Senate Bill No. 476
(By Senator Love)
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[Introduced February 20, 1995; referred to the Committee
on Finance.]
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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 the disposition
of costs collected in magistrate courts; and increasing the
amount of funds to be deposited into certain 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.
Except for the funds specified in section four-a, all costs
collected in magistrate courts in a civil or criminal proceeding
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 The clerk shall pay costs into
the special county fund hereafter created during each fiscal year
until there shall have been is paid a sum equal to twelve
thousand five hundred dollars multiplied by the number of
magistrates authorized for such the county: Provided, That in
any county which authorizes only two magistrates the clerk shall
pay costs into the special county fund during each fiscal year
until there is paid a sum equal to twenty-five thousand dollars
multiplied by the number of magistrates. All costs collected in
excess of such the designated 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 the special county fund
hereinafter created.
There is hereby created in each county a special county fund
designated as the magistrate court fund. No moneys shall may 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.
A county may, in accordance with the supervisory rules of the supreme court of appeals, appropriate and spend from such the
magistrate court fund such sums as shall be are necessary to
defray the expenses of providing services to magistrate courts.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the amount of
funds to be deposited into the magistrate court funds of counties
which have only two magistrates.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.