HB1532 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB097 06704 AJO 46791 b

97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB1532

Introduced 2/15/2011, by Rep. Patrick J. Verschoore

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

705 ILCS 105/27.3a	from Ch. 25, par. 27.3a
705 ILCS 105/27.3c	from Ch. 25, par. 27.3c
705 ILCS 105/27.3d
730 ILCS 110/15.1	from Ch. 38, par. 204-7.1

Amends the Clerks of Courts Act and the Probation and Probation Officers Act. Provides that all amounts over $250,000 on November 30th of each year in the court automation fund, the Court Document Fee Fund, the Circuit Court Clerk Operation and Administrative Fund, and the Probation and Court Services Fund are to be turned over to the county treasurer for deposit in the county's general fund to offset departmental related expenses. Should the need arise to complete a project that will require more than the $250,000 limit, an agreement may be entered into among the circuit clerk, the chief judge of the circuit, and the county board chairperson to allow for a larger sum to be retained in the fund.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning courts.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Clerks of Courts Act is amended by changing Sections 27.3a, 27.3c, and 27.3d as follows:

(705 ILCS 105/27.3a) (from Ch. 25, par. 27.3a)

Sec. 27.3a. Fees for automated record keeping and State Police operations.

1. The expense of establishing and maintaining automated record keeping systems in the offices of the clerks of the circuit court shall be borne by the county. To defray such expense in any county having established such an automated system or which elects to establish such a system, the county board may require the clerk of the circuit court in their county to charge and collect a court automation fee of not less than $1 nor more than $15 to be charged and collected by the clerk of the court. Such fee shall be paid at the time of filing the first pleading, paper or other appearance filed by each party in all civil cases or by the defendant in any felony, traffic, misdemeanor, municipal ordinance, or conservation case upon a judgment of guilty or grant of supervision, provided that the record keeping system which processes the case category for which the fee is charged is automated or has been approved for automation by the county board, and provided further that no additional fee shall be required if more than one party is presented in a single pleading, paper or other appearance. Such fee shall be collected in the manner in which all other fees or costs are collected.

1.5. Starting on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, a clerk of the circuit court in any county that imposes a fee pursuant to subsection 1 of this Section, shall charge and collect an additional fee in an amount equal to the amount of the fee imposed pursuant to subsection 1 of this Section. This additional fee shall be paid by the defendant in any felony, traffic, misdemeanor, local ordinance, or conservation case upon a judgment of guilty or grant of supervision.

2. With respect to the fee imposed under subsection 1 of this Section, each clerk shall commence such charges and collections upon receipt of written notice from the chairman of the county board together with a certified copy of the board's resolution, which the clerk shall file of record in his office.

3. With respect to the fee imposed under subsection 1 of this Section, such fees shall be in addition to all other fees and charges of such clerks, and assessable as costs, and may be waived only if the judge specifically provides for the waiver of the court automation fee. The fees shall be remitted monthly by such clerk to the county treasurer, to be retained by him in a special fund designated as the court automation fund, provided that all amounts over $250,000 on November 30th of each year are to be turned over to the county treasurer for deposit in the county's general fund to offset departmental related expenses. Should the need arise to complete a project that will require more than the $250,000 limit, an agreement may be entered into among the circuit clerk, the chief judge of the circuit, and the county board chairperson to allow for a larger sum to be retained in the fund. The fund shall be audited by the county auditor, and the board shall make expenditure from the fund in payment of any cost related to the automation of court records, including hardware, software, research and development costs and personnel related thereto, provided that the expenditure is approved by the clerk of the court and by the chief judge of the circuit court or his designate.

4. With respect to the fee imposed under subsection 1 of this Section, such fees shall not be charged in any matter coming to any such clerk on change of venue, nor in any proceeding to review the decision of any administrative officer, agency or body.

5. With respect to the additional fee imposed under subsection 1.5 of this Section, the fee shall be remitted by the circuit clerk to the State Treasurer within one month after receipt for deposit into the State Police Operations Assistance Fund.

(Source: P.A. 96-1029, eff. 7-13-10.)

(705 ILCS 105/27.3c) (from Ch. 25, par. 27.3c)

Sec. 27.3c. Document storage system.

(a) The expense of establishing and maintaining a document storage system in the offices of the circuit court clerks in the several counties of this State shall be borne by the county. To defray the expense in any county that elects to establish a document storage system and convert the records of the circuit court clerk to electronic or micrographic storage, the county board may require the clerk of the circuit court in its county to collect a court document fee of not less than $1 nor more than $15, to be charged and collected by the clerk of the court. The fee shall be paid at the time of filing the first pleading, paper, or other appearance filed by each party in all civil cases or by the defendant in any felony, misdemeanor, traffic, ordinance, or conservation matter on a judgment of guilty or grant of supervision, provided that the document storage system is in place or has been authorized by the county board and further that no additional fee shall be required if more than one party is presented in a single pleading, paper, or other appearance. The fee shall be collected in the manner in which all other fees or costs are collected.

(b) Each clerk shall commence charges and collections of a court document fee upon receipt of written notice from the chairman of the county board together with a certified copy of the board's resolution, which the clerk shall file of record in his or her office.

(c) Court document fees shall be in addition to other fees and charges of the clerk, shall be assessable as costs, and may be waived only if the judge specifically provides for the waiver of the court document storage fee. The fees shall be remitted monthly by the clerk to the county treasurer, to be retained by the treasurer in a special fund designated as the Court Document Storage Fund, provided that all amounts over $250,000 on November 30th of each year are to be turned over to the county treasurer for deposit in the county's general fund to offset departmental related expenses. Should the need arise to complete a project that will require more than the $250,000 limit, an agreement may be entered into among the circuit clerk, the chief judge of the circuit, and the county board chairperson to allow for a larger sum to be retained in the fund. The fund shall be audited by the county auditor, and the board shall make expenditures from the fund in payment of any costs relative to the storage of court records, including hardware, software, research and development costs, and related personnel, provided that the expenditure is approved by the clerk of the circuit court.

(d) A court document fee shall not be charged in any matter coming to the clerk on change of venue or in any proceeding to review the decision of any administrative officer, agency, or body.

(Source: P.A. 94-596, eff. 1-1-06.)

(705 ILCS 105/27.3d)

Sec. 27.3d. Circuit Court Clerk Operation and Administrative Fund. Each Circuit Court Clerk shall create a Circuit Court Clerk Operation and Administrative Fund, to be used to offset the costs incurred by the Circuit Court Clerk in performing the additional duties required to collect and disburse funds to entities of State and local government as provided by law. The Circuit Court Clerk shall be the custodian, ex officio, of this Fund and shall use the Fund to perform the duties required by the office, provided that all amounts over $250,000 on November 30th of each year are to be turned over to the county treasurer for deposit in the county's general fund to offset departmental related expenses. Should the need arise to complete a project that will require more than the $250,000 limit, an agreement may be entered into among the circuit clerk, the chief judge of the circuit, and the county board chairperson to allow for a larger sum to be retained in the fund. The Fund shall be audited by the auditor retained by the Clerk for the purpose of conducting the Annual Circuit Court Clerk Audit. Expenditures shall be made from the Fund by the Circuit Court Clerk for expenses related to the cost of collection for and disbursement to entities of State and local government.

(Source: P.A. 94-980, eff. 6-30-06; 94-1009, eff. 1-1-07; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)

Section 10. The Probation and Probation Officers Act is amended by changing Section 15.1 as follows:

(730 ILCS 110/15.1) (from Ch. 38, par. 204-7.1)

Sec. 15.1. Probation and Court Services Fund.

(a) The county treasurer in each county shall establish a probation and court services fund consisting of fees collected pursuant to subsection (i) of Section 5-6-3 and subsection (i) of Section 5-6-3.1 of the Unified Code of Corrections, subsection (10) of Section 5-615 and subsection (5) of Section 5-715 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, and paragraph 14.3 of subsection (b) of Section 110-10 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. The county treasurer shall disburse monies from the fund only at the direction of the chief judge of the circuit court in such circuit where the county is located, provided that all amounts over $250,000 on November 30th of each year are to be turned over to the county treasurer for deposit in the county's general fund to offset departmental related expenses. Should the need arise to complete a project that will require more than the $250,000 limit, an agreement may be entered into among the circuit clerk, the chief judge of the circuit, and the county board chairperson to allow for a larger sum to be retained in the fund. The county treasurer of each county shall, on or before January 10 of each year, submit an annual report to the Supreme Court.

(b) Monies in the probation and court services fund shall be appropriated by the county board to be used within the county or jurisdiction where collected in accordance with policies and guidelines approved by the Supreme Court for the costs of operating the probation and court services department or departments; however, except as provided in subparagraph (g), monies in the probation and court services fund shall not be used for the payment of salaries of probation and court services personnel.

(c) Monies expended from the probation and court services fund shall be used to supplement, not supplant, county appropriations for probation and court services.

(d) Interest earned on monies deposited in a probation and court services fund may be used by the county for its ordinary and contingent expenditures.

(e) The county board may appropriate moneys from the probation and court services fund, upon the direction of the chief judge, to support programs that are part of the continuum of juvenile delinquency intervention programs which are or may be developed within the county. The grants from the probation and court services fund shall be for no more than one year and may be used for any expenses attributable to the program including administration and oversight of the program by the probation department.

(f) The county board may appropriate moneys from the probation and court services fund, upon the direction of the chief judge, to support practices endorsed or required under the Sex Offender Management Board Act, including but not limited to sex offender evaluation, treatment, and monitoring programs that are or may be developed within the county.

(g) For the State Fiscal Years 2005, 2006, and 2007 only, the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts may permit a county or circuit to use its probation and court services fund for the payment of salaries of probation officers and other court services personnel whose salaries are reimbursed under this Act if the State's FY2005, FY2006, or FY2007 appropriation to the Supreme Court for reimbursement to counties for probation salaries and services is less than the amount appropriated to the Supreme Court for these purposes for State Fiscal Year 2004. The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts shall take into account each county's or circuit's probation fee collections and expenditures when apportioning the total reimbursement for each county or circuit.

(h) The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts may permit a county or circuit to use its probation and court services fund for the payment of salaries of probation officers and other court services personnel whose salaries are reimbursed under this Act in any State fiscal year that the appropriation for reimbursement to counties for probation salaries and services is less than the amount appropriated to the Supreme Court for these purposes for State Fiscal Year 2002. The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts shall take into account each county's or circuit's probation fee collections and expenditures when appropriating the total reimbursement for each county or circuit. Any amount appropriated to the Supreme Court in any State fiscal year for the purpose of reimbursing Cook County for the salaries and operations of the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center shall not be counted in the total appropriation to the Supreme Court in that State fiscal year for reimbursement to counties for probation salaries and services, for the purposes of this paragraph (h).

(Source: P.A. 94-91, eff. 7-1-05; 94-839, eff. 6-6-06; 95-707, eff. 1-11-08.)