Senate committee adopts amendment to sextortion bill and sends it to the floor

Senator Lang presented Senate File 281, a bill addressing sextortion, and offered the A1 amendment. The amendment replaces proximate cause language with a "substantial factor" standard for sextortion resulting in great bodily harm, separates great bodily harm and death into separate clauses and increases the penalty when death results, and removes a linked awareness program so that public education work will be handled in separate legislation. Counsel and the senator discussed legal hurdles and co‑author work; Senator Lang said the changes align the bill with the other chamber.

Senator Pappas asked about the fiscal impact; the committee fiscal analyst, Mister Turner, reported the fiscal note showed no impact on prison beds because not enough cases are currently charged to significantly affect state correctional resources. The committee adopted the A1 amendment and then voted to recommend Senate File 281 (as amended) to pass and be referred to the Senate floor.

Next steps: the amended bill will go to the Senate floor for further consideration.