HB 2296 Text

Introduced Version House Bill 2296 History

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hb2296 intr H. B. 2296

(By Delegates Stemple, Campbell, Varner,
Swartzmiller and Michael)
[Introduced February 14, 2005; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]

A BILL to amend and reenact §59-1-14 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to increasing service of process fees charged by the sheriff; and providing that two dollars of the fees charged and collected by the sheriff for service of process be placed in the Deputy Sheriff Retirement Fund and that three dollars of the increased fees be placed in the general revenue account of the county commission.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §59-1-14 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 1. FEES AND ALLOWANCES.

§59-1-14. Fees to be charged by sheriffs.
The county commission shall determine the amount which the sheriff may charge, which charges shall not exceed the following:

For serving on any person an order, notice, summons or other process where the body is not taken, except a subpoena served on a witness, and making return thereof~~$20.00~~ $25.00

For summoning a witness~~20.00~~ 25.00
For serving on any person an attachment or
other process under which the body is taken~~20.00~~ 25.00
For levying an attachment on real estate and
making the return ~~20.00~~ 25.00
For making any other levy ~~20.00~~ 25.00
For conveying a prisoner to or from jail, for
each mile of necessary travel either
in going or returning.25
For taking any bond1.00
When a jury is sworn in court, for
summoning and impaneling such jury 1.00
For serving a writ of possession ~~20.00~~ 25.00
For issuing receipt to purchaser at
delinquent tax sale 1.00
The county commission, giving due regard to the cost thereof, may from time to time prescribe the amount which the sheriff may charge for keeping any property or in removing any property. When, after distraining or levying, he or she neither sells nor receives payment, and either takes no bond or takes one which is not forfeited, he or she shall, if guilty of no default, have (in addition to the one dollar for a bond, if one was taken) a fee of three dollars, unless this be more than half of what his or her commission would have amounted to if he or she had received payment; in which case he or she shall (whether a bond was taken or not) have a fee of one dollar at the least, and so much more as is necessary to make the said half of his or her commission. The commission to be included in a forthcoming bond (when one is taken) shall be five percent on the first three hundred dollars of the money for which the distress or levy is made, and two percent on the residue of ~~such~~ the money; but ~~such~~ the commission shall not be received, in whole or in part, except as hereinbefore provided, unless the bond be forfeited, or the amount (including the commission) be paid to the plaintiff. An officer receiving payment in money, or selling property, shall have the like commission of five percent on the first three hundred dollars of the money paid or proceeds from ~~such~~ the sale, and two percent on the residue, except that when ~~such~~ the payment or sale is on an execution on a forthcoming bond, his or her commission shall be only half what it would be if the execution were not on ~~such~~ the bond. Any amounts collected by the sheriff pursuant to this section shall be deposited in a separate account of the county general fund and used by the sheriff for the expenses of providing the services herein described: Provided, That two dollars of each fee of twenty-five dollars collected under the provisions of this section shall be deposited by the county commission in the "West Virginia Deputy Sheriff Retirement Fund" as created in section six, article fourteen-d, chapter seven of this code and three dollars of each fee of twenty-five dollars collected under the provisions of this section shall be deposited by the county commission in the general revenue account of the county commission. Any surplus funds that remain in this separate account on the last day of the fiscal year, and have not been expended for the purposes herein described, shall revert to the county general fund.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase service of process fees from $20 to $25; and to provide that $2 of the fees collected by the sheriff for service of process is deposited in the West Virginia Deputy Sheriff Retirement Fund and $3 of the increased fee is to be deposited in the county general revenue account.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.