Bill would require courts to provide sureties copies of warrants, change forfeiture and remittance rules

Summary

House Judiciary committee heard Senate Bill 157 to require courts to provide compensated sureties copies of failure-to-appear warrants upon request, add deportation as a proof to set aside forfeiture, and create a mandatory remittance schedule if defendants are returned to custody within set time frames.

Senate Bill 157 would require courts to make copies of warrants issued for failure to appear available to a compensated surety who deposited the appearance bond, and would change forfeiture and remittance rules for appearance bonds, the House Committee on Judiciary heard.

Jason Thompson, adviser in the Revisor—s Office, briefed the committee that SB 157 (KSA 22-2807) makes several changes to the statute governing forfeiture of appearance bonds. Thompson said the bill, as amended in the Senate Committee on Judiciary, clarifies that the court (not the sheriff) is responsible for making a copy of a failure-to-appear warrant available to the surety. He also said the bill would add deportation as a basis to set aside a forfeiture, would remove the requirement that the defendant be arrested for the prosecuting attorney to decline extradition in some circumstances, and would require the court to remit 95% of the bond to the obligor if the defendant is returned to…

Bill would require courts to provide sureties copies of warrants, change forfeiture and remittance rules

Summary

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