Attorney General Kris Kobach outlines priorities for 2023 legislative session

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach spoke with the media Thursday to share his plans for what he hopes to accomplish with the legislature.

Kobach was joined alongside Tony Mattivi, Kobach’s nominee to become the next KBI director, outlined his legislative agenda for 2023, which includes proposals to fight fentanyl deaths and organized crime activities.

According to their news release, Kobach plans to ask the Kansas Sentencing Commission to increase the penalties for the distribution of fentanyl and to create a new sentencing enhancement specifically for the crime of distribution of drugs if a death results. “This problem is likely to worsen,” Kobach said. “It’s not as if the fentanyl crisis is only a temporary thing that is fading now. It looks like it’s going to continue to get worse.” “We plan to ask the legislature for tools to help us address the problem,” Mattivi added.

Kobach is also asking legislators to create a task force to focus on organized retail crime. “We are creating an Organized Retail Crime Task Force that will include local law enforcement, our agency, as well as representatives of the retailers themselves be on the task force and share the intelligence they have,” Kobach said.

The Attorney General added that he is also prioritizing regulation of ESG investment, prohibit foreign ownership of land in Kansas and eliminate fees charged by the attorney general’s office to obtain a concealed carry permit.

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