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SB 157 Kansas Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Requiring search warrants to be issued only on the statement of facts sufficient to show probable cause made by a law enforcement officer, warrants issued for failure to appear to be provided to a compensated surety, bond forfeiture to be set aside in certain circumstances and remission if the defendant is returned to custody in certain circumstances and prohibiting a compensated surety from making loans for certain portions of the required minimum appearance bond premium.

SB 157 amends Kansas law governing appearance bonds and bond forfeitures. It requires law enforcement to issue warrants for defendants' failure to appear within 14 days and provide copies to compensated sureties (bondsmen) within that timeframe. The bill allows courts to set aside bond forfeitures if sureties prove defendants left the country or if warrants weren't timely provided, and mandates 95% remission of the bond amount if defendants are returned to custody within 180 days of forfeiture. This directly affects defendants who skip court, sureties who post bonds, and courts handling bond enforcement. The law replaces existing provisions in K.S.A. 22-2807 with these new requirements.
Issues: ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeProtects defendant rights by requiring timely warrant notices to sureties, allowing forfeiture relief for procedural errors, and mandating remission for timely return to custody.90% confidence
Bill status died 4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2025
House Passage
Mar 2025
Governor
Introduced Feb 3, 2025 Last action Apr 10, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

As Amended by House Committee on Judiciary → As Amended by Senate Committee on Judiciary · 5 edits
MODERATE
The bill was significantly rewritten to remove all provisions regarding search warrants and tracking devices, focusing exclusively on criminal procedure and appearance bonds. The new version clarifies when bonds can be forfeited, sets strict timelines for issuing arrest warrants to sureties, and expands the conditions under which a court must set aside a forfeiture if a defendant was deported or arrested out of state.
Scope change
The bill's scope was narrowed from covering both search/seizure procedures and bond forfeiture to focusing solely on bond forfeiture and release prior to trial.
SCOPE

All text and legal requirements related to search warrants, tracking devices, and electronic communications were completely removed from the bill.

REQUIREMENT

The requirement for a warrant to be provided to a compensated surety was changed from 14 days after issuance to 14 days after the forfeiture is declared.

ELIGIBILITY

New mandatory conditions were added requiring the court to set aside a bond forfeiture if the defendant was deported from the United States or arrested outside the state with extradition declined.

TIMELINE

A new rule was added that 95% of the bond amount must be remitted to the obligor if the defendant is returned to custody within 180 days of judgment.

DEFINITION

The legal definitions for 'fruits' of a crime and specific categories of items subject to search warrants were removed.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
23
Key actions
13
Committee
8
Amendments
1
Mar 26, 2026
Lower · Passed
Conference committee report now available
lower
Mar 24, 2025
Lower · Passed
Motion to accede adopted; Rep. Susan Humphries, Rep. Laura Williams and Rep. Dan Osman appointed as conferees
lower
Mar 24, 2025
Upper · Passed
Nonconcurred with amendments; Conference Committee requested; appointed Sen. Kellie Warren, Sen. Kenny Titus and Sen. Ethan Corson
upper
Mar 19, 2025
Lower · Passed
Emergency Final Action - Passed as amended; Yea 88, Nay 35, Absent 2
lower
Mar 19, 2025
Lower · Passed
Motion to advance to Emergency Final Action adopted
lower
Mar 19, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee of the Whole - Be passed as amended
lower
Mar 19, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee of the Whole - Committee Report be adopted
lower
Mar 13, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee Report recommending bill be passed as amended by House Committee on Judiciary
lower
Feb 28, 2025
Committee
Withdrawn from House Committee on Judiciary; Referred to House Committee on Judiciary
lower
Feb 25, 2025
Committee
Referred to House Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice
lower
Feb 25, 2025
Introduced
Received and Introduced
lower
Feb 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Final Action - Passed as amended
upper
Feb 18, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee of the Whole - Be passed as amended
upper
Feb 18, 2025
Introduced
Sen. Kellie Warren raised a question of germaneness. The amendment was ruled not germane
upper
Feb 18, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee of the Whole - Motion to Amend - Offered by Sen. Patrick Schmidt
upper
Feb 18, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee of the Whole - Committee Report be adopted
upper
Feb 17, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee Report recommending bill be passed as amended by Senate Committee on Judiciary
upper
Feb 4, 2025
Committee
Referred to Senate Committee on Judiciary
upper
Feb 3, 2025
Introduced
Introduced
upper
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.