HB0984eng 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB0984 Engrossed LRB098 02567 HEP 32571 b

AN ACT concerning civil law.

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 Section 27.3a 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.

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.

1.1. Starting on July 6, 2012 (the effective date of Public Act 97-761) this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly 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 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, or local ordinance case upon a judgment of guilty or grant of supervision. This fee shall not be paid by the defendant for any conservation violation listed in subsection 1.6 of this Section.

1.6. Starting on July 1, 2012 (the effective date of Public Act 97-46), 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 upon a judgment of guilty or grant of supervision for a conservation 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 1961.

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.

(Source: P.A. 96-1029, eff. 7-13-10; 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; revised 9-20-12.)

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