Senate committee considers 'squatters' bill to create sheriff-led removal process; action tabled

Senate File 558, a proposal to create a sheriff‑guided process for removing unauthorized occupants from private property, was presented and debated in the Senate Committee on Housing and Homelessness Prevention. The committee adopted an author's amendment to the bill but later laid the measure on the table.

Supporters said the bill—commonly described in testimony as a response to increasing reports of people occupying vacant cabins, outbuildings or rentals without the owner's permission—would give sheriffs a predictable, lawful procedure and immunities when they follow it. "This is a bill for the removal of unauthorized persons from real property," Senator Croon said while describing the bill's goals. He walked the committee through the bill's subdivisions, describing an owner's right to request removal, required verification and service procedures, a fee mechanism for sheriff time, an immunity provision for sheriffs who follow the process, and civil and criminal remedies for wrongful use of the process.

Proponents…