12-4119.   Collection of debts owed to municipalcourts or restitution; contracts for collection.(a) Cities are authorized to enter into contracts forcollection services fordebts owed tomunicipal courts or restitution owed under an order of restitution. On andafter July 1, 2007, thecost of collection shall be paid by the defendant as an additional court costin all cases where thedefendant fails to pay any amount ordered by the court and the court utilizesthe services of acontracting agent pursuant to this section. The cost of collection shall bedeemed anadministrative fee to pay the actual costs of collection made necessary by thedefendant's failureto pay court debt and restitution.

      (b)   The following terms shall mean:

      (1)   "Beneficiary under an order of restitution" means the victim or victimsof a crime towhom a municipal court has ordered restitution be paid;

      (2)   "contracting agent" means a person, firm, agency or other entity whocontractshereunder to provide collection services;

      (3)   "cost of collection" means the fee specified in contracts hereunder to bepaid to orretained by a contracting agent for collection services and shall notexceed 33% of the amount collected. The cost ofcollection shall be paid from the amount collected, but shall not be deductedfrom the debts owed to municipal courts or restitution.Cost of collectionalso includes any filingfee required under K.S.A. 60-4303, and amendments thereto; and

      (4)   "debts owed to municipal courts" means any assessment of court costs,fines, fees,moneys expended by the city in providing counsel and other defense services toindigentdefendants or other charges which a municipal court judge has ordered to bepaid to thecourt, and which remain unpaid in whole or in part, and includes any interestor penalties onsuch unpaid amounts as provided for in the judgment or by law. "Debts owed tomunicipalcourts" also includes the cost of collection when collection services of acontracting agenthereunder are utilized.

      (c)   Municipal courts are authorized to utilize the collection services ofcontracting agents pursuant to this section for the purpose of collecting alloutstanding debts owed the municipal courts.

      (d)   Any beneficiary under an order of restitution entered by amunicipal court isauthorized to utilize the collection services of contracting agents pursuant tothis sectionfor the purpose of collecting all outstanding amounts owed under such order ofrestitution.

      (e)   Contracts shall provide for the payment of any amounts collected to theclerk of themunicipal court for the court in which the debt being collected originated,after first deductingthe collection fee. In accounting for amounts collected from any person,the municipal court clerk shall credit the person's amount owed the amountof the net proceedscollected. The clerk shall not reduce the amount owed by any person thatportion ofany paymentwhich constitutes the cost of collection pursuant to this section.

      (f)   When the appropriate cost of collection has been paid to the contractingagent asagreed upon in the contract, the municipal court clerk shall then distributeamountscollected asfollows:

      (1)   When collection services are utilized pursuant to subsection (c), allamounts shall beapplied against the debts owed to the court as specified in the originaljudgment creating thedebt;

      (2)   when collection services are utilized pursuant to subsection (d), allamounts shall bepaid to the beneficiary under the order of restitution designated to receivesuch restitution, exceptwhere that beneficiary has received recovery from the Kansas crime victimscompensation board and such board has subrogation rights pursuant to K.S.A.74-7312, and amendments thereto, inwhich case all amounts shall be paid to the board until its subrogation lien issatisfied.

      (g)   Whenever collection services are being utilized against the same debtorpursuant toboth subsections (c) and (d), any amounts collected by a contracting agentshall be first appliedto satisfy debts pursuant to an order of restitution. Upon satisfaction of allsuch debts, amountsreceived from the same debtor shall then be applied to satisfy, debts owed tocourts.

      History:   L. 2007, ch. 168, § 1; July 1.