SB3162 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB099 20679 HEP 45420 b

99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
SB3162

Introduced 2/19/2016, by Sen. Don Harmon

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

705 ILCS 105/27.3a
705 ILCS 105/28

Amends the Clerks of Courts Act. Provides that in specified circumstances, the clerk of the circuit court shall collect an additional $7 e-business fee. Provides that the clerk shall remit the fee to the State Treasurer within one month after receipt for deposit into the Supreme Court Special Purposes Fund. Provides that moneys in the Supreme Court Special Purposes Fund shall, among other things, be used by the Supreme Court for costs associated with electronic filing and other e-business programs and case management systems in the circuit courts. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

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 and 28 as follows:

(705 ILCS 105/27.3a)

Sec. 27.3a. Fees for automated record keeping, probation and court services operations, and State and Conservation Police operations, and e-business programs.

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 $25 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.

1.1. Starting on July 6, 2012 (the effective date of Public Act 97-761) and pursuant to an administrative order from the chief judge of the circuit or the presiding judge of the county authorizing such collection, a clerk of the circuit court in any county that imposes a fee pursuant to subsection 1 of this Section shall also charge and collect an additional $10 operations fee for probation and court services department operations.

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, except such $10 operations fee shall not be charged and collected in cases governed by Supreme Court Rule 529 in which the bail amount is $120 or less.

1.2. With respect to the fee imposed and collected under subsection 1.1 of this Section, each clerk shall transfer all fees monthly to the county treasurer for deposit into the probation and court services fund created under Section 15.1 of the Probation and Probation Officers Act, and such monies shall be disbursed from the fund only at the direction of the chief judge of the circuit or another judge designated by the Chief Circuit Judge in accordance with the policies and guidelines approved by the Supreme Court.

1.5. Starting on June 1, 2014, 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, except the fee imposed under this subsection may not be more than $15. This additional fee shall be paid by the defendant in any felony, traffic, misdemeanor, or local ordinance case upon a judgment of guilty or grant of supervision. This fee shall not be paid by the defendant for any violation listed in subsection 1.6 of this Section.

1.6. Starting on June 1, 2014, 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, except the fee imposed under this subsection may not be more than $15. This additional fee shall be paid by the defendant upon a judgment of guilty or grant of supervision for a violation under the State Parks Act, the Recreational Trails of Illinois Act, the Illinois Explosives Act, the Timber Buyers Licensing Act, the Forest Products Transportation Act, the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act, the Environmental Protection Act, the Fish and Aquatic Life Code, the Wildlife Code, the Cave Protection Act, the Illinois Exotic Weed Act, the Illinois Forestry Development Act, the Ginseng Harvesting Act, the Illinois Lake Management Program Act, the Illinois Natural Areas Preservation Act, the Illinois Open Land Trust Act, the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Act, the Illinois Prescribed Burning Act, the State Forest Act, the Water Use Act of 1983, the Illinois Veteran, Youth, and Young Adult Conservation Jobs Act, the Snowmobile Registration and Safety Act, the Boat Registration and Safety Act, the Illinois Dangerous Animals Act, the Hunter and Fishermen Interference Prohibition Act, the Wrongful Tree Cutting Act, or Section 11-1426.1, 11-1426.2, 11-1427, 11-1427.1, 11-1427.2, 11-1427.3, 11-1427.4, or 11-1427.5 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, or Section 48-3 or 48-10 of the Criminal Code of 2012.

1.7. Starting on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, a clerk of the circuit court in any county that imposes a fee pursuant to subsection 1 of this Section shall also charge and collect an additional $7 e-business fee. 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, except 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. The fee shall be in addition to all other fees and charges of the clerk, and assessable as costs, and may be waived only if the judge specifically provides for the waiver of the e-business fee. The fee shall not be charged in any matter coming to the clerk on a change of venue, nor in any proceeding to review the decision of any administrative officer, agency, or body.

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. 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.

6. With respect to the additional fees imposed under subsection 1.5 of this Section, the Director of State Police may direct the use of these fees for homeland security purposes by transferring these fees on a quarterly basis from the State Police Operations Assistance Fund into the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm Systems (ILEAS) Fund for homeland security initiatives programs. The transferred fees shall be allocated, subject to the approval of the ILEAS Executive Board, as follows: (i) 66.6% shall be used for homeland security initiatives and (ii) 33.3% shall be used for airborne operations. The ILEAS Executive Board shall annually supply the Director of State Police with a report of the use of these fees.

7. With respect to the additional fee imposed under subsection 1.6 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 Conservation Police Operations Assistance Fund.

8. With respect to the fee imposed under subsection 1.7 of this Section, the clerk shall remit the fee to the State Treasurer within one month after receipt for deposit into the Supreme Court Special Purposes Fund. Unless otherwise authorized by this Act, the moneys deposited into the Supreme Court Special Purposes Fund under this subsection are not subject to administrative charges or chargebacks under Section 20 of the State Treasurer Act.

(Source: P.A. 97-46, eff. 7-1-12; 97-453, eff. 8-19-11; 97-738, eff. 7-5-12; 97-761, eff. 7-6-12; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12; 97-1108, eff. 1-1-13; 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13; 98-375, eff. 8-16-13; 98-606, eff. 6-1-14; 98-1016, eff. 8-22-14.)

(705 ILCS 105/28)

Sec. 28. Supreme Court Clerk; fees. At the time of filing a petition or record, the petitioner or appellant shall pay to the Clerk of the Supreme Court the sum of $25. That sum shall be in full payment of all services of the clerk on behalf of the petitioner or appellant, except the making of a complete record, or copies of records, papers, or orders. The respondent or appellee, before entering an appearance or filing any paper, shall pay to the Clerk of the Supreme Court the sum of $15, which sum shall be in full payment of all services of the clerk on behalf of the respondent or appellee, except the making of a complete record, or copies of records, papers, or orders.

The fee for each official certificate and seal is $1.

The fee for making a complete record, copy of a record, or other papers in this office is a reasonable fee per page as established by the Supreme Court, except that the clerk shall furnish without cost, to parties in interest or their attorneys of record, copies of opinions or orders. In furtherance of the public interest, the clerk may furnish copies of opinions or orders without cost to other individuals or entities.

The fee for preparing a law license, certifying it with the seal, administering the oath, and transcribing the name on the roll of attorneys is $5.

After the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, the amount of any fee collected under this Section may be set by Supreme Court rule, except that the amount of the fees collected under this Section shall remain as set by statute until the Supreme Court adopts rules specifying a higher or lower fee amount.

There is created the Supreme Court Special Purposes Fund, a special fund in the State treasury. Moneys collected under this Section shall be deposited into the Supreme Court Special Purposes Fund. Moneys in the Supreme Court Special Purposes Fund shall , to be used by the Supreme Court for:

(1) costs associated with electronic filing and other e-business programs and case management systems in the circuit and reviewing courts; and

(2) the operation of committees and commissions established by the Supreme Court.

(Source: P.A. 98-324, eff. 10-1-13.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.