Brief (1)
HB 2209 amends the Code of Civil Procedure to permit the use of wage garnishment by persons, firms, or corporations to collect debts which they have acquired through purchase or assignment from the original creditor. Under current law, the debt collection tool of wage garnishment is not permitted for assignees of debt.
The amendments are technical in nature.
Background
The bill was passed in 1999 by the House Business, Commerce and Labor Committee and later referred to the House Committee on Judiciary.
Elwaine Pomeroy testified in support of this bill on behalf of the Kansas Collectors Association, Inc. and the Kansas Credit Attorneys Association. Mr. Pomeroy testified that it is common practice in business for the debts of creditors to be bought and sold. He also noted that it is current practice for the original creditor to use wage garnishment as a method of resolving that debt and this debt collection tool should be extended to those who purchase or are assigned the original debt.
The conferee representing the Kansas Association of Financial Services also expressed support for the bill.
According to the Division of the Budget, the Office of Judicial Administration stated that this bill would increase the number of wage garnishment filings in the state with a resulting administrative impact on the judges and clerks. However, the agency does not maintain statistics on the current number of wage garnishments and therefore, the fiscal impact of the bill would be hard to estimate.
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.