Process Server Legislative Updates and State News
- May 21, 2010
- by ServeNow.com Staff
- Legislation
- In the News
Each month, ServeNow.com takes a look at the legislative news that affects the process server community on both statewide and national levels. If you have news from your state – anything from changes in court fees to information about the formation of a new state association – this is your forum to share it with your peers. Send your process server news to [email protected] and we will include it in the next month’s ServeReport News Roundup.
Here’s this month’s news for process servers, by process servers.
Georgia
HB-1055 in conjunction with House Bill 545 (which passed the Georgia Legislature and is awaiting the governor’s signature), will have profound benefits for Georgia process servers.
HB-545 amends O.C.G.A. §9-11-4 and completely changes the process by which private process servers may be appointed to serve process. Presently, to serve a Georgia paper a process server must first be appointed by the court in which the paper is filed. There are two types of appointments; “permanent” and “special”. Permanent appointments are usually for only one year and must be renewed annually. Of 159 counties, most of which have three different courts, Superior, State and Magistrate, only a few counties offer such permanent appointments. Thus, for the vast majority of courts in Georgia, a process server must get specially appointed by the court for each paper to be served. HB-545, effective July 1, 2010, while retaining the permanent and special appointments, provides for certification of process servers who complete a specified number of hours of continuing education, pass a test, and get a criminal background check. Once certified, such process servers will be able to serve all papers out of all the courts in the state without further appointment. The bill also requires owners/management companies of gated communities to allow these process servers on the property to perfect service.
The two bills should cause attorneys to utilize the services of private process servers. In addition to the usual benefits provided by private process servers, attorneys will no longer have to get a process server appointed (always a waste of time). Additionally, the raising of the sheriffs’ fees will further encourage attorneys to use private process servers, especially those who keep their rates in line with the new sheriffs’ fees.
HB-545 is unusual in that it teams the private process servers with the sheriffs. For the past six years, the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association has fought our attempts to amend the law. Now, the Georgia Ass’n of Professional Process Servers (GAPPS), will be working with the sheriffs’ association in establishing and executing the continuing education program and the administering of the test. Certified process servers will be listed on the Sheriffs’ Ass’n website. The county sheriffs will be the certifying authorities. The law requires certification of all process servers who qualify, absent good cause shown as to why a process server should not be certified. It is an excellent opportunity for private process servers to establish good working relationships with the sheriffs.
We will be meeting with the Sheriffs’ Ass’n during the coming weeks to put the continuing education program together so that process servers may apply for certification as soon as the bill becomes effective on July 1.
Update:
House Bill 545 has changed into Senate Bill 491. The reason for this is because with just a couple of days left in the legislative session there simply was not enough time to get House Bill 545 to the Senate floor for a vote. However, Senate Bill 491, regarding personal jurisdiction by the courts over nonresidents, had been passed by the Senate and forwarded to the House. When this bill went to the House Floor, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee proposed an amendment; that is, to include HB-545 as an amendment to SB-491. This maneuver worked and because of the amendment, SB-491 had to immediately go back to the Senate floor for another vote on the last day of the session. A storybook ending.
- Paul K. Tamaroff, GAPPS, NAPPS
New York
On April 10, 2010, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed Proposed Bill 6-A adding new requirements to the current licensing law. NYSPPSA President Larry Yellon, NYSPPSA Treasurer Bill Mlotok, and NYSPPSA Member Rob Gillis went and met with the DCA to discuss the application of the law with the DCA. At that meeting, we met with Deputy Commissioner Fran Freedman, Director Of Legislation Andrew Eiler, Deputy General Counsel Sanford M. Cohen, and General Counsel and Deputy Commissioner for Legal Marla Tepper. At this time the DCA has not come up with an official report but we felt the following bullet points would be helpful:
The $10,000 Bond for Individual Process Server or the $1,000 fund
All Independent Contractors acting as process servers must have a $10,000 bond meeting the requirements stated in the new law. DCA will not be adding additional provisions to the bonding, they stated that it will be up to the Independent Contractor to get the bond based on the requirements written in the law. NYSPPSA will be working hard with underwriters to try and get as many Process Servers qualified. If you do not qualify for the bond the bill allows Process Servers to put up a $1,000 NON-REFUNDABLE fee to be placed in a fund for fines and legislative judgments. This fee may or may not be a one-time fee, meaning the process server may have to pay $1,000 at every renewal. The DCA is contemplating a monthly payment plan for that fund.
The $100,000 Bond for Agencies
Like the Independent Contractor Bond for Process Servers, DCA does not plan on elaborating on the bond and is expecting Process Serving Agencies to use the requirements written in the law as the basis for the bond. NYSPPSA is contacting as many writers as possible to help our members get approved for this bond. There is no provision in the law for a contingency plan if an Agency cannot qualify for the bond. DCA has informed us that if agencies cannot get the bond it is best to collect the rejections in writing from the bond companies and appeal to the city council to make changes in the law.
GPS
DCA does plan on having standard requirements for Collection of GPS coordinates but at this time nothing is official. The DCA and NYSPPSA strongly recommend that agencies and process servers DO NOT invest their money into a system until the requirements are official! As soon as NYSPPSA is aware of the requirements we will let all of you know.
Digital Records
DCA has informed us that although there is no official decision made on how the digital records will be kept, they believe that if an Agency stores their affidavits as a PDF and has the ability to search those PDFs via a searchable database, then that agency will be in compliance. Again this is not official. They will be considering many different ideas as well for agencies and process servers.
Education and Testing
DCA must now administer a test on process serving. They have not begun the process of creating this test nor the pamphlet that they must give to every Process Server at the time of application. It is important to note that the pamphlet is not a study guide for the Exam. Once the test is out NYSPPSA does plan on developing and offering a class designed specifically designed to help educate process servers so that they can pass the exam.
The DCA has explained to us, that according to law, the rules must be made public and a public hearing on those rules must be had prior to those rules being enacted. As soon as NYSPPSA is informed about these rules and this hearing we will immediately inform our Membership.
If you have any questions regarding the above please contact us at [email protected].
- Larry Yellon, NAPPS, NYSPPSA
Illinois
HB5290 amends the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, which is the statute that regulates service of process in Illinois. The current statute allows a private investigator or a registered employee of a private detective agency to serve process, similar to the Sheriff, without special appointment by the court. The exception is in counties with a population of one million or greater, which is Cook County (Chicago). With the 2010 census, neighboring DuPage County is expected to surpass one million in population. The Associated Detectives and Security Agencies of Illinois (ADSAI) introduced this bill and had the support of the newly created Illinois Association of Professional Process Servers (IAPPS). The bill accomplishes two things: 1) it raises the population threshold to two million, and 2) it allows a designated official from a county jail or prison to accept service of process on behalf of an inmate. In March, HB5290 passed the House without a dissenting vote. The bill was amended in the Senate, where it passed without opposition. The bill is expected to be signed by the governor.
Illinois has recently formed the brand-new Illinois Association of Professional Process Servers (IAPPS). If you would like to join IAPPS, e-mail Bill Clutter at [email protected] for a membership application.
- Bill Clutter, IAPPS
California
SB984, sponsored by Senator Hollingsworth, was initially presented as a bill dealing with credit card issues. The bill was amended and now represents the most serious attack on process servers in decades. In its current form, a Registered Process Server could have their registration revoked and suffer huge fines for a violation of the bill’s provisions. Service hours under CCP 415.10 and CCP 1011(b) would be restricted to 7:00AM to 8:00PM. It also requires that the process server state their full name, their purpose (service of legal documents), and to identify the party to be served. A violation would result in revocation of your registration and a $25,000 fine. If service is made at the wrong address, the server would be hit with a $10,000 fine. If the wrong address was not the fault of the server, the penalty would be imposed on whoever provided the address. The $10,000 penalty is payable to all occupants of the wrong address. If a party alleges a violation, the local District Attorney would be required to investigate and submit a recommendation to an administrative law judge whose decision would be final.
The CALSPro Legislative Committee and our Advocate, Mike Belote, have been aware of the bill since it was first amended to address service of process issues. We have been in contact with the author’s office, the sponsor’s office, and other interest groups who would vehemently oppose this bill. CALSPro has submitted a formal letter of opposition and a meeting with the sponsor is pending. Further updates will follow.
AB2394 (sponsored by the LA County Sheriff’s Dept.) as introduced, would have allowed all ministerial officers (Marshall’s and Sheriff’s) to receive and send service documents and instructions electronically. The bill would have allowed the Sheriff to serve all forms of process electronically (they even included levies, attachments, and subpoenas). Mike Belote and I met with the LA Sheriff’s Dept.’s Legislative Advocate, the head of the Sheriff’s Civil Bureau, and members of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, Assemblywoman Julia Brownley’s staff, and the heads of several County Courts. After meeting and following up with numerous phone calls and emails, the bill was amended. In its current form, the bill will not allow the Sheriff to serve any documents electronically. The Sheriff will no longer have to return the original writ but will instead file an accounting/return with the court that would indicate that the writ is no longer active so that a new writ could be issued. This return could be filed with the court electronically but only if the Sheriff and the court opt-in (having the technical capability and desire to do so). Had we had not been involved and the bill went unopposed, it likely would have passed allowing the Sheriff to serve most documents electronically.
Your membership in CALSPro supports us in our fight to keep you in business and provide benefits we would otherwise not enjoy. I urge you to call on all non-members who benefit from our hard work and your money, to join CALSPro and support us, rather than riding our coat-tails and slowing us down.
- Brett Peters, CALSPro
North Carolina
Process servers from North Carolina are currently organizing a professional association. The association is advanced in the development process and may even be able to elect a board and hold its first meeting by the end of 2010. Organizers are currently drafting a constitution and bylaws, securing a domain name for the website and obtaining nonprofit status from the Secretary of State’s office. The association aims to add 50 members in the first year.
Have news from your state? Contact us!