Topeka ? People who intentionally kill, maim or torture animals would face jail time and the stigma of a felony record under a bill endorsed Monday by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The measure addresses pet lovers’ and humane societies’ concerns that the state doesn’t take cruelty to animals seriously enough as a crime. The committee’s voice vote sent the measure to the Senate for debate, which is expected later this week.

The House Judiciary Committee has similar legislation before it, but didn’t act on its bill Monday and may not until senators are done with theirs.

The Senate bill mandates jail time of at least 30 days for someone who intentionally kills or seriously hurts an animal, outside of commercial livestock slaughtering, of course. It would permit judges to impose up to a year in jail in the most serious cases.

For some supporters, designating cruelty to animals as a felony instead of a misdemeanor is the key provision. Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City, who has sought that change for the past eight years, said society simply treats felons differently from people who have committed misdemeanors.

“I want them labeled,” Haley said after the committee’s meeting. “It sends a signal that we treat these offenses seriously.”

Since 1998, Haley has pushed a proposed “Scruffy’s Law,” named for a Yorkshire terrier burned and beaten to death in 1997 in Kansas City, Kan. The four men and boys, aged 17 to 21, were caught because they videotaped their actions.

But critics of Haley’s proposal noted that if legislators merely made cruelty to animals a felony instead of a misdemeanor, the penalty for a first offense – as it is with many low-level felonies – would be probation.

That led Sen. Phil Journey, R-Haysville, to propose “Magnum’s Law,” after a mixed-breed puppy found in August on a Wichita recycling bin. The dog was wrapped in wire and had cuts, a broken leg and chemical burns. The dog later died of its injuries.

Journey’s proposal, incorporated in the Senate committee’s bill, requires jail time and a psychological examination of an offender before sentencing. The bill requires the state to reimburse counties for holding such felons in their jails.

Neglecting animals, without any intentional cruelty, would remain a misdemeanor, however.