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Read. Follow. Verify.Kansas Bill Authorizes Judges to Waive Expungement Docket Fees via Poverty Affidavit and Removes Service Restrictions
Last action · April 10, 2026: Died in Committee
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What This Bill Proposed
Judges are authorized to waive docket fees in cases by reviewing and granting a , while restrictions pending poverty determinations are removed.
applicants facing financial hardship may have court docket fees waived, removing financial barriers to clearing qualifying criminal records and accessing employment or civil rights.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
expungement petitioners
Individuals filing for record expungements may have docket fees waived via poverty affidavits and have firearm rights fully restored upon expungement.
court clerks and judges
Judges must review and grant poverty affidavits for expungement docket fees, and courts handle modified service of process procedures.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can request a docket fee waiver for an expungement case?
What happens to a person's firearm rights when a conviction is expunged?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died in committee.
Procedural history
4 actions- Apr 10, 2026HouseDied in Committee
- Feb 16, 2026HouseHearing: Monday, February 16, 2026, 3:30 PM — Room 582-N
- Feb 5, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced
- Feb 5, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred to House Committee on Judiciary
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of Fee Relief in Expungements
The measure systematically integrates poverty affidavit reviews into expungement docket fee procedures across multiple Kansas statutes.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.kslegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz15Current news / social attention level
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