ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 428
(By Senators Kessler (Acting President) and Miller)
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[Passed March 18, 2011; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact §59-1-4, §59-1-11 and §59-1-13 of the
Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating
generally to fees charged by the clerk of a circuit court;
increasing the fees charged by the clerk of a circuit court
for medical professional liability actions; and fees collected
by clerks of court to be used to enhance funding for civil
legal services for victims of domestic violence and low income
citizens in the state.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §59-1-4, §59-1-11 and §59-1-13 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 1. FEES AND ALLOWANCES.
§59-1-4. Fees collected by Secretary of State, Auditor and Clerk of Supreme Court of Appeals to be paid into State Treasury;
accounts; reports.
Except as otherwise provided by law, the fees to be charged by
the Auditor, Secretary of State and Clerk of the Supreme Court of
Appeals, by virtue of this article or any other law, are the
property of the State of West Virginia. The Auditor, Secretary of
State and Clerk of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall account for
and pay into the State Treasury at least once every thirty days all
fees collected or appearing to be due to the state, to the credit
of the general state fund or other fund as provided by law. The
Auditor, Secretary of State and Clerk of the Supreme Court of
Appeals shall each keep a complete and accurate itemized account of
all fees collected by them and the nature of the services rendered
for which all fees were charged and collected, in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles, as provided in article
two, chapter five-a of this code. All accounts shall be open to
inspection and audit as provided in article two, chapter four of
this code.
§59-1-11. Fees to be charged by clerk of circuit court.
(a) The clerk of a circuit court shall charge and collect for
services rendered by the clerk the following fees which shall be
paid in advance by the parties for whom services are to be
rendered:
(1) For instituting any civil action under the Rules of Civil Procedure, any statutory summary proceeding, any extraordinary
remedy, the docketing of civil appeals, or any other action, cause,
suit or proceeding, $155, of which $30 shall be deposited in the
Courthouse Facilities Improvement Fund created by section six,
article twenty-six, chapter twenty-nine of this code and $20
deposited in the special revenue account created in section six
hundred three, article twenty-six, chapter forty-eight of this code
to provide legal services for domestic violence victims;
(2) For instituting an action for medical professional
liability, $280, of which $10 shall be deposited in the Courthouse
Facilities Improvement Fund created by section six, article twenty-
six, chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(3) Beginning on and after July 1, 1999, for instituting an
action for divorce, separate maintenance or annulment, $135;
(4) For petitioning for the modification of an order involving
child custody, child visitation, child support or spousal support,
$85; and
(5) For petitioning for an expedited modification of a child
support order, $35.
(b) In addition to the foregoing fees, the following fees
shall be charged and collected:
(1) For preparing an abstract of judgment, $5;
(2) For a transcript, copy or paper made by the clerk for use
in any other court or otherwise to go out of the office, for each page, $1;
(3) For issuing a suggestion and serving notice to the debtor
by certified mail, $25;
(4) For issuing an execution, $25;
(5) For issuing or renewing a suggestee execution and serving
notice to the debtor by certified mail, $25;
(6) For vacation or modification of a suggestee execution, $1;
(7) For docketing and issuing an execution on a transcript of
judgment from magistrate court, $3;
(8) For arranging the papers in a certified question, writ of
error, appeal or removal to any other court, $10, of which $5 shall
be deposited in the Courthouse Facilities Improvement Fund created
by section six, article twenty-six, chapter twenty-nine of this
code;
(9) For postage and express and for sending or receiving
decrees, orders or records, by mail or express, three times the
amount of the postage or express charges;
(10) For each subpoena, on the part of either plaintiff or
defendant, to be paid by the party requesting the same, 50¢;
(11) For additional service, plaintiff or appellant, where any
case remains on the docket longer than three years, for each
additional year or part year, $20; and
(12) For administering funds deposited into a federally
insured interest-bearing account or interest-bearing instrument pursuant to a court order, $50, to be collected from the party
making the deposit. A fee collected pursuant to this subdivision
shall be paid into the general county fund.
(c) The clerk shall tax the following fees for services in a
criminal case against a defendant convicted in such court:
(1) In the case of a misdemeanor, $85; and
(2) In the case of a felony, $105, of which $10 shall be
deposited in the Courthouse Facilities Improvement Fund created by
section six, article twenty-six, chapter twenty-nine of this code.
(d) The clerk of a circuit court shall charge and collect a
fee of $25 per bond for services rendered by the clerk for
processing of criminal bonds and the fee shall be paid at the time
of issuance by the person or entity set forth below:
(1) For cash bonds, the fee shall be paid by the person
tendering cash as bond;
(2) For recognizance bonds secured by real estate, the fee
shall be paid by the owner of the real estate serving as surety;
(3) For recognizance bonds secured by a surety company, the
fee shall be paid by the surety company;
(4) For ten-percent recognizance bonds with surety, the fee
shall be paid by the person serving as surety; and
(5) For ten-percent recognizance bonds without surety, the fee
shall be paid by the person tendering ten percent of the bail
amount.
In instances in which the total of the bond is posted by more
than one bond instrument, the above fee shall be collected at the
time of issuance of each bond instrument processed by the clerk and
all fees collected pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited
in the Courthouse Facilities Improvement Fund created by section
six, article twenty-six, chapter twenty-nine of this code. Nothing
in this subsection authorizes the clerk to collect the above fee
from any person for the processing of a personal recognizance bond.
(e) The clerk of a circuit court shall charge and collect a
fee of $10 for services rendered by the clerk for processing of
bailpiece and the fee shall be paid by the surety at the time of
issuance. All fees collected pursuant to this subsection shall be
deposited in the Courthouse Facilities Improvement Fund created by
section six, article twenty-six, chapter twenty-nine of this code.
(f) No clerk is required to handle or accept for disbursement
any fees, cost or amounts of any other officer or party not payable
into the county treasury except on written order of the court or in
compliance with the provisions of law governing such fees, costs or
accounts.
§59-1-13. Fees to be charged by Clerk of Supreme Court of Appeals.
The Clerk of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall charge the
following fees to be paid by the parties for whom the services are
rendered:
For all copies of petitions, records, orders, opinions or other papers, per page
. 25¢
For each certificate under seal of the court$5
For license to practice law, suitable for framing. $25
For docketing any civil appeals, including appeals from Family
Courts, but not including, appeals in workers' compensations cases,
any action in the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction or any other
action, cause or proceeding $200
For any other work or services not herein enumerated, the clerk
shall charge the fees prescribed for similar services by clerks of
circuit courts.
Fees collected for docketing civil appeals shall be expended,
in the discretion of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals,
solely to provide grants to the federally designated provider of
civil legal services for low income citizens in the state.