Read the full stored bill text
As Amended by Senate Committee
{As Amended by House Committee of the Whole}
As Amended by House Committee
Session of 2026
HOUSE BILL No. 2594
By Committee on Judiciary
Requested by Steve Kearney on behalf of Kansas County and District Attorneys
Association
1-29
AN ACT concerning crimes, punishment and criminal procedure; relating
to blackmail; modifying the elements related to threatened
dissemination of any videotape, photograph, film or image{, video or
other recording} of another identifiable person who is nude or
engaged in sexual activity by removing changing the connection to
breach of privacy and describing the content of the videotape,
photograph, film or image {, video or other recording}; amending
K.S.A. 21-5428 and repealing the existing section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 21-5428 is hereby amended to read as follows: 21-
5428. (a) Blackmail is intentionally gaining or attempting to gain anything
of value or compelling or attempting to compel another to act against such
person's will, excluding sexual contact, sexual intercourse or conduct
that is of a sexual nature, by threatening to:
(1) Communicate accusations or statements about any person that
would subject such person or any other person to public ridicule, contempt
or degradation; or
(2) disseminate any videotape, photograph, film or image obtained in
violation of K.S.A. 21-6101(a)(6) or (a)(8), and amendments thereto,
video or other recording:
(A) Obtained in violation of K.S.A. 21-6101(a)(6), and
amendments thereto; or
(B) of another identifiable person who is nude or engaged in sexual
activity, including, but not limited to, any videotape, photograph, film or
image, video or other recording that has been created, in whole or in
part, altered or modified by artificial intelligence or any digital means to
appear to depict or purport to depict such identifiable person, regardless
of whether such identifiable person was involved in the creation of the
original image, video or other recording.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
HB 2594—Am. by SC 2
(b) Blackmail as defined in:
(1) Subsection (a)(1) is a severity level 7, nonperson felony; and
(2) subsection (a)(2) is a severity level 4, person felony.
{(c) As used in this section, "image, video or other recording"
means any photograph, film, video picture, digital or computer-
generated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic,
mechanical or other means.}
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 21-5428 is hereby repealed.
Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book Kansas register.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10