H. B. 4018
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss and Delegate Trump)
[By Request of the Executive]
[Introduced January 13, 2006; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §62-11C-2 and §62-11C-4 of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to the community
corrections subcommittee of the Governor's Committee on Crime,
Delinquency and Correction; meetings; funding.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §62-11C-2 and §62-11C-4 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 11C. THE WEST VIRGINIA COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS ACT.
§62-11C-2. Community corrections subcommittee.
(a) A community corrections subcommittee of the Governor's
Committee on crime, delinquency and correction is hereby created
and assigned responsibility for screening community corrections
programs submitted by community criminal justice boards or from
other entities authorized by the provisions of this article to do
so for approval for funding by the Governor's Committee and for
making recommendations as to the disbursement of funds for approved community corrections programs. The subcommittee is to be
comprised of fifteen members of the Governor's Committee including:
A representative of the Division of Corrections, a representative
of the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority, a person
representing the interests of victims of crime, an attorney
employed by a public defender corporation, an attorney who
practices criminal law, a prosecutor and a representative of the
West Virginia coalition against domestic violence. At the
discretion of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, the
Administrator of the Supreme Court of Appeals, a probation officer
and a circuit judge may serve on the subcommittee as ex officio,
nonvoting members.
(b) The subcommittee shall elect a chairperson and a vice
chairperson.
The subcommittee shall meet quarterly. Special
meetings may be held upon the call of the chairperson, vice
chairperson or a majority of the members of the subcommittee. A
majority of the members of the subcommittee constitute a quorum.
(c) A working group of the community corrections subcommittee
is hereby created to study safe and effective pretrial diversion
programs for persons charged with domestic violence offenses and to
recommend, based upon its findings, programs considered to be safe
and effective in reducing incidences of domestic violence and
educating persons charged with a domestic violence offense. The
working group is to be comprised of the following members of the
subcommittee: (1) If approved by the West Virginia supreme court
of appeals, the circuit judge; (2) the prosecuting attorney; (3) the public defender or the criminal defense attorney; (4) the
probation officer; and (5) the representative of the West Virginia
coalition against domestic violence. The working group is to
report its findings and recommendations to the subcommittee on or
before the first day of July, two thousand two.
§62-11C-4. Special revenue account.
(a) There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special
revenue account to be known as the "West Virginia Community
Corrections Fund". Expenditures from the fund are for the purposes
set forth in subsection
(d) (e) of this section and are not
authorized from collections but are to be made only in accordance
with appropriation by the Legislature and in accordance with the
provisions of article three, chapter twelve of this code and upon
the fulfillment of the provisions set forth in article two, chapter
five-a of this code.
Provided, That for the fiscal year ending the
thirtieth day of June, two thousand two, expenditures are
authorized from collections rather than pursuant to an
appropriation by the Legislature The West Virginia Community
Corrections Fund may receive any gifts, grants, contributions or
other money from any source which is specifically designated for
deposit in the fund.
(b) Beginning on the
effective date of this article first day
of July, two thousand six, in addition to the fee required in
section nine, article twelve of this chapter, a fee not to exceed
thirty thirty-five dollars per month, unless modified by
legislative rule as provided in section three of this article, is also to be collected from those persons on probation. This fee is
to be based upon the person's ability to pay. The magistrate or
circuit judge shall conduct a hearing prior to imposition of
probation and make a determination on the record that the offender
is able to pay the fee without undue hardship. The magistrate
clerk or circuit clerk shall collect all fees imposed pursuant to
this subsection and deposit them in a separate account. Within ten
calendar days following the beginning of the calendar month, the
magistrate clerk or circuit clerk shall forward the amount
deposited to the State Treasurer to be credited to the West
Virginia Community Corrections Fund.
(c) Beginning on the effective date of this article, in
addition to the fee required in section five, article eleven-b of
this chapter, a fee not to exceed five dollars per day, unless
modified by legislative rule as provided in section three of this
article, is also to be collected from those persons on home
incarceration. The circuit judge, magistrate or municipal court
judge shall consider the person's ability to pay in determining the
imposition and amount of the fee. The circuit clerk, magistrate
clerk or municipal court clerk shall collect all fees imposed
pursuant to this subsection and deposit them in a separate account.
Within ten calendar days following the beginning of the calendar
month, the circuit clerk or municipal court clerk shall forward the
amount deposited to the State Treasurer to be credited to the West
Virginia Community Corrections Fund.
(d) Beginning on the first day of July, two thousand
two six, in addition to the usual court costs in any criminal case taxed
against any defendant convicted in a municipal, magistrate or
circuit court, excluding municipal parking ordinances, a
three-
ten- dollar fee shall be added. The circuit clerk, magistrate
clerk or municipal court clerk shall collect all fees imposed
pursuant to this subsection and deposit them in a separate account.
Within ten calendar days following the beginning of the calendar
month, the circuit clerk, magistrate court clerk and the municipal
court clerk shall forward the amount deposited to the State
Treasurer to be credited to the West Virginia Community Corrections
Fund.
(e) The moneys of the West Virginia Community Corrections Fund
are to be disbursed by the Governor's Committee on crime,
delinquency and correction, upon recommendation by the community
corrections subcommittee, for the funding of community corrections
programs and to pay expenses of the Governor's Committee in
administering the provisions of this article, which expenses may
not in any fiscal year exceed ten percent of the funds deposited to
the special revenue account during that fiscal year.
(f) Any disbursements from the West Virginia Community
Corrections Fund allocated for community corrections programs by
the Governor's Committee may be made contingent upon local
appropriations or gifts in money or in kind for the support of the
programs. Any county commission of any county or the governing
body of a municipality may appropriate and expend money for
establishing and maintaining community corrections programs.
(g) Nothing in this article may be construed to mandate
funding for the West Virginia Community Corrections Fund or to
require any appropriation by the Legislature.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for quarterly
meetings of the community corrections subcommittee of the
Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction and to
increase revenue to the West Virginia Community Corrections Fund.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.