MAAPPS's Defeat of Legislation Reveals a Major Value of State Associations

• December 02, 2013
• by Kimberly Faber
• Associations
• Legislation

Earlier this year, the Mid-Atlantic Association of Professional Process Servers (MAAPPS) was faced with proposed licensing legislation that would have drastically changed the scope of process serving in Maryland. The bill, Senate Bill 554, was proposed by Senator Brian Frosh, and proposed bond requirements, fees, and additional costs to process servers and process serving companies. Through an emergency meeting, raising funds for a lobbyist, and a campaign to contact every process server in Maryland, MAAPPS was able to prevent the bill from passing, a result that highlights the importance of association membership and the value of having strong associations throughout the country.

You need to understand what is happening in your industry. The only way to do that is to have the mouth and the ears of an association to be there to help protect your business.

MAAPPS President Steve Harris

At this year’s National Association of Professional Process Servers (NAPPS) Annual Conference, Steve Harris, who at the time was Secretary of MAAPPS and is now President, sat down for an exclusive on-camera interview to discuss how the experience affected the association.

“The bill first started out with a one million dollar bond that the companies had to have in order to continue, and then we also had to have fees for process servers and they would be considered employees,” he revealed. “The individual process servers would also have to pay fees just to be a process server.” Harris estimates that fees and regulations would cost the average company an additional $15,000 to $20,000 per year just to remain in business.

According to MAAPPS legislative committee head Michelle Dwojewski, the bill would have affected process servers outside of Maryland as well. “It would require that Maryland companies list their affiliate contractors and companies, so even out of state process servers,” she said, noting that although many paralegals like to call local process servers to handle nationwide serves, the passing of Senate Bill 554 would virtually stop that.

But perhaps the most alarming component of the development was that MAAPPS had only 10 days to prepare to oppose the bill, resulting in emergency meetings and tireless round-the-clock efforts to raise awareness and rally support against the bill.

“We scrambled, had an emergency board meeting. We got in touch with a lobbyist, had a campaign going as far as calling every process server we knew,” Harris shared. “The members that we already have contributed a lot of money toward the lobbyist, and we ended up having a lot of people show up for the hearing.” The bill was tabled and eventually did not pass, ultimately due to the efforts of MAAPPS to prevent the legislation from passing.

MAAPPS is certainly not the first state association to work tirelessly to protect their membership and the industry. The New York State Professional Process Server Association (NYSSPA) was instrumental in fighting harmful legislation changes within the 5 Burroughs, ultimately reaching an agreement with the New York Department of Consumer Affairs. Currently, the Georgia Association of Professional Process Servers (GAPPS) is involved in legislation against the Georgia Sheriffs Association for conspiring to prevent private process servers from operating within the state. Associations are also taking a leading role in effecting positive legislation changes for their industries, as ILAPPS (Illinois), Florida (FAPPS), and CALSPro (California) have all achieved further assault protection for process servers, while ILAPPS was also able to protect process servers from trespassing charges. Still, numerous other state associations have made similar strides on behalf of their memberships, and with each development, it becomes more and more clear that state and national associations with strong memberships are, and will continue to be, crucial to the preservation of the industry.

MAAPPS Immediate Past President Torri Schaffer has shared that it was the anticipation of legislation changes and legal issues like these that drove her and other founders to form MAAPPS, something that Harris furthered during his interview.

“There were a lot of things that were going on in New York, and we thought being in the Washington, D.C. area it was definitely going to filter down,” Harris said. Though Senate Bill 554 was not a duplicate of the regulation changes in New York City, the bill proposed landmark changes that would have affected process servers throughout Maryland and the United States. Without the presence, voice, and efforts of a very active professional association, the outcome of this scenario would likely not have been a positive one.

We cannot take the chance that we’re going to have somebody pass a bill that is going to be so negative that everyone is going to lose their job.

Steve Harris

“You need to understand what is happening in your industry,” Harris pleas to both members and non-members. “The only way to do that is to have the mouth and the ears of an association to be there to help protect your business.” Harris commends the association leaders. “We have great people who have formed the association, who have been working hard and who have put tireless, endless hours into trying to make sure this association works,” he said.

This is for you: the members. This is for you and your industry.

Steve Harris

When asked what he would say to non-members, Harris encourages process servers to join their associations. “This if for you: the members. This is for you and your industry,” he said.

And though membership is not as high as Harris would like it to be, he hopes that MAAPPS’s efforts against Senate Bill 554 will encourage non-members to join. Regardless, Harris says the association will continue to do the work to preserve and protect the industry.

In closing, he shares, “We cannot take the chance that we’re going to have somebody pass a bill that is going to be so negative that everyone is going to lose their job.”

For more information about MAAPPS and to apply for membership, please visit the MAAPPS website. You can also view legislation affecting process servers in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Further reading on Senate Bill 554 and the association’s response:

• MAAPPS Fighting Licensing Legislation That Will Affect Process Servers Everywhere
• Senate Bill 554
• Become a MAAPPS Legal Fund Support Contributor
• MAAPPS Legislative Committee Blog