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S 1183

An Act relative to service of civil process fees

194th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Liz Miranda

The bill raises flat fees for personal service of civil process to $30 per defendant (original summons, etc.) and $45 per defendant for divorce or in-hand service.

Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on Senate Ways and Means
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Bill Summary · S 1183

Summary — S.1183: “An Act relative to service of civil process fees” (Massachusetts)

Note: The materials you provided include multiple, different bills using the identifier “S 1183” (notably a Massachusetts bill on process fees and a separate Idaho “Wildfire Standard of Care Act”). The summary below covers the Massachusetts bill titled “An Act relative to service of civil process fees.” If you want a separate summary of the Idaho wildfire bill, tell me and I will prepare one.

At‑a‑glance

  • Bill number: S.1183 (Massachusetts Senate docket No. 2278)
  • Filed: January 17, 2025
  • Primary petitioner/sponsor: Senator Liz Miranda (Second Suffolk)
  • Committee referral: Judiciary
  • Purpose: Increase statutory fees for service of civil process (summonses, subpoenas, trustee process, scire facias, divorce service, and other in‑hand services).

Main purpose / intent

The bill amends Chapter 262, Section 8(a) of the Massachusetts General Laws to raise the flat statutory fees charged for personal service of civil process. The change intends to update compensation for servers (sheriffs, constables, private process servers) for serving original civil documents.

Key provisions

  • Replaces existing subsections (1) and (2) of Section 8(a) with new amounts:
    • (1) Service of an original summons, trustee process, subpoena, or scire facias (by reading or leaving a copy): $30 per defendant served (unless another provision applies).
    • (2) Service of an original summons and complaint for divorce, or any other service required to be made in hand: $45 per defendant served.
  • The rest of Chapter 262 and other subsections are unchanged in the excerpt provided.

Who is affected

  • Plaintiffs and petitioners who must pay service fees when initiating civil actions (including divorce).
  • Defendants are indirectly affected because service fees are a cost of litigation that may be borne by the initiating party or added to costs.
  • Process servers: sheriffs, constables, and private process servers will see changes in their statutory rate (may increase or formalize current practices).
  • Trial courts and clerks: administrative adjustments to accepted rates and accounting for restitution of costs.
  • Potential modest fiscal effects for public offices that perform service (sheriff’s departments) and for indigent litigants (cost may be waived in some cases under existing law).

Fiscal/administrative impact

  • Per‑service increases are modest (set amounts of $30 and $45). Overall fiscal effect depends on volume of services statewide; not estimated in the provided Massachusetts text.
  • Could increase revenue for servers or collections handled by sheriff/municipal offices; could modestly raise out‑of‑pocket costs for litigants.

Procedural status / timeline (from documents provided)

  • Filed in the Senate: 1/17/2025 (Senate Docket No. 2278).
  • Referred to the Judiciary Committee (per filing text).
  • No final action or enactment recorded in the Massachusetts docket excerpt you provided.

Notes and recommended next steps

  • Confirm final text and jurisdiction before citing or acting on this summary. The materials you supplied also contain an unrelated Idaho bill (also labeled S1183 / RS32714) titled the “Wildfire Standard of Care Act” with substantially different content and a fiscal note — do you want a separate summary of that bill?
  • If you need, I can: (a) prepare a redlined comparison to current Chapter 262 language, (b) estimate statewide fiscal impact given service volumes, or (c) summarize the Idaho wildfire bill. Which would be most helpful?

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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