Committee hears bill to ban sheriff fees for serving protection orders

House Bill 21‑82 would add an exception to the statutory $15 fee sheriffs may charge for serving and returning process, providing that no fee shall be charged for service related to proceedings under the Protection from Abuse Act, the Protection from Stalking, ****** Assault, or the Human Trafficking Act, and for substantially similar out‑of‑state proceedings.

A reviser summarized the bill and the added committee provision extending the fee exemption to comparable out‑of‑state orders. Michelle McCormack, executive director of the Kansas Coalition Against ****** and Domestic Violence, testified in support and said the change would reduce barriers for victims seeking protection orders. “Victims and survivors of domestic and ****** violence should have the least amount of barriers possible in order for them, to get access to the tools that provide for their safety,” McCormack told the committee. She said the absence of a statutory prohibition has occasionally led some sheriff offices to attempt to charge the fee and that lacking the statutory clarity could threaten certification for certain federal grant programs tied to STOP (Services*Training*Officers*Prosecutors) funding.

McCormack said the issue is not frequently tracked but that, anecdotally, it has happened only “a handful of times” in her experience. Committee members noted the Judiciary’s fiscal comment that enactment would have no fiscal effect on State revenues or expenditures; the Association of Counties said it would decrease county government revenues but could not provide a precise estimate.

Ed Klump, representing the Kansas Sheriffs Association, said a survey of sheriffs did not find offices charging the fee for protection orders and described that exemption as common practice that this bill would codify. When senators asked whether out‑of‑state orders could be identified and served under the amendment, Klump explained the administrative process: orders from other states are often forwarded to Kansas sheriffs for service and, if the bill becomes law, Kansas sheriffs would not charge a process fee for serving those orders.

No neutral or opponent testimony was taken and the committee closed the hearing without immediate final action.

Why it matters: Proponents said codifying the fee exemption would remove a potential financial barrier for victims seeking protective orders and help maintain eligibility for federal STOP funding; opponents were not present and county associations noted a possible decrease in fee revenue.