H. B. 3084
(By Delegate Boggs)
[Introduced March 17, 2005; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A Bill to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §7-7-24; to amend and
reenact §50-1-14 of said code; to amend and reenact §51-2A-6
of said code; to amend and reenact §51-3-5 of said code; and
to amend and reenact §61-3-39h of said code, all relating to
the creation, funding and implementation of the "Part-Time
Bailiff Program."
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §7-7-24; that §50-1-14
of said code be amended and reenacted; that §51-2A-6 of said code
be amended and reenacted; that §51-3-5 of said code be amended and
reenacted; and that §61-3-39h of said code be amended and
reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 7. COUNTY COMMISSIONS AND OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 7. COMPENSATION OF ELECTED COUNTY OFFICIALS.
§7-7-24. Part-time bailiff program.
The county commission of each county is authorized, at its
discretion, to employ retired police officers or others on a
part-time, contract basis, to act as bailiffs in the circuit,
family and magistrate courts of this State. The services of these
individuals may be compensated from moneys existing in the general
county fund or from the worthless check fund provided under section
thirty-nine-h, article three, chapter sixty-one of this code. Any
person employed as a bailiff under the provisions of this section
shall be of good moral character while meeting all reasonable
qualifications required by the county, including certification in
the use and handling of firearms.
CHAPTER 50. MAGISTRATE COURTS.
ARTICLE 1. COURTS AND OFFICERS.
§50-1-14. Duties of sheriff; service of process; bailiff.
(a) It shall be the duty of each sheriff to execute all civil
and criminal process from any magistrate court which may be
directed to such sheriff. Process shall be served in the same
manner as provided by law for process from circuit courts.
Subject to the supervision of the chief justice of the supreme
court of appeals or of the judge of the circuit court, or the chief
judge thereof if there is more than one judge of the circuit court,
it shall be the duty of the sheriff, or his or her designated
deputy, to serve as bailiff of a magistrate court upon the request
of the magistrate. Such service shall also be subject to such
administrative rules as may be promulgated by the supreme court of
appeals. A writ of mandamus shall lie on behalf of a magistrate to enforce the provisions of this section:
Provided, That the county
commission in the county in which the magistrate court is situate
may employ individuals in accordance with the provisions of section
twenty-four, article seven, chapter seven of this code, to serve as
bailiffs in lieu of deputy sheriffs.
(b) The sheriff of any county may employ, by and with the
consent of the county commission, one or more persons whose sole
duties shall be the service of civil process and the service of
subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum. Any such person shall not be
considered a deputy or deputy sheriff within the meaning of
subdivision (2), subsection (a), section two, article fourteen,
chapter seven of this code, nor shall any such person be authorized
to carry deadly weapons in the performance of his or her duties:
Provided, That the sheriff may authorize an employee whose sole
duties involve service of civil process to carry a firearm if the
employee completes all training requirements otherwise applicable
to deputy sheriffs for the use and handling of firearms:
Provided,
however, That the sheriff may authorize previously certified West
Virginia law-enforcement officers to carry a deadly weapon in the
performance of the duties of the officers under the provisions of
this section:
Provided further, That these officers and employees
maintain yearly weapons qualifications and are bonded through the
office of the sheriff.
CHAPTER 51. COURTS AND THEIR OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 2A. FAMILY COURTS.
§51-2A-6. Compensation and expenses of family court judges and their staffs.
(a) Until the thirty-first day of December, two thousand two,
a family court judge is entitled to receive as compensation for his
or her services an annual salary of sixty thousand dollars.
Beginning the first day of January, two thousand three, a family
court judge is entitled to receive as compensation for his or her
services an annual salary of sixty-two thousand five hundred
dollars.
(b) The secretary-clerk of the family court judge is appointed
by the family court judge and serves at his or her will and
pleasure. The secretary-clerk of the family court judge is
entitled to receive an annual salary of twenty-five thousand three
hundred thirty-two dollars. In addition, any person employed as a
secretary-clerk to a family law master on the effective date of the
enactment of this section during the sixth extraordinary session of
the Legislature in the year two thousand one who is receiving an
additional five hundred dollars per year up to ten years of a
certain period of prior employment under the provisions of the
prior enactment of section eight of this article during the second
extraordinary session of the Legislature in the year one thousand
nine hundred ninety-nine shall continue to receive such additional
amount. Further, the secretary-clerk will receive such percentage
or proportional salary increases as may be provided
for by general
law for other public employees and is entitled to receive the
annual incremental salary increase as provided for in article five,
chapter five of this code.
(c) The family court judge may employ not more than one family
case coordinator who serves at his or her will and pleasure. The
annual salary of the family case coordinator of the family court
judge shall be established by the administrative director of the
supreme court of appeals but may not exceed thirty-six thousand
sixty dollars. The family case coordinator will receive such
percentage or proportional salary increases as may be provided for
by general law for other public employees and is entitled to
receive the annual incremental salary increase as provided
for in
article five, chapter five of this code.
(d) The sheriff or his or her designated deputy shall serve as
a bailiff for a family court judge. The sheriff of each county
shall serve or designate persons to serve so as to assure that a
bailiff is available when a family court judge determines the same
is necessary for the orderly and efficient conduct of the business
of the family court:
Provided, That the county commission in the
county in which the family court is situate may employ individuals
in accordance with the provisions of section twenty-four, article
seven, chapter seven of this code, to serve as bailiffs in lieu of
deputy sheriffs.
(e) Disbursement of salaries for family court judges and
members of their staffs are made by or pursuant to the order of the
director of the administrative office of the supreme court of
appeals.
(f) Family court judges and members of their staffs are
allowed their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. The expenses and compensation will be
determined and paid by the director of the administrative office of
the supreme court of appeals under such guidelines as he or she may
prescribe, as approved by the supreme court of appeals.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, family court
judges are not eligible to participate in the retirement system for
judges under the provisions of article nine of this chapter.
ARTICLE 3. COURTS IN GENERAL.
§51-3-5. Attending officer.
The supreme court of appeals shall not be attended by any
sheriff, but every circuit court,
county court county commission,
and other court of record of any county shall be attended by the
sheriff of the county in which it is held, who shall act as the
officer thereof:
Provided, That in the event the county commission
in the county in which a circuit court is situate authorizes the
employment of individuals in accordance with the provisions of
section twenty-four, article seven, chapter seven of this code, to
serve as bailiffs in lieu of deputy sheriffs, the circuit court, at
its discretion, may allow these individuals to attend the court.
CHAPTER 61. CRIMES AND THEIR PUNISHMENT.
ARTICLE 3. CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY.
§61-3-39h. Payment of costs in worthless check cases; disposition
of certain costs.
In any prosecution under sections thirty-nine or thirty-nine-a
of this article the costs as may otherwise be imposed against the
drawer of any check, draft or order shall be imposed on the person initiating the prosecution if payment of the check, draft or order
is accepted by the payee or holder thereof after the filing of a
complaint for warrant; if the payee or holder had reason to believe
that the check, draft or order would be dishonored or if the same
was postdated; or if the matter is dismissed for failure to
prosecute.
Costs collected by magistrate court for issuance of notice as
authorized by section thirty-nine-g of this article may not be paid
into the special county fund created by the provisions of section
four, article three, chapter fifty of this code, but shall be
accounted for separately and retained by the county in a fund
designated the "worthless check fund," until the sheriff shall
issue warrants in furtherance of the allowable expenses
specifically provided for by this section. Such costs may not be
included in any calculation of the amount of funds to be retained
by the county under the provisions of section four, article three,
chapter fifty of this code.
A county may, after agreement with the court administrator's
office of the supreme court of appeals, appropriate and spend from
the worthless check fund
herein established such sums
as shall be
necessary needed to pay or defray the expenses of providing a
deputy sheriff to serve warrants for worthless check offenses,
and
to pay or defray as well as the expenses
of incurred in providing
additional deputy clerks in the office of the magistrate court
clerk.
The county may, additionally, pay or defray the expenses
incurred in employing individuals to serve as bailiffs, in lieu of sheriff's department employees, under the provisions of section
twenty-four, article seven, chapter seven of this code. After
payment of these expenses, or after a determination that these
services are not necessary, a county may appropriate and spend from
the fund the sums necessary to defray the expenses of providing
bailiff and service of process services by the sheriff, to defray
the cost of acquiring or renting magistrate court offices and
providing utilities and telephones therefor to defray the cost of
complying with section thirty-nine-i herein and to defray the
expenses of such other services which are to be provided to
magistrate courts by the county.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize counties to
employ retired police officers or others to serve as bailiffs in
lieu of sheriff's employees.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§7-7-24 is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.
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