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S.B. 217 Enrolled

             1     

INCREASE IN SURCHARGE ON FINES

             2     
2010 GENERAL SESSION

             3     
STATE OF UTAH

             4     
Chief Sponsor: Scott K. Jenkins

             5     
House Sponsor: Kevin S. Garn

             6     
             7      LONG TITLE
             8      General Description:
             9          This bill increases the surcharges on fines and penalties to provide funds for increased
             10      law enforcement presence in areas with halfway houses.
             11      Highlighted Provisions:
             12          This bill:
             13          .    increases the surcharges on criminal fines and penalties from 85% to 90%;
             14          .    creates a Law Enforcement Services Account for the increased amounts;
             15          .    requires that the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice administer the
             16      account;    
             17          .    requires that the account be used for increased law enforcement in areas with
             18      halfway houses; and
             19          .    allows law enforcement agencies to receive funds based on the number of halfway
             20      house beds in their jurisdiction to accomplish the purpose of the account.
             21      Monies Appropriated in this Bill:
             22          This bill appropriates as an ongoing appropriation subject to future budget constraints,
             23      $619,000 from the Law Enforcement Services Account for fiscal year 2010-11 to the
             24      Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice.
             25      Other Special Clauses:
             26          This bill takes effect on July 1, 2010.
             27      Utah Code Sections Affected:
             28      AMENDS:
             29          51-9-401, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 3 and renumbered and


             30      amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 382
             31          51-9-402, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 3 and renumbered and
             32      amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 382
             33      ENACTS:
             34          51-9-412, Utah Code Annotated 1953
             35     
             36      Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
             37          Section 1. Section 51-9-401 is amended to read:
             38           51-9-401. Surcharge -- Application and exemptions.
             39          (1) (a) A surcharge shall be paid on all criminal fines, penalties, and forfeitures
             40      imposed by the courts.
             41          (b) The surcharge shall be:
             42          (i) [85%] 90% upon conviction of a:
             43          (A) felony;
             44          (B) class A misdemeanor;
             45          (C) violation of Title 41, Chapter 6a, Part 5, Driving Under the Influence and Reckless
             46      Driving; or
             47          (D) class B misdemeanor not classified within Title 41, Motor Vehicles, including
             48      violation of comparable county or municipal ordinances; or
             49          (ii) 35% upon conviction of any other offense, including violation of county or
             50      municipal ordinances not subject to the [85%] 90% surcharge.
             51          (c) The Division of Finance shall allocate the collected 90% surcharge in Subsection
             52      (1)(b)(i) in the following order:
             53          (i) the first $30,000 to the General Fund;
             54          (ii) the next 4.5% to the Law Enforcement Services Account established in Section
             55      51-9-412 ; and
             56          (iii) the remainder as prescribed in Sections 51-9-403 through 51-9-411 .
             57          (2) The surcharge may not be imposed:


             58          (a) upon nonmoving traffic violations;
             59          (b) upon court orders when the offender is ordered to perform compensatory service
             60      work in lieu of paying a fine; and
             61          (c) upon penalties assessed by the juvenile court as part of the nonjudicial adjustment
             62      of a case under Section 78A-6-602 .
             63          (3) (a) The surcharge and the exceptions under Subsections (1) and (2) also apply to
             64      all fines, penalties, and forfeitures imposed on juveniles for conduct that would be criminal if
             65      committed by an adult.
             66          (b) However, the surcharge does not include amounts assessed or collected separately
             67      by juvenile courts for the Juvenile Restitution Account, which is independent of this part and
             68      does not affect the imposition or collection of the surcharge.
             69          (4) The surcharge under this section shall be imposed in addition to the fine charged
             70      for a civil or criminal offense, and no reduction may be made in the fine charged due to the
             71      surcharge imposition.
             72          (5) Fees, assessments, and surcharges related to criminal or traffic offenses shall be
             73      authorized and managed by this part rather than attached to particular offenses.
             74          Section 2. Section 51-9-402 is amended to read:
             75           51-9-402. Division of collected monies retained by state treasurer and local
             76      governmental collecting entity -- Purpose of surcharge -- Allocation of collections --
             77      Financial information.
             78          (1) The amount of the surcharge imposed under this part by courts of record shall be
             79      collected before any fine and deposited with the state treasurer.
             80          (2) The amount of the surcharge and the amount of criminal fines, penalties, and
             81      forfeitures imposed under this part by courts not of record shall be collected concurrently.
             82          (a) As monies are collected on criminal fines, penalties, and forfeitures subject to the
             83      [85%] 90% surcharge, the monies shall be divided pro rata so that the local governmental
             84      collecting entity retains [54%] 53% of the collected monies and the state retains [46%] 47% of
             85      the collected monies.


             86          (b) As monies are collected on criminal fines, penalties, and forfeitures subject to the
             87      35% surcharge, the monies shall be divided pro rata so that the local governmental collecting
             88      entity retains 74% of the collected monies and the state retains 26% of the collected monies.
             89          (c) The court shall deposit with the state treasurer the surcharge portion of all monies
             90      as they are collected.
             91          (3) Courts of record, courts not of record, and administrative traffic proceedings shall
             92      collect financial information to determine:
             93          (a) the total number of cases in which:
             94          (i) a final judgment has been rendered;
             95          (ii) surcharges and fines are paid by partial or installment payment; and
             96          (iii) the judgment is fulfilled by an alternative method upon the court's order; and
             97          (b) the total dollar amounts of surcharges owed to the state and fines owed to the state
             98      and county or municipality, including:
             99          (i) waived surcharges;
             100          (ii) uncollected surcharges; and
             101          (iii) collected surcharges.
             102          (4) The courts of record, courts not of record, and administrative traffic proceedings
             103      shall report all collected financial information monthly to the Administrative Office of the
             104      Courts. The collected information shall be categorized by cases subject to the [85%] 90% and
             105      35% surcharge.
             106          (5) The purpose of the surcharge is to finance the trust funds and support accounts as
             107      provided in this part.
             108          (6) (a) From the surcharge, the Division of Finance shall allocate in the manner and
             109      for the purposes described in Sections 51-9-403 through 51-9-411 .
             110          (b) Allocations shall be made on a fiscal year basis.
             111          (7) The provisions of this section and Section 51-9-401 may not impact the
             112      distribution and allocation of fines and forfeitures imposed in accordance with Sections
             113      23-14-13 , 78A-5-110 , and 78A-7-120 .


             114          Section 3. Section 51-9-412 is enacted to read:
             115          51-9-412. Law Enforcement Services Account -- Funding -- Uses.
             116          (1) As used in this section:
             117          (a) "Account" means the Law Enforcement Services Account.
             118          (b) "Commission" means the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice created in
             119      Section 63M-7-201 .
             120          (c) "Law enforcement agency" means a local law enforcement agency.
             121          (2) There is created a restricted account within the General Fund known as the "Law
             122      Enforcement Services Account."
             123          (3) (a) The Division of Finance shall allocate funds from the collected surcharge in
             124      accordance with Subsection 51-9-401 (1)(c) to the account, but not to exceed the amount
             125      appropriated by the Legislature.
             126          (b) Money in the account shall be appropriated to the commission to administer and
             127      distribute to law enforcement agencies providing services directly to areas with halfway
             128      houses.
             129          (4) The commission shall allocate funds from the account to local law enforcement
             130      agencies on a pro-rata basis determined by the number of beds in each agency's jurisdiction for
             131      increased enforcement in areas with halfway houses.
             132          (5) A law enforcement agency may use funds received under this section only for the
             133      purposes stated in this section.
             134          (6) For each fiscal year, any law enforcement agency that receives funds from the
             135      commission under this section shall prepare, and file with the commission and the state
             136      auditor, a report in a form specified by the commission. The report shall include the
             137      following:
             138          (a) the agency's name;
             139          (b) the amount received;
             140          (c) how the funds were used, including the impact on crime reduction efforts in areas
             141      with halfway houses; and


             142          (d) a statement signed by both the agency's or political subdivision's executive officer
             143      or designee and by the agency's legal counsel that all funds were used for law enforcement
             144      operations related to reducing criminal activity in areas with halfway houses.
             145          (7) The commission shall report in writing to the legislative Law Enforcement and
             146      Criminal Justice Interim Committee annually regarding the funds allocated under this section,
             147      including the amounts and uses.
             148          Section 4. Appropriation.
             149          As an ongoing appropriation subject to future budget constraints, there is appropriated
             150      from the Law Enforcement Services Account established in Section 51-9-412 for fiscal year
             151      2010-11, $619,000 to the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice to allocate for the
             152      purposes set forth in Section 51-9-412 .
             153          Section 5. Effective date.
             154          This bill takes effect on July 1, 2010.


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