Chairperson Humphries opened the Hearing on HB2352.
Jason Thompson, Office of Revisor of Statutes, shared the Bill Brief. (Attachment 1)
Mr. Thompson stood for questions.
Proponents:
Con Howerton, Pastor, Temple Baptist Church of Wichita, KS, testified that this bill aligns the laws of the church with both biblical duty and civic duty. He urged that we ought to always protect the children. In cases concerning their harm, silence is not spiritual, godly or righteous. Pastors need to be in the public trust. He supports this bill biblically, civically, and legally. (Attachment 2)
Joe Cheray, Private Citizen, shared testimony from the perspective of a sexual abuse survivor. Earlier in the day Ms. Cheray delivered information to each member of the Committee concerning the states that require clergy as mandated reporters. Kansas is one of 10 states that does not require them to report. (Attachment 3)
Amber Delcamp, Private Citizen, testified that Kansas kids deserve another layer of protection. She was surprised that no law covering this topic already exists. As priests serve as counselors in many Catholic schools, it seems best that they are required to be mandatory reporters the same as counselors in public schools. (Attachment 4)
Ellen Johnson, Private Citizen, shared that she believes this bill is necessary. She has had good experiences with the reporting tool online. Ms. Johnson also shared about personal experiences where mandatory reporting by clergy could have helped in her abuse situation and the childhood situation of her late partner. (Attachment 5)
The conferees stood for questions.
The Chairperson drew attention to the Proponent Written Only testimonies:
Chuck Weber, Executive Director, Kansas Catholic Conference (Attachment 6)
Nick Jefferson, City Attorney, City of Topeka (Attachment 7)
The Chairperson drew attention to the Neutral Written Only testimony.
Reverend Justin A. Panzer, President, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Kansas District (Attachment 8)
Chairperson Humphries closed the Hearing on HB2352.