Panel hears bill to require warrants be provided to compensated sureties and to change forfeiture remission rules

Senate Bill 157 would require sheriffs to make failure-to-appear warrants available to compensated sureties who posted appearance bonds, change the factors for setting aside bond forfeiture and add a mandatory remission provision if a defendant is returned to custody within 180 days.

Reviser staff told the committee the bill amends KSA 22-2807, adding a requirement that sheriffs make a copy of a warrant available to the compensated surety and updating the conditions under which a court must set aside a forfeiture. The bill also would require the court to remit 95% of the amount of the appearance bond if the defendant is returned to custody within 180 days.

Senator Stephen Owens, who testified as a proponent and described experience coordinating out-of-state fugitive recovery, said compensated sureties and their agents need access to a copy of the warrant when pursuing a defendant across jurisdictions: "When we go out of state to make that arrest ... it really is imperative that we have access to a copy of that warrant." Owens said the remission provision preserves incentives for sureties to continue locating defendants after a forfeiture judgment rather than immediately paying a full judgment and losing incentive to pursue the defendant.

Shane Rolfe of the Kansas Bail Agents Association said the change should be narrow and that the remission provision should apply when the defendant was actually deported by the federal government (not merely absent). He described operational difficulties of proving removal from the country and said family-provided deportation paperwork or ICE records are typically required.

Sheriff Jeff Easter (Sedgwick County), testifying for the Kansas Sheriffs Association and the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police, asked the committee to amend the bill language to change "has left the country" to "was deported from this country," saying deputies and US Marshals have borne extradition costs in previous cases and that a bonding company should not be relieved of responsibility where the company elected to bond a high-risk defendant. Sheriff Easter also requested that copies of warrants be provided by the clerk of the district court (the office that receives the judge's warrant) to make distribution clear and administratively feasible.

Aaron Breitenbach, deputy district attorney (Sedgwick County), opposed the bill as drafted and asked that the bill require a showing of due diligence by a surety seeking relief when a defendant is absent. He also recommended that the 95% remission figure be reconsidered as too generous and suggested looking to large jurisdictions for workable remission schedules. Breitenbach said courts should insist that sureties demonstrate they reasonably relied on available documentation (e.g., a lawful ID or lack of ICE hold) when bonding a defendant.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about how to prove deportation and whether the clerk or sheriff should provide the copy to the surety. Conferees indicated they were open to drafting amendments; the hearing closed with no committee vote recorded in the transcript.

Votes at a glance: No committee vote recorded on Senate Bill 157; hearing closed.