Kansas House Bill HB2704

Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/4/26
• Refer: 2/4/26

Caption

Providing that amendments related to credit for time spent incarcerated are applicable to any sentence computed on or after October 20, 2023.

Summary

HB 2704 amends Kansas sentencing law governing jail credit and sentence computation. It requires courts, when imposing a sentence of confinement, to compute the sentence from a designated date that reflects credit for time the defendant spent incarcerated before disposition of the case. The bill also addresses revocations of probation or community corrections, directing that a defendant receive credit for time spent in a residential facility while on probation or in a community correctional residential services program. The bill adds a new rule for sentences computed on or after October 20, 2023: certain time periods may not be counted as presentence incarceration credit. Specifically, it excludes time already credited in another case when consecutive sentences are imposed, and it excludes time spent incarcerated in another jurisdiction if no hold was issued for the Kansas case. The bill states that jail credit does not reduce the statutory minimum or maximum term of confinement for the offense.

Impact

HB 2704 would amend K.S.A. 21-6615, the statute governing credit for time spent incarcerated, and would apply the new exclusions to any sentence computed on or after October 20, 2023. In practical terms, it affects how district courts, prosecutors, defense counsel, and the Department of Corrections calculate jail credit, parole eligibility, and conditional release dates. It also clarifies that credit for pre-sentence confinement and residential placement on probation cannot be used to shorten the lawful minimum or maximum sentence range.

Sentiment

The available record shows no committee transcript or vote history, so there is no documented debate or recorded opposition in the materials provided. Based on the bill’s sponsor and subject matter, the measure appears to be a technical sentencing clarification requested by the Kansas Department of Corrections rather than a broadly controversial policy change. The overall tone of the bill text is administrative and corrective, focused on standardizing sentence-credit calculations.

Contention

The main point of potential contention is the retroactive application to sentences computed on or after October 20, 2023, which could affect defendants whose credit calculations were made under prior practice. Another likely issue is the exclusion of credit for time served in another jurisdiction without a Kansas hold, and the exclusion of credit already applied in another case when consecutive sentences are imposed. Those provisions may be viewed by defendants and defense advocates as narrowing jail credit, while prosecutors and corrections officials may support them as preventing double credit and ensuring uniform sentence administration.