Kansas House Bill HB2182

Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/30/25
• Refer: 1/30/25
• Report Pass: 2/7/25
• Engrossed: 2/19/25
• Refer: 2/20/25
• Report Pass: 3/13/25
• Enrolled: 3/21/25
• Passed: 4/10/25

Caption

Prohibiting a sheriff from charging a fee for service of process for proceedings under the protection from abuse act and the protection from stalking, sexual assault or human trafficking act.

Summary

HB 2182 amends Kansas law governing sheriff service-of-process fees. Under current law, sheriffs generally charge a fee for serving, executing, and returning process, but the bill creates an explicit exemption for proceedings under the Protection from Abuse Act and the Protection from Stalking, Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking Act. It also extends that no-fee treatment to similar proceedings based on the laws of other jurisdictions, ensuring that comparable protective-order cases from outside Kansas are treated the same way. The bill leaves the general fee structure in K.S.A. 28-110 intact for most civil process, including the standard sheriff fee and related rules on multiple processes, unsuccessful attempts, combined payments, and exemptions for the state and municipalities. Its practical effect is to remove a cost barrier for people seeking or enforcing protection orders in domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, and human trafficking cases, while shifting the service burden away from the parties in those matters. The bill repeals and reenacts the section to incorporate the new exemption. The overall sentiment around the bill appears strongly favorable. It passed the House by a wide margin, 118-1, and the Senate unanimously on consent calendar, 40-0, indicating broad bipartisan support and little visible opposition in the recorded votes. The absence of committee transcript discussion suggests the measure was likely viewed as straightforward and noncontroversial. The main point of contention, to the extent one existed, would be the policy choice to waive sheriff service fees for a limited category of cases while leaving other civil litigants responsible for those costs. That issue affects sheriffs’ fee revenue and could be viewed as a targeted subsidy for protection-order petitioners, but the recorded votes show that any such concern did not generate significant resistance. The bill’s supporters appear to have prioritized access to protective relief and consistency for out-of-state or reciprocal protection proceedings.

Impact

HB 2182 amends K.S.A. 28-110 to add a specific fee exemption for sheriff service of process in protection-from-abuse and protection-from-stalking/sexual-assault/human-trafficking proceedings, including similar proceedings under other jurisdictions’ laws. The change reduces or eliminates service-of-process costs for petitioners and respondents in those cases, while preserving the existing fee framework for other civil process and maintaining other statutory rules governing sheriff fees, unsuccessful service attempts, and payment procedures.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have enjoyed broad, bipartisan support and little controversy. It passed the House 118-1 and the Senate 40-0 on consent calendar, which suggests lawmakers generally agreed that removing service fees in protection-order cases was a reasonable access-to-justice measure. No committee transcript was provided, but the voting history indicates a strongly favorable reception.

Contention

The only notable policy tension is between reducing financial barriers for people seeking protection orders and preserving sheriff fee revenue for service of process. Critics, if any, would likely focus on the fiscal impact to sheriffs or the principle of exempting one class of civil cases from fees while others still pay. However, the overwhelming votes suggest these concerns were minimal and did not materially divide lawmakers.