H.F. 569 Section 1. Section 626.50, Code 2015, is amended to read as 1 follows: 2 626.50 Duty to levy —— notice of ownership or exemption —— 3 notice to defendant. 4 1. An officer is bound to levy an execution on any personal 5 property in the possession of, or that the officer has reason 6 to believe belongs to, the defendant, or on which the plaintiff 7 directs the officer to levy, after having received written 8 instructions for the levy from the plaintiff or the attorney 9 who had the execution issued to the sheriff, unless the officer 10 has received notice in writing under oath from some other 11 person, or that person’s agent or attorney, that the property 12 belongs to the person, stating the nature of the person’s 13 interests in the property, how and from whom the person 14 acquired the property, and the consideration paid for the 15 property; or from the defendant, that the property is exempt 16 from execution. 17 2. a. The officer making the levy in subsection 1 shall 18 promptly serve written notice of the levy on the defendant. 19 The notice shall be served in the same manner as provided for 20 original notice. 21 b. This section subsection is not applicable to garnishment 22 proceedings. 23 Sec. 2. Section 642.5, subsection 2, Code 2015, is amended 24 to read as follows: 25 2. The sheriff shall append file the answers to the 26 examination to the sheriff’s return within seven business days 27 of receiving the answers . 28 Sec. 3. Section 642.14, Code 2015, is amended to read as 29 follows: 30 642.14 Notice of garnishment proceedings. 31 Judgment against the garnishee shall not be entered until 32 notice as required by section 642.14A or 642.14B has been 33 served upon the defendant in the main action has had ten days’ 34 notice of the garnishment proceedings, to be served in the 35 -1- LSB 1527HV (3) 86 jh/sc 1/ 5

H.F. 569 same manner as original notices . However, if the garnishment 1 is to earnings owed such defendant by the garnishee, judgment 2 may be entered if notice to the defendant is served with the 3 notice of garnishment to the garnishee who shall deliver the 4 notice to the defendant with the remainder of or in lieu of the 5 defendant’s earnings. The garnishee shall state in answer to 6 the service of notice of garnishment whether or not service of 7 notice was delivered to the defendant. 8 The notice required by this section shall contain the full 9 text of section 630.3A . 10 Sec. 4. Section 642.14A, Code 2015, is amended to read as 11 follows: 12 642.14A Notice of garnishment and levy to defendant —— 13 non-employer garnishees . 14 1. Within seven If the garnishment is to property other than 15 earnings an employer owes a defendant, the judgment creditor 16 shall serve upon a debtor who is a natural person not later 17 than seven business days after execution is served upon a 18 garnishee, the sheriff shall send the sheriff’s filing of a 19 garnishee’s answers pursuant to section 642.5, subsection 2, 20 which show that the garnishee is indebted to the defendant, a 21 notice of garnishment and levy to the defendant in the main 22 action informing notifying the defendant that certain real and 23 personal property of the defendant may be exempt from execution 24 or garnishment and that a hearing process is available for the 25 defendant to claim such exemptions of the information required 26 in subsection 3 . 27 2. The notice required by this section shall be served by 28 personal service or restricted certified mail and first class 29 mail to the last known address of the defendant and to the 30 defendant’s attorney . The judgment creditor shall provide the 31 sheriff with the last known address of the defendant and the 32 defendant’s attorney if there is an attorney of record. Proof 33 of mailing or personal such service by the sheriff shall be by 34 affidavit filed with the court . 35 -2- LSB 1527HV (3) 86 jh/sc 2/ 5

H.F. 569 3. The notice required by this section shall: 1 a. Inform the defendant that judgment has been entered in 2 the main action and the defendant’s funds or other property is 3 subject to execution under the judgment. 4 b. Inform the defendant that the defendant has the right 5 to claim funds or other property exempt from execution or 6 garnishment and a right to be timely heard on those claims 7 request and have a timely hearing before a judge to claim such 8 exemptions . 9 c. Inform the defendant that if the defendant does not file 10 a motion or other appropriate pleading to claim funds or other 11 property exempt from execution or garnishment under state or 12 federal law, the defendant may lose any such rights and the 13 funds or other property may be applied to the judgment against 14 the defendant. 15 d. Inform the defendant that state and federal laws may 16 place limits on the amount of earnings that may be garnished 17 annually and per pay period and limits on other funds and 18 property that may be garnished or levied against. 19 e. Contain the full text of section 630.3A . 20 f. State that the defendant may wish to consult a lawyer for 21 advice as to the meaning of the notice. 22 g. Inform the defendant that any garnishment for fines 23 imposed on a defendant in a criminal case is subject to section 24 909.6, including the provision that any law which exempts a 25 person’s personal property from any lien or legal process is 26 not applicable for such garnishment. 27 4. An additional court filing fee shall not be assessed for 28 proceedings under this section . 29 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION . 642.14B Notice to defendant —— 30 employer garnishees. 31 If the garnishment is to earnings an employer owes a 32 defendant, the employer shall deliver the notice of garnishment 33 to the defendant with the remainder of or in lieu of the 34 defendant’s earnings. The garnishee shall state in answer to 35 -3- LSB 1527HV (3) 86 jh/sc 3/ 5

H.F. 569 the sheriff’s examination whether or not service of the notice 1 of garnishment was delivered to the defendant. The notice 2 required by this section shall contain the information required 3 by section 642.14A, subsection 3, and shall be delivered by 4 personal service, mail, or electronic means. 5 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION . 642.25 Sheriff not an agent. 6 The sheriff’s actions under this chapter, including service 7 of notice, shall not be construed to be that of an agent of any 8 person or party in the proceedings. 9 EXPLANATION 10 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 11 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 12 This bill relates to notice of garnishment and levy to a 13 judgment debtor. 14 The bill amends Code section 626.50 to provide that in 15 garnishment proceedings, an officer who has received written 16 instructions for the levy from a plaintiff who had an execution 17 issued to a sheriff is bound to levy an execution on any 18 personal property in the possession of, or that belongs to, the 19 defendant, unless either another person provides the officer 20 notice in writing that the property belongs to such person or 21 the defendant provides the officer notice in writing that the 22 personal property is exempt from execution. 23 Under current law when a sheriff, at the direction of 24 a plaintiff, submits interrogatories to a garnishee, the 25 sheriff appends the examination to the sheriff’s return. The 26 bill requires the sheriff, within seven business days after 27 receiving the answers, to file the garnishee’s answers in the 28 case. 29 Under current law, judgment against a garnishee who is not 30 the judgment debtor’s employer cannot be entered until the 31 defendant in the main action (i.e., the judgment debtor) has 32 had 10 days’ notice of the garnishment proceedings. Current 33 Code section 642.14A requires that within seven days after 34 execution is served upon a garnishee, a sheriff is required to 35 -4- LSB 1527HV (3) 86 jh/sc 4/ 5

H.F. 569 send a notice of garnishment and levy to the judgment debtor 1 and the judgment debtor’s attorney which contains information 2 about exemption from garnishment for certain types of property. 3 The bill provides that judgment against a garnishee who is 4 not the judgment debtor’s employer cannot be entered until 5 notice required by Code section 642.14A is served on the 6 judgment debtor. The bill provides that, under Code section 7 642.14A, instead of the sheriff sending notice of garnishment 8 and levy within seven days after execution, the judgment 9 creditor shall serve a natural person debtor with notice of 10 garnishment and levy not later than seven business days after 11 the sheriff’s filing of the garnishee’s answers. In addition 12 to the existing notice items Code section 642.14A requires, 13 the bill provides that the notice inform the judgment debtor 14 that if the garnishment is for fines imposed in a criminal 15 case, laws that otherwise exempt the judgment debtor’s personal 16 property from garnishment are not applicable pursuant to Code 17 section 909.6. The bill eliminates the requirement that the 18 judgment debtor’s attorney receive a copy of the notice. 19 Under current Code section 642.14, judgment against an 20 employer garnishee may be entered if the employer delivers 21 the notice of garnishment to the judgment debtor with the 22 remainder of or in lieu of the judgment debtor’s earnings. 23 The bill moves this requirement to new Code section 642.14B 24 to more clearly distinguish the requirements of employer 25 and non-employer garnishees. The bill requires an employer 26 garnishee to provide the information currently required by Code 27 section 642.14A(3) to the judgment debtor. 28 The bill provides that a sheriff’s actions under Code 29 chapter 642, including service of notice, shall not be 30 construed to be that of an agent of any person or party in the 31 garnishment proceedings. 32 -5- LSB 1527HV (3) 86 jh/sc 5/ 5