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Senate approves warrant‑processing bill to find unpaid fines and recover revenue
Summary
Under SB 206 the state will pilot a contractor‑assisted warrants database to locate people with unpaid fines; sponsor said about 200,000 unpaid warrants equal roughly $350 million and described a two‑letter outreach strategy before returning matters to standard enforcement.
The Senate passed first substitute Senate Bill 206 on March 5, 2012, a measure that creates a warrants database and authorizes a contractor to cross‑reference public records to locate people with outstanding unpaid fines and warrants.
Senator Jenkins, presenting the bill, said the state has about 200,000 unpaid warrants tied to unpaid fines and that the outstanding balances “work out to be right around $350,000,000.” He described a contractor‑driven process that would identify updated addresses, send a notification letter advising recipients of outstanding warrants and request payment; if there is no response the case would return to the existing enforcement process.
Supporters said the approach would improve public safety by reducing the number of outstanding arrest warrants and also recover revenue. The Senate adopted an amendment clarifying implementation details and passed the bill under suspension of the rules.
What this means: the bill sets a framework to engage third‑party contractors to improve address information and prompt voluntary compliance for many cases that currently languish in court dockets and records systems; implementation will require rulemaking and procurement steps before operations can begin.
