Senate Bill No. 343
(By Senators Blatnik, Craigo, Helmick,
Love, Wiedebusch and Yoder)
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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; to amend and reenact
section four-a, article three, chapter fifty of said code;
and to amend and reenact section twenty-eight-a, article
one, chapter fifty-nine of said code, all relating to
disposition of criminal costs and civil filing fees from
municipal, magistrate and circuit courts into state treasury
account for regional jail and correctional facility
development fund; and penalties.
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; that section four-a, article
three, chapter fifty of said code be amended and reenacted; and
section twenty-eight-a, article one, chapter fifty-nine of said
code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 8. MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS.
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 correctional facility
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 correctional facility development fund unless and until
the defendant has paid all costs which, when paid, are available
for the use and benefit of the municipality. In the event that the clerk of a municipal court or other person designated to
receive fines and costs fails, at the end of any month, to pay
into the regional jail and correctional facility development fund
an amount equal to forty dollars of the costs collected in each
proceeding, except for traffic offenses that are not moving
violations, the regional jail and correctional facility authority
is authorized to assess a penalty against that municipal court in
an amount equal to ten percent of the moneys due and unpaid, plus
interest as allowed by section thirty-one, article six, chapter
fifty-six of this code.
CHAPTER 50. MAGISTRATE COURTS.
ARTICLE 3. COSTS, FINES AND RECORDS.
§50-3-4a. Disposition of criminal costs and civil filing fees
into state treasury account for regional jail and
correctional facility development fund.
The clerk of each magistrate court 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 criminal
proceeding and all but ten dollars of the costs collected for the
filing of each civil action. In the event that the clerk of a
magistrate court fails, at the end of any month, to pay into the regional jail and correctional facility development fund an
amount equal to forty dollars of the costs collected in each
criminal proceeding and all but ten dollars of the costs
collected for the filing of each civil action, the regional jail
and correctional facility authority is authorized to assess a
penalty against that magistrate court in an amount equal to ten
percent of the moneys due and unpaid, plus interest as allowed by
section thirty-one, article six, chapter fifty-six of this code.
CHAPTER 59. FEES, ALLOWANCES AND COSTS; NEWSPAPERS;
LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT.
ARTICLE 1. FEES AND ALLOWANCES.
§59-1-28a. Disposition of filing fees in civil actions and fees
for services in criminal cases.
(a) The clerk of each circuit court 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 sixty dollars of every filing fee received 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 in
the circuit court: Provided: That in actions for divorce, the
clerk shall pay into such fund an amount equal to ten dollars of the filing fee for instituting such actions.
(b) The clerk of each circuit court 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 every fee for service received in any
criminal case against any defendant convicted in such court.
(c)
In the event that the clerk of a circuit court fails, at
the end of any month, to pay into the regional jail and
correctional facility development fund an amount equal to sixty
dollars of every filing fee received 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 in the
circuit court, except that in actions for divorce, an amount
equal to ten dollars of the filing fee, and an amount equal to
forty dollars of every fee for service received in any criminal
cases against any defendant convicted in such court, then the
regional jail and correctional facility authority is authorized
to assess a penalty against that circuit court in an amount equal
to ten percent of the moneys due and unpaid, plus interest as
allowed by section thirty-one, article six, chapter fifty-six of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the regional
jail and correctional facility authority to assess a penalty
against municipal, magistrate and circuit courts when the clerks
of such courts fail to remit certain moneys collected in civil
and criminal proceedings to the authority's development fund.
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.