Derek Schmidt

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is offering guidance on how the state's concealed carry law applies to buildings used as polling places on election days.

A legislative committee is recommending a bill to amend the state's so-called Hard 50 sentencing law. The changes would allow juries to decide if convicted murderers deserve 50 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

Under the old system, judges would decide if a crime warranted the harsher sentence of 50 years without parole. But the U.S. Supreme Court recently said judges can't make those decisions.

The bill would also apply some changes retroactively to past crimes. Some attorneys told the committee that it would be unconstitutional to do that.

A legislative committee is expected to meet Monday to begin work on modifying the state's so-called Hard 50 sentencing law.

A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling raised questions about whether the law could stand as-is. The Kansas law allows judges to sentence convicted murderers to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 50 years. The committee is headed by Representative Lance Kinzer, a Republican from Olathe. Kinzer says the committee will hold a public hearing on a fix proposed by Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

Kansas residents with concealed carry permits can now carry their weapons in Georgia.
 
Attorney General Derek Schmidt says that Georgia has become the 33rd state to honor permits issued in Kansas.
 
Kansas lawmakers passed new gun legislation this year that recognizes all valid out-of-state permits when a non-resident permit holder is traveling in Kansas. 
 
The new law also requires people with concealed carry permits who move to Kansas to obtain a state-issued concealed carry license.
The changes took effect in July.  
 

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has been appointed to a national committee focused on combating human trafficking.

Schmidt's office says he's the first Kansan to serve on the Human Trafficking Committee of the National Association of Attorneys General.

The appointment comes in the same year that Kansas legislators voted to strengthen the state's anti-trafficking law.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is holding a news conference Thursday to discuss his push for a special session of the Legislature.

Schmidt wants to revise the state's "Hard 50" sentencing law.

The law allows judges to sentence people convicted of first-degree murder to a minimum of 50 years in prison before they can seek parole.

The state Attorney General says a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision raised questions about the constitutionality of the Kansas law.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt says counties and cities that exempt themselves from a new law on concealed weapons need to change any "No Guns" signs on public buildings.

The law, which takes effect Monday, allows people with concealed-carry permits to bring their guns into public buildings that don't have adequate security, such as screening.

Many cities and counties have taken advantage of a provision letting them exempt their buildings for six months.