SB 707 Text

Senate Bill No. 707
(By Senators Love and Kessler)
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[Introduced February 19, 2007; referred to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to repeal §7-8-13 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §31-20-30, all relating to amount, collection of and refunding of jail processing fees.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §7-8-13 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be repealed; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §31-20-30, all to read as follows:

ARTICLE 20. WEST VIRGINIA REGIONAL JAIL AND CORRECTIONAL FACILITY AUTHORITY.

§31-20-30. Jail processing fee.
(a) A person committed to be housed in jail by order of magistrate, circuit judge or by temporary commitment order shall, at the time of booking into the jail, pay a processing fee of thirty dollars. If the person is unable to pay at the time of booking, the fee shall be deducted, at a rate of fifty percent, from any new deposits made into the person's jail trust account until the jail processing fee is paid in full. The fee shall be credited to the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority's operating budget. The fee should be paid prior to the offender being released.
(b) A refund of a fee collected under this section shall be made to a person who has paid the fee if the person is not convicted of the offense for which the person was booked and the person provides documentation from the court showing that all charges for which the person was booked were dismissed, a receipt for the amount paid, accurate current name and address and a valid photographic identification. In the case of multiple offenses, if the person is convicted of any of the offenses the fee may not be refunded. If the person is convicted of a lesser included offense or a related offense, no refund may be made.

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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the amount of the jail processing fee. It also provides language to enhance collection and refunding procedures.

The bill changes §7-8-13 to §31-20-30.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.)

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