HB 172

            
2020 SESSION

20103771D

HOUSE BILL NO. 172 

House Amendments in [ ] � February 3, 2020

A BILL to amend and reenact � 17.1-279.1 of the Code of Virginia
and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 17.1-275.14,
relating to creation of Virginia State Police Electronic Summons System Fund.

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Patron Prior to Engrossment--Delegate Krizek 

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Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice 

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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That � 17.1-279.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and
reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered
17.1-275.14 as follows:

� 17.1-275.14. Additional fee for Virginia State Police
Electronic Summons System Fund.

A. In addition to the fees provided for by �� 16.1-69.48:1,
16.1-69.48:1.01, 17.1-275.1, 17.1-275.2, 17.1-275.3, 17.1-275.4, 17.1-275.5,
17.1-275.7, 17.1-275.8, 17.1-275.9, 17.1-275.10, 17.1-275.11, 17.1-275.12, and
17.1-275.13, a fee of $5 shall be assessed as court costs in each criminal or
traffic case in which the Virginia State Police issued the summons, ticket, or
citation [ ; executed the warrant; or made the arrest ] .
All fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the state
treasury and credited to the Virginia State Police Electronic Summons System
Fund.

B. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special
nonreverting fund to be known as the Virginia State Police Electronic Summons
System Fund, referred to in this section as "the Fund." The Fund
shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. All fees collected under
this section, moneys appropriated directly to the Fund, and any other grants or
gifts made to the Fund shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to
the Fund. Interest earned on moneys in the Fund shall remain in the Fund and be
credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the Fund, including interest thereon,
at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall
remain in the Fund. Moneys in the Fund shall be used solely for the purposes of
funding software, hardware, and associated equipment costs for the
implementation and maintenance of an electronic summons system. Expenditures and
disbursements from the Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants
issued by the Comptroller upon written request signed by the Superintendent of
the Virginia State Police or his designee.

� 17.1-279.1. Additional assessment for electronic summons
system.

Any county, city, or town, through its governing body, may
assess an additional sum not in excess of $5 as part of the costs in each
criminal or traffic case in the district or circuit courts located where such
cases are brought in which the defendant is charged with a violation of any
statute or ordinance, which violation in the case of towns arose within the
town, and where the defendant is charged with a violation of any such
statute or ordinance by a local law-enforcement agency. The imposition of
such assessment shall be by ordinance of the governing body, which may provide
for different sums in circuit courts and district courts. The assessment shall
be collected by the clerk of the court in which the action is filed, remitted
to the treasurer of the appropriate county, city, or town, and held by such
treasurer subject to disbursements by the governing body to a local
law-enforcement agency solely to fund software, hardware, and associated
equipment costs for the implementation and maintenance of an electronic summons
system. The imposition of a town assessment shall replace any county fee that
would otherwise apply.