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Montana committee hears bill to raise writ-of-execution fee, directing extra $5 to district courts
Summary
Sponsor Sen. Russ Temple and a county court clerk told the Senate Local Government committee SB103 would raise the fee for issuing a writ of execution from $5 to $10, with the additional $5 retained by district courts to help cover supplies and staff costs; no opponents spoke and the hearing closed with no committee questions.
Senator Russ Temple (sponsor) opened a hearing on Senate Bill 103, saying the bill raises the fee for issuing a writ of execution from $5 to $10 and directs the additional $5 to the district courts rather than the State General Fund.
Elizabeth Ball, Clerk of District Court in Rosebud County and president of the Montana Association of Clerks of District Court, described why the increase matters to counties. Ball said the writ fee had been $1 in 1895 and remained $5 more than a century later; she told the committee the additional revenue would fund local court supplies, staff and services that counties currently provide without extra tax levies. Ball said SB103 “proposes that the $5 increase be kept by the District Courts while the original $5 continues to go to the State General Fund.”
Ball also provided the committee a handout explaining common district court fees, how writs are executed and returned for filing, and comparative fees in neighboring states, noting some counties elsewhere charge substantially higher sums for similar services.
The chair solicited additional proponents, opponents and informational witnesses; none appeared. With no committee questions, Senator Temple offered brief closing remarks and the chair closed the hearing on SB103.
Next steps: SB103 was heard and is awaiting executive action; the committee did not take a vote during the hearing.
