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Minutes for SB105 - Committee on Judiciary
Short Title
Prohibiting denial of a petition for expungement due to the petitioner's inability to pay outstanding costs, fees, fines or restitution.
Minutes Content for Wed, Feb 10, 2021
Jason Thompson presented a bill brief on SB105 explaining it prohibits denial of a petition for expungement due to the petitioner's inability to pay outstanding costs, fees, fines or restitution. Unwillingness to pay can be considered as a factor in denying such a petition, but not inability to pay. (Attachment 1)
Adam Proffitt submitted the fiscal note for SB105. (Attachment 2)
Scott Schultz submitted the prison bed impact statement for SB105. (Attachment 3)
Proponent, Oral
Ron Wurtz spoke in support of SB105 stating that there is a cycle that low income offenders cannot break because they cannot pay their fees, they cannot get a crime expunged and therefore they cannot get a better job which might let them pay those fees. He stated enacting this bill will help break that cycle. (Attachment 4)
Kendall Seal spoke in support of SB105 stating that it is an equitable solution to a problem. He recommended eliminating the unwillingness to pay language because unwillingness might be a misunderstanding of inability to pay and also recommended removing fees entirely. (Attachment 5)
Proponent, Written
- Michelle Y. Ewert, Washburn Law Clinic (Attachment 6)
- John Jenks, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce (Attachment 7)
There was discussion.
Stephanie Bunten gave neutral testimony on SB105 stating the bill lets the expungement happen before outstanding fees, fines or reimbursement are paid. The management system for collecting the debts needs to be addressed because the mechanics of debt collection are presently tied to payment before expungement. This would create a delay in payments and could cause a decrease in funding to the Judicial Branch. These fees are used to pay salaries and support costs of the Branch. (Attachment 8)
There was discussion.
There was no opposition testimony.
The hearing was closed.
