A bill named after a 7-year-old Kansas City, Kansas, boy who died in 2015 was signed into law today by Gov. Laura Kelly.
House Bill 2158 contains Adrian’s Law, which requires visual observation of an alleged victim of child abuse or neglect as part of an investigation.
Adrian Jones, 7, died in November 2015 in a severe abuse case in Wyandotte County. His body was found in a barn with pigs. His father and stepmother were convicted in 2017 . Years of reported abuse had gone uninvestigated.
Adrian’s grandmother led a reform effort on child abuse laws. Adrian’s Law also was led by Rep. Louis Ruiz, D-31st Dist. Sen. Pat Pettey, D-6th Dist., served on a conference committee for the bill, which is online at http://kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/hb2158_enrolled.pdf.
The governor today also signed a bill, HB 2026, that creates a drug abuse treatment program for people on diversion, allowing them to receive services that would help them re-enter society.
Another bill, HB 2079, was signed into law today. It would transfer duties concerning address confidentiality program and the registration of charitable organizations from the secretary of state’s office to the attorney general’s office, http://kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/hb2079_enrolled.pdf.
It also includes the Kansas fights addiction program to prevent, reduce and treat substance abuse and addiction, and requires posting of a human trafficking awareness notice in businesses and public places.
Also signed today were House Bills 2224 and 2297. In 2224, the definition of infectious disease is expanded in laws related to crimes in which bodily fluids are transmitted from one person to another. In 2397, conflicting amendments are reconciled in some statutes.