Brief (1)
SB 319 extends to all counties the provisions of the Code for the Enforcement of County Codes and Resolutions under K.S.A. 19-4701 et seq. Counties under this code are authorized to appoint code enforcement officers and have their county codes enforced in a special procedure in the district court. Under current law this code applies only to counties over 150,000.
The bill authorizes the board of county commissioners to set the amount of court costs for these actions and provides for the deposit of these moneys in the county general fund with the exception of $1 of these costs which would continue to be sent to the State Treasurer.
The bill also authorizes the judges pro tem hearing these cases to order the abatement of nuisances and to order the costs of the abatement to be assessed against the property on which the nuisance was located.
The House Committee on Judiciary amended the bill as follows:
Background
The bill was supported by representatives of Sumner and Jefferson counties, the Kansas Association of Sanitarians, and the Kansas Association of Planning and Zoning Officials.
A special code for the enforcement of county codes and resolutions is established for counties over 150,000 population, i.e., Johnson, Sedgwick, Shawnee, and Wyandotte counties. See K.S.A. 19-101d(b) and K.S.A. 19-4701 to 19-4738. Under this special procedure, the board of county commissioners is authorized to appoint code enforcement officers who have the power to sign, issue, and execute notices to appear and uniform citations or uniform complaints to enforce violations of county codes and resolutions. See K.S.A. 19-4715 and K.S.A. 19-4738 for the form of notice to appear and complaint forms. These code enforcement officers do not have the power to make arrests or to issue warrants. See K.S.A. 19-101d(b). This procedure may not be used when a person may be subject to detention or arrest or deprived of their liberty if found guilty. See K.S.A. 19-101 d(c). Specifically excluded also is the prosecution of any action defined as a traffic offense. See K.S.A. 19-4704.
District court judges are to preside or a judge pro tem shall be appointed by the administrative judge to hear actions brought under the code. See K.S.A. 19-4705.
The board of county commissioners is authorized to hire attorneys to prosecute county code and resolution violations, to establish a special law enforcement fund to pay costs of code enforcement, and to levy a tax of not to exceed � mill to pay for costs of code enforcement. See K.S.A. 19-101d(b)(4). The county counselor or counselor's designee or the other attorneys hired by the board of county commissioners is given responsibility for prosecution under this code. See K.S.A. 19-4706.
All fines and penalties collected under the code for enforcement of county codes and resolutions shall be paid to the county treasurer for placement in the county general fund or in the special law enforcement fund. See K.S.A. 19-101e(c).
Appeals under the code for the enforcement of county codes and resolutions appeals shall be de novo before a district judge other than a judge from which the appeal is taken. Further appeals may be taken as provided under the Code of Civil Procedure. See K.S.A. 19-4736.
The Senate Committee on Elections and Local Government amendments allowing counties to set the amount of court costs and expanding the power of pro tem judges were requested by a representative of Sedgwick County.
The bill has no fiscal impact.
1. *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.ink.org/public/legislative/bill_search.html