House amends bill on old warrants; lawmakers debate recall process and local court duties

The House considered Senate Bill 82, which would require courts to review long‑outstanding warrants that were not executed within a specified period. The committee substitute changed the required audit interval from annual to every five years. Lawmakers debated which courts should be responsible for the review and whether recall of warrants should be automatic.

Representative Hill explained the substitute and proposed an amendment removing circuit clerks’ obligation so municipal courts would handle review of older warrants for Class B and C misdemeanors. The House adopted that amendment. Representative Faulkner then offered a floor amendment giving the presiding judge discretion to review and recall warrants rather than mandating automatic recall; members discussed whether prosecuting attorneys or victims should receive notice prior to recall. The chair asked proponents to work out a notice provision; because the parties asked for more time to negotiate language, the sponsor asked to carry the bill to the call of the chair rather than completing floor action.

Members raised administrative concerns: how to notify victims and prosecutors, how to handle warrants tied to driver's‑license suspensions or unpaid traffic fines, and whether a mandatory recall would create perverse incentives for those who sought to evade arrest for minor violations. The bill was carried over to the call of the chair for additional drafting and negotiation.