Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding garnishments and enforcement of judgments in civil actions.
CIVIL ACTIONS -- Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding garnishments and enforcement of judgments in civil actions.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
This legislation seeks to amend Idaho law governing a narrow subset of garnishment orders. Current law requires a creditor with a valid court-ordered garnishment to use the local county sheriff to serve the order on the bank or employer of the person being garnished. Idaho is the only state in our region to require that garnishment orders be served by a sheriff. Sheriffs are allowed to charge for the service and fees currently range from $40 up to over $150, all paid by the debtor. Sheriffs also collect fees on each of the payments they collect. This bill allows for a creditor's attorney to serve garnishments on the employer or bank. Specifically, this legislation also: - Allows banks to establish designated electronic filing service to ease operations and reduce costs; - Creates clarity for employers by codifying that an employee's wages can have only one garnishment at a time, and is determined "first come, first served;" - Requires an attorney serving an order to use their client trust account (which are heavily regulated) to hold and process payments; and - Reduces fees for debtors if this new process is used by capping collections fees at $20, and prohibits any fees if service is done via email.
HOW THEY VOTED
House Third Reading
YEA (60)
ABSENT / NOT VOTING (4)
LATEST ACTION
Introduced, read first time; referred to: Judiciary & Rules