SESSION OF 2024
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON SENATE BILL NO. 473
As Amended by House Committee on Judiciary
Brief*
SB 473, as amended, would amend the Kansas Code of
Criminal Procedure to allow a notice to appear (NTA) to serve
as a valid complaint and would amend law related to
appearance bonds made in district courts.
Notice to Appear
Under the bill, a NTA could serve as a valid complaint
when it is signed by a law enforcement officer (LEO) and
meets the following criteria:
●The NTA is issued for any unclassified
misdemeanor or nonperson misdemeanor [Note:
Continuing law requires an NTA to contain the
notice and address of the person detained, the
crime charged, and the time and place when and
where such person shall appear in court.];
●A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) exists
between the County or District Attorney of the
jurisdiction where the NTA is issued and the law
enforcement agency who employs the LEO signing
the complaint; and
●The NTA is in compliance with the requirements of
the MOA and includes the contents for a complaint
as required by continuing law.
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org Compensated Surety Qualifications
The bill would add qualifications to law concerning the
qualifications for a compensated surety to secure appearance
bonds in district court.
Background Check, Fingerprinting
Under continuing law, the chief judge of a judicial district,
or their designee, approves persons or entities to act as a
compensated surety in the district court. The bill would allow
the chief judge to require a compensated surety to submit to
a state and national criminal history record check as part of
either initial or continued authorization.
Fingerprints obtained for the record check would be
used to identify the individual and to determine whether such
person has a criminal history record in Kansas or any other
jurisdiction. The bill would allow the chief judge to submit the
fingerprints to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and
the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a state and national
criminal history record check.
The bill would allow the chief judge to use the
information obtained from fingerprinting and the records
check to verify the identification of the individual and to
determine whether the person is qualified to act as a
compensated surety in the judicial district.
Disclosure or use of any fingerprint or records check
information for purposes other than those specified by the bill
would be considered a class A nonperson misdemeanor.
The bill would also allow the KBI to charge a reasonable
fee for conducting the records check. The applicant would be
required to pay records check fees and the fingerprinting fee.
2- 473 Property Surety—Outstanding Appearance Bonds
Under continuing law, a property surety executes an
affidavit describing the property used to write appearance
bonds. The bill would specify that limitations in law
concerning total outstanding appearance bonds are
calculated by considering bonds issued within Kansas.
Compensated Surety Requirements
The bill would create provisions in law concerning
requirements of a compensated surety. Under the bill, a
compensated surety would:
●Charge a minimum appearance bond premium of
10.0 percent of the face amount of the bond;
●Only post a bond after receiving 50.0 percent of the
bond premium in one of the following forms:
○U.S. currency paid to the compensated surety
prior to the execution of the bond;
○A delivered check payable to the
compensated surety when delivered and
promptly deposited into a bank account;
○A credit or debit card transaction if the
compensated surety obtains prior
authorization from the card issuer; or
○A bank or wire transfer or other electronic
funds transfer including, but not limited to,
peer-to-peer transfer [e.g. Cash App, PayPal,
Venmo] prior to the execution of the bond;
and
●Be physically present when the bond is posted and
sign the bond at the jail.
The bill would require a compensated surety to enter
into a premium financing agreement for the remaining portion
3- 473 of the bond premium (at least 50.0 percent of which was paid
to have bond posted). [Note: Under the bill, the bond
premium would consist of at least 10.0 percent of the total
bond amount.]
Termination or Suspension
The bill would allow a chief judge to terminate or
suspend a compensated surety from posting bond. These
reasons would include, but would not be limited to:
●Filing false statements with the court;
●Failing to charge the minimum appearance bond
premium as required by the bill;
●Paying a fee or rebate, or giving or promising
anything of value in order to secure a settlement,
compromise, remission, or reduction of the amount
of any appearance bond, forfeiture, or estreatment,
or to secure or delay an appearance bond to:
○A jailer;
○A law enforcement officer;
○Any person who has the power to arrest or
hold a person in custody; or
○Any public official or employee;
●Paying a fee or rebate or giving or promising
anything of value other than reward payments for
information relating to the apprehension of fugitives
to an inmate in exchange for a business referral;
●Requiring or accepting anything of value from a
principal other than the appearance bond premium,
except that the compensated surety could accept
collateral security or other indemnity to secure the
face amount of the bond;
4- 473 ●Intentionally failing to promptly return collateral
security to the principal when they are entitled to
return of the collateral;
●Knowingly employing or otherwise compensating
convicted felons (unless the conviction was
expunged), for any appearance bond-related work,
other than reward payments relating to
apprehension of a fugitive; or
●Failing to pay any forfeiture judgment within 30
days of the filing of the journal entry of judgment.
The bill would allow a chief judge to investigate claims of
violations of the listed violations. If the chief judge finds that a
violation has occurred, the compensated surety may have
their authorization terminated or suspended. If terminated, the
bill would clarify that the chief judge must make a record as
required under continuing law and provide it to the surety.
Compensated Surety Continuing Education
The bill would raise the limit on the annual continuing
education fee charged by the Kansas Bail Agents Association
from $250 to $300 and allow the Association to prorate
course charges according to the number of hours in a
particular course.
Definitions
Compensated Surety
The term “compensated surety” in law would be
amended by the bill to mean any person who or entity that is
organized under Kansas law that, as surety, issues
appearance bonds for compensation, posts bail for four or
more persons in a calendar year, is responsible for any
forfeiture, and is liable for appearance bonds written by such
5- 473 person’s or entity’s authorized agents. A compensated surety
is either an insurance agent surety, a property surety, or a bail
agent.
Under the bill, the definition would be amended to add
the provisions concerning posting bail for four or more
persons and that a surety may be a bail agent, in addition to
insurance agent surety or property surety, as found in
continuing law.
Property Surety
The bill would amend the definition of “property surety”
to include corporations in the definition.
Appearance Bond Premium
The bill would add a definition for the term “appearance
bond premium” to mean a fee charged by a compensated
surety for posting an appearance bond.
Technical Amendments
The bill would also make technical amendments,
including removing outdated references to compensated
surety provisions established before 2017.
Background
The bill was introduced by the Senate Committee on
Judiciary at the request of a representative of of the Kansas
Association of Chiefs of Police, Kansas Peace Officers
Association, and the Kansas Sheriffs Association.
6- 473 Senate Committee on Judiciary
At the Senate Committee hearing on February 15, 2024,
a representative of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and a
representative of the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police,
Kansas Peace Officers Association, and Kansas Sheriffs
Association provided proponent testimony. Proponents
stated the bill would allow a county or state law enforcement
agency to have discretion in issuing an NTA for unclassified
and nonperson misdemeanor crimes rather than making an
arrest in every case, and noted that continuing law allows the
use of an NTA by municipal LEOs for these types of
misdemeanors.
No other testimony was provided.
House Committee on Judiciary
At the House Committee hearing on March 7, 2024, a
representative of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and a
representative of the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police,
Kansas Peace Officers Association, and Kansas Sheriffs
Association provided proponent testimony. Proponents
stated the bill would allow a county or state law enforcement
agency to have discretion in issuing an NTA for unclassified
and nonperson misdemeanor crimes rather than making an
arrest in every case, and noted that continuing law allows the
use of an NTA by municipal LEOs for these types of
misdemeanors.
No other testimony was provided.
The House Committee amended the bill on March 14,
2024, by inserting provisions related to posting of bond in
district courts by a compensated surety.
[Note: The compensated surety provisions are similar to
those contained in HB 2755, as amended by the House
Committee on Judiciary.]
7- 473 Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, as introduced, the Office of Judicial
Administration indicates enactment of the bill would have a
negligible fiscal effect that could be absorbed within existing
resources.
Crimes; criminal procedure; notice to appear; appearance bonds; cash bail; bond
agent; judge
8- 473