Senate Bill No. 342

(By Senators Blatnik, Helmick, Love, Wiedebusch,

Yoder and Craigo)

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[Introduced February 8, 1996;

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary;

and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact section one-a, article eleven, chapter eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to disposition of criminal costs into state treasury account for regional jail and prison development fund.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one-a, article eleven, chapter eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 11. POWERS AND DUTIES WITH RESPECT TO ORDINANCES AND

ORDINANCE PROCEDURES.
§8-11-1a. Disposition of criminal costs into state treasury account for regional jail and prison development fund.

The clerk of each municipal court, or such person designated to receive fines and costs, shall at the end of each month pay into the regional jail and prison correctional facility development fund in the state treasury an amount equal to forty dollars of the costs collected in each proceeding, except for traffic offenses that are not moving violations. Provided: That in a case where a defendant has failed to pay all costs assessed against him, no payment shall be made to the regional jail and prison development fund unless and until the defendant has paid all costs which, when paid, are available for the use and benefit of the municipality.




NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to eliminate the provision that no payment is to be made from a municipal court to the regional jail and prison [correctional facility] development fund until a defendant has paid all costs assessed against him to the municipality for its own benefit in all municipal court proceedings except those involving traffic offenses that are not moving violations.

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

This bill is recommended for passage in the 1996 regular session by the Legislative Oversight Committee on Regional Jails and Correctional Facility Authority.