H. B. 2263
(By Delegates Staton, Beane, Fleischauer,
Amores and Faircloth)
[Introduced February 27, 1997; 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 disposition of
court costs collected in magistrate courts; continuing and
increasing allowable deposits in magistrate court funds;
allowing court costs collected in excess of limitations on
deposits in magistrate court funds to be placed in escrow
for limited payment of expenses for services provided to
magistrate courts to counties with magistrate court funds
that are underfunded.
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 of appeals of West Virginia 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 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
court costs collected by magistrates 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.
(3) A county may, in accordance with the supervisory rules
of the supreme court of appeals of West Virginia, appropriate and
spend from the magistrate court fund such sums as are 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 account may be used
solely for the purposes provided in this subsection.
(2) Beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-seven, 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. Beginning on the first day of
July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight, and during each
fiscal year thereafter, in accordance with the supervisory rules
of the supreme court of appeals, funds from the magistrate court
surplus account may be disbursed as a supplement to any county
magistrate court fund which generated less than fifteen thousand
dollars in the prior fiscal year. The amount disbursed to a
county magistrate court fund from the magistrate court surplus
account, when combined with the court costs collected by the
magistrate court of the county in the prior fiscal year, may not
exceed fifteen thousand dollars. Beginning on the thirtieth day
of June, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, and on the last
day of each fiscal year thereafter, the state treasurer shall
deposit to the general revenue fund of the state any balance
remaining in the magistrate court surplus account.
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 stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.