 1, 2018, must commence an action under this section no later
than July 1, 2020.
(3) All pleadings shall be captioned, "In the matter of the wrongful
conviction of ________________."
(4) Any claim filed pursuant to this section shall be served on the
attorney general in accordance with the code of civil procedure.
(5) The suit for a the claim filed pursuant to this section shall be tried
by the court, and no request for a jury trial may be made pursuant to
K.S.A. 60-238, and amendments thereto.
(e) (1) Damages awarded under this section shall be:
(A) $65,000 for each year of imprisonment, except as provided in
subsection (e)(2); and
(B) not less than $25,000 for each additional year served on parole or
postrelease supervision or each additional year the claimant was required
to register as an offender under the Kansas offender registration act,
whichever is greater.
(2) A claimant shall not receive compensation for any period of
incarceration during which the claimant was concurrently serving a
sentence for a conviction of another crime for which such claimant was
lawfully incarcerated.
(3) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the court shall order
that the award be paid as a combination of an initial payment not to exceed
$100,000 or 25% of the award, whichever is greater, and the remainder as
an annuity not to exceed $80,000 per year. The claimant shall designate a
beneficiary or beneficiaries for the annuity by filing such designation with
the court.
(B) The court may order that the award be paid in one lump sum if
the court finds that it is in the best interests of the claimant.
(4) In addition to the damages awarded pursuant to subsection (e)(1),
the claimant:
(A) Shall be entitled to receive reasonable attorney fees and costs
incurred in the action brought pursuant to this section not to exceed a total
of $25,000, unless a greater reasonable total is authorized by the court
upon a finding of good cause shown;
(B) shall be entitled to receive interest on the damages awarded
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under this section from the date the suit for the claim was filed pursuant to
this secti