Senate Bill No. 103
(By Senators Minard, Dittmar, Holliday, Ross and Claypole)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported January 25, 1994.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section twelve, article one, chapter
fifty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to creating a lien
provision for fines in circuit court.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twelve, article one, chapter fifty-nine of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. FEES AND ALLOWANCES.
§59-1-12. Payment of fines by credit card or payment plan; lien
created.
(a) A circuit court may accept credit cards in payment of
all fines, costs, forfeitures, restitution or penalties. The
supreme court of appeals shall adopt rules regarding the use of
credit cards to pay fines, and the rules shall state that any
charges made by the credit company shall be paid by the person
responsible for paying the fine, cost, forfeiture, restitution orpenalty.
(b) If all costs, fines, forfeitures, restitution or
penalties imposed by a circuit court and ordered to be paid are
not paid as ordered by the judgment of the circuit court, the
clerk of the circuit court shall notify the prosecuting attorney
of the county of such nonpayment and provide the prosecuting
attorney with an abstract of judgment. The prosecuting attorney
shall file the abstract of judgment in the office of the clerk of
the county commission in the county where the defendant was
convicted and in any county wherein the defendant resides or owns
property. The clerk of the county commission shall record and
index the abstracts of judgment without charge or fee to the
prosecuting attorney, and when so recorded, the amount stated to
be owing in the abstract shall constitute a lien against all
property of the defendant.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a lien
provision for fines in circuit court.)