# Kansas SB 459: Removing the prisoner review board from the supervision of the secretary of corrections, changing the appointing authority and creating qualifications for the members of the board and requiring parole hearings to be postponed if proper notice of the public comment session is not made to the victim.

Kansas SB 459, Removing the prisoner review board from the supervision of the secretary of corrections, changing the appointing authority and creating qualifications for the members of the board and requiring parole hearings to be postponed if proper notice of the public comment session is not made to the victim., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Committee on Judiciary; status signed, last action 2026-04-09 (Enrolled and presented to Governor on Monday, March 30, 2026); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-17).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-SB459-2025-2026
- As of: 2026-10-17
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Kansas SB 459
- State: Kansas
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session
- Title: Removing the prisoner review board from the supervision of the secretary of corrections, changing the appointing authority and creating qualifications for the members of the board and requiring parole hearings to be postponed if proper notice of the public comment session is not made to the victim.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-02-03
- Last action: 2026-04-09, Enrolled and presented to Governor on Monday, March 30, 2026
- Sponsor: Committee on Judiciary
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: house committee on corrections and juvenile justice, senate committee on judiciary
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 6 (378 yes, 28 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 4

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Parole board members get compensation benefits: benefit, high. Beginning July 1, 2026, full-time board members receive annual pay equal to 70% of a district judge’s salary. Members also receive reimbursement for actual work travel and necessary official expenses. Eligible members can choose an agency contribution equal to 8% of salary for a deferred-compensati…
- Victims get notice before parole decisions: benefit, low. For off-grid or class A felony cases, corrections officials must send written notice at least one month before the public comment session. Notice goes to the victim, or a deceased victim’s family, when the county or district attorney knows the address. If required notice is missing, the board must…
- Serious offenses require unanimous parole approval: cost, low. Every board member must vote yes to grant parole for an off-grid felony, class A felony, or legally defined sexually violent crime. This requires approval from the whole board, not just a panel. In parole reviews generally, the board no longer has to consider state prison capacity.
- Independent parole board gains more members: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, Kansas’s Prisoner Review Board becomes independent of the Department of Corrections and grows from three members to five. The governor appoints three members, and the attorney general appoints two; members generally need Senate confirmation before exercising board powers. On…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Committee on Judiciary

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-23 | Senate | Yea: 32 Nay: 7 | pass | 32 | 7 | 1 |
| 2026-04-23 | Senate | Yea: 124 Nay: 0 | pass | 124 | 0 |   |
| 2026-04-23 | Senate | Yea: 33 Nay: 7 | pass | 33 | 7 |   |
| 2026-03-26 | Senate | Concurred with amendments in conference | pass | 32 | 7 | 1 |
| 2026-03-18 | House | Emergency Final Action - Passed as amended | pass | 124 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-18 | Senate | Final Action - Passed as amended | pass | 33 | 7 |   |

## Actions (22)

- 2026-04-09: Enrolled and presented to Governor on Monday, March 30, 2026 (Senate)
- 2026-04-07: Approved by Governor on Tuesday, April 7, 2026 (Senate)
- 2026-03-26: Concurred with amendments in conference; Yea 32, Nay 7 (Senate)
- 2026-03-23: Nonconcurred with amendments; Conference Committee requested; appointed Sen. Kellie Warren, Sen. Kenny Titus and Sen. Ethan Corson (Senate)
- 2026-03-23: Motion to accede adopted; Rep. Bob Lewis, Rep. Bradley Barrett and Rep. Tobias Schlingensiepen appointed as conferees (House)
- 2026-03-18: Committee of the Whole - Committee Report be adopted (House)
- 2026-03-18: Committee of the Whole - Be passed as amended (House)
- 2026-03-18: Motion to advance to Emergency Final Action adopted (House)
- 2026-03-18: Emergency Final Action - Passed as amended; Yea 124, Nay 0, Absent 1 (House)
- 2026-03-17: Committee Report recommending bill be passed as amended by House Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice (House)
- 2026-03-02: Hearing: Monday, March 2, 2026, 1:30 PM — Room 546-S (House)
- 2026-02-24: Received and Introduced (House)
- 2026-02-24: Referred to House Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice (House)
- 2026-02-18: Final Action - Passed as amended; Yea 33, Nay 7 (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Committee of the Whole - Committee Report be adopted (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Committee of the Whole - Motion to Amend - Offered by Sen. Chase Blasi (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Committee of the Whole - Amendment by Sen. Chase Blasi was adopted (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Committee of the Whole - Be passed as further amended (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Committee Report recommending bill be passed as amended by Senate Committee on Judiciary (Senate)
- 2026-02-09: Hearing: Monday, February 9, 2026, 10:30 AM — Room 346-S (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Referred to Senate Committee on Judiciary (Senate)
- 2026-02-03: Introduced (Senate)

## Bill text

- As Amended by House Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice: [PDF](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_459/sb459_03_0000.pdf)
- As Amended by Senate Committee on Judiciary: [PDF](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_459/sb459_01_0000.pdf)
- As Introduced: [PDF](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_459/sb459_00_0000.pdf)
- Enrolled: [PDF](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_459/sb459_enrolled.pdf)
- {As Amended by Senate Committee of the Whole}: [PDF](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_459/sb459_02_0000.pdf)

## Related bills

- SB 430: Adding mitragynine to schedule I of the uniform controlled substances act and reconciling multiple amendments to certain statutes in the Kansas criminal code. (signed)
- SB 82: Providing tax credits for expenditures for lockable gun and ammunition storage and the retail sale of higher ethanol blends of fuel, discontinuing the tax cred… (signed)
- SB 300: Providing for the apportionment of business income by manufacturers of alcoholic liquor depending on whether the taxpayer is a qualifying Kansas investor or a… (signed)
- HB 2029: Reconciling multiple amendments to certain statutes. (signed)
- HB 2018: Senate Substitute for HB 2018 by Committee on Federal and State Affairs - Creating the crime of interference with the conduct of a religious assembly, providin… (became law)
- HB 2036: Providing a Kansas income tax subtraction modification for certain amounts received as compensation for members of the armed forces. (failed)

## Sources
- [As Amended by House Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice (PDF)](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_459/sb459_03_0000.pdf)
- [As Amended by Senate Committee on Judiciary (PDF)](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_459/sb459_01_0000.pdf)
- [As Introduced (PDF)](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_459/sb459_00_0000.pdf)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_459/sb459_enrolled.pdf)
- [{As Amended by Senate Committee of the Whole} (PDF)](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_459/sb459_02_0000.pdf)

## Related
- [SB 430: Adding mitragynine to schedule I of the uniform controlled substances act and r…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-SB430-2025-2026)
- [SB 82: Providing tax credits for expenditures for lockable gun and ammunition storage…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-SB82-2025-2026)
- [SB 300: Providing for the apportionment of business income by manufacturers of alcoholi…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-SB300-2025-2026)
- [HB 2029: Reconciling multiple amendments to certain statutes.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-HB2029-2025-2026)
- [HB 2018: Senate Substitute for HB 2018 by Committee on Federal and State Affairs - Creat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-HB2018-2025-2026)
- [HB 2036: Providing a Kansas income tax subtraction modification for certain amounts rece…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-HB2036-2025-2026)
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- [Kansas state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/kansas)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-SB459-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-17).