THE ELIMINATION OF PRIVATE-DEBT COLLECTORS FOR DELINQUENT COURT DEBT IS A VICTORY FOR ALL IOWANS
A Mahaska County Attorney Press Release
Though interrupted by a global pandemic, the Iowa Legislature made significant progress in reforming the collection of delinquent court debt. On June 25, 2020, Governor Kim Reynolds signed into law Senate File 457, which, among other things, replaced a private Texas-based debt collector, Linebarger, Goggan, Blair & Sampson, with the Iowa Department of Revenue for the collection of delinquent fines, fees, and victim restitution. This legislation will affect the more than thirty counties that do not have a local county attorney debt collection program, including many surrounding counties such as Wapello, Appanoose, Keokuk, Davis, and Monroe. Thanks to the efforts of Rep. DustinHite, his amendment to end the private collection of delinquent court debt starting January 1, 2021passedon a broad, bipartisan basis. “When we began this legislative session, my hope was that the House and Senate would put crime victims first by preventing a private entity from deducting collection fees from offender payments before crime victims had been paid in full,” said Mahaska County Attorney Andrew Ritland. “This legislation goes a long way towards that goal. I want to express my sincere gratitudetoRep. Hite for all his work on these issues.” While there is still work to be done to ensure crime victims are always paid first, and in full before any other fee is paid, this legislation is a momentous leap forward. In these divisive times, this is a victory all Iowans can celebrate.
