H. B. 4160
(By Delegates Stemple, Webster, Hrutkay, Long,
Mahan, Varner, Browning, Proudfoot, Azinger,
Moore and Ellem)
[Introduced January 24, 2008; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §50-3-2 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to costs in criminal proceedings.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §50-3-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. COSTS, FINES AND RECORDS.
§50-3-2. Costs in criminal proceedings.
(a) In each criminal case before a magistrate court in which
the defendant is convicted, whether by plea or at trial, there is
imposed, in addition to other costs, fines, forfeitures or
penalties as may be allowed by law: (1) Costs in the amount of
sixty dollars, of which five dollars of that amount shall be
deposited in the Courthouse Facilities Improvement Fund created by
section six, article twenty-six, chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(2) an amount equal to the one-day per diem provided for in
subsection (h), section ten, article twenty, chapter thirty-one of
this code; and (3) costs in the amount of thirty dollars to be
deposited in the Regional Jail Operations Partial Reimbursement Fund created by section ten-b of said article. A magistrate may
not collect costs in advance. Notwithstanding any other provision
of this code, a person liable for fines and court costs in a
criminal proceeding in which the defendant is confined in a jail or
prison and not participating in a work release program shall not be
held liable for the fines and court costs until one hundred eighty
days after completion of the term in jail or prison. A magistrate
court shall deposit five dollars from each of the criminal
proceedings fees collected pursuant to this section in the Court
Security Fund created in section fourteen, article three, chapter
fifty-one of this code. A magistrate court shall, on or before the
tenth day of the month following the month in which the fees
imposed in this section were collected, remit an amount equal to
the one-day per diem provided
for in subsection (h), section ten,
article twenty, chapter thirty-one of this code from each of the
criminal proceedings in which the fees specified in this section
were collected to the magistrate court clerk, or if there is no
magistrate court clerk to the clerk of the circuit, together with
information as may be required by the rules of the Supreme Court of
Appeals and the rules of the Office of Chief Inspector. These
moneys are paid to the sheriff who shall distribute the moneys
solely in accordance with the provisions of section fifteen,
article five, chapter seven of this code. Amendments made to this
section during the regular session of the Legislature, two thousand
one, are effective after the thirtieth day of June, two thousand
one.
(b) A magistrate shall assess costs in the amount of two
dollars and fifty cents for issuing a sheep warrant and the
appointment and swearing appraisers and docketing the proceedings.
(c) In each criminal case which must be tried by the circuit
court but in which a magistrate renders some service, costs in the
amount of ten dollars shall be imposed by the magistrate court and
is certified to the clerk of the circuit court in accordance with
the provisions of section six, article five, chapter sixty-two of
this code.
(d) A defendant in a criminal proceeding relating to traffic
violations or Department of Natural Resources violations, with
multiple charges arising out of the same incident, shall only be
assessed court costs once and not separately for each charge.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to eliminate defendants in
traffic violations or Department of Natural Resources violations
being charged court costs for each individual charge from one
single incident.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.