H. B. 4328
(By Delegates Staton, Beane, Fleischauer, Amores
and Faircloth)
(Introduced February 10, 1998; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.)
A BILL to amend and reenact section four, article three, chapter
fifty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, relating to dispositon of court costs
collected in magistrate courts; continuing and increasing
allowable deposits in magistrate court funds for the purpose
of defraying expenses incurred by counties for providing
services to magistrate courts; allowing court costs collected
in excess of limitations on deposits in magistrate court funds
to be placed in escrow for distribution to counties with
underfunded magistrate court funds.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article three, chapter fifty of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. COSTS, FINES AND RECORDS
§50-3-4. Disposition of costs; magistrate court fund.
(a) Except for the funds specified in section four-a, All
costs collected in magistrate courts in a civil proceeding pursuant
to the provisions of section one of this article, or and all costs
collected in magistrate courts in a criminal proceeding pursuant to
the provisions of section two of this article, shall be submitted
on or before the tenth day of the month following the month of
their collection to the magistrate court clerk or, if there is no
magistrate court clerk, to the clerk of the circuit court along
with such information as may be required by the rules of the
supreme court and by the rules of the chief inspector of public
offices. Such clerk shall pay costs into the special county fund
hereafter created during each fiscal year until there shall have
been paid a sum equal to twelve thousand five hundred dollars
multiplied by the number of magistrates authorized for such county.
All costs collected in excess of such sum during a fiscal year
shall be paid to the state. All costs and fees collected by
magistrates on or after the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred seventy-six, shall be paid into said special county fund
hereinafter created.
(b) There is hereby created in each county a (1) The special
county fund known as the magistrate court fund established in each county by chapter thirty-three, acts of the Legislature, regular
session, one thousand nine hundred seventy-six, as amended and
reenacted in a subsequent acts of the Legislature, is hereby
continued. designated as the magistrate court fund. No moneys
shall be appropriated from the fund except for the purposes
provided for in this section. Any money remaining in the
magistrate court fund on the thirtieth day of June, one thousand
nine hundred seventy-nine, and on the thirtieth day of June of each
year thereafter, shall be paid to the state. The moneys credited
to the fund may be used solely for the purposes provided in this
subsection.
(2)The magistrate court clerk of each county shall pay the sum
of ten dollars collected by magistrates in each civil and criminal
proceeding into the magistrate court fund during each fiscal year
until there is paid a sum equal to fifteen thousand dollars
multiplied by the number of magistrates authorized for the county.
A county may, in accordance with the supervisory rules of the
supreme court of appeals, appropriate and spend from such fund such
sums as shall be necessary to defray the expenses of providing
services to magistrate courts.
(c)(1)There is hereby created in the state treasury a special
escrow account designated as the "magistrate court surplus
account". The moneys credited to the amount may be used solely for the purposes provided in this subsection.
(2)Beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-eight, all costs collected during a fiscal year in
excess of the sum specified in subdivision (2), subsection (b) of
this section shall be deposited in the magistrate court surplus
account in the state treasury.
(3)Beginning on the first day of September, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-nine, and on the first day of September of each year
thereafter, in accordance with the supervisory rules of the supreme
court of appeals, funds from the magistrate court surplus account
deposited therein as excess costs collected in the prior fiscal
year pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (2) of this
subsection shall be disbursed as a supplement to any county
magistrate court fund which generated less than fifteen thousand
dollars per magistrate in the prior fiscal year in accordance with
the provisions of this subsection.
(4)The amount disbursed to a county magistrate court fund from
the magistrate court surplus account, when combined with the court
costs generated by the magistrate court fund of the county in the
prior fiscal year, may not exceed fifteen thousand dollars per
magistrate.
(5)The disbursements described in subdivision (3)of this
subsection shall be made as follows:
(A)There shall be distributed to each county magistrate court
fund that generated less than nine thousand dollars in the prior
fiscal year the sum of nine thousand dollars less the amount of
court costs generated by the county magistrate court fund of the
county in the prior fiscal year, may not exceed fifteen thousand
dollars per magistrate.
(5)The disbursements described in subdivision (3) of this
subsection shall be made as follows:
(A)There shall be distributed to each county magistrate court
fund that generated less than nine thousand dollars in the prior
fiscal year the sum of nine thousand dollars less the amount of
court costs generated by the county magistrate court fund in the
prior fiscal year. To the extent that the funds available for this
disbursement are insufficient to fully fund this disbursement, the
funds available shall be disbursed to these counties on a pro rata
basis.
(B)Any funds that remain available for disbursement after
disbursements made pursuant to paragraph (A) of this subdivision
shall be disbursed in equal shares to each county magistrate court
fund that generated less than fifteen thousand dollars per
magistrate in the prior fiscal year. The shares to be disbursed to
each county magistrate court fund are to be equal to the number of
magistrates in the county. Any disbursement made under this paragraph, however, shall be subject to the limitations specified
in subdivision (4) of this subsection.
(6)Any funds that remain available in the magistrate court
surplus account after the disbursements have been made pursuant to
the provisions of paragraphs (A) and (B), subdivision (5) of this
subsection shall be deposited by the state treasurer into the
general revenue fund of the state.
A county may, in accordance with the supervisory rules of the
supreme court of appeals, appropriate and spend from such fund such
sums as shall be necessary to defray the expenses of providing
services to magistrate courts.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow excesses in
magistrate court funds to be placed in escrow for the payment of
expenses to counties for services provided to magistrate courts
with magistrate court funds that are underfunded and to increase
the amounts of court costs retained in magistrate court funds for
payment for such services.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be striken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added