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Am. H. B. No. 226 As Reported by the Senate Judiciary--Civil Justice Committee
As Reported by the Senate Judiciary--Civil Justice Committee
126th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2005-2006 |
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Representatives Hoops, C. Evans, Flowers, Kearns, Martin, McGregor, Seitz, Setzer, Wagoner, Brown, Hartnett, Koziura, Willamowski, Barrett, Coley, Combs, Daniels, Domenick, Harwood, Otterman
A BILL
To amend section 1901.26 of the Revised Code to authorize the legislative authority of a municipal corporation to establish a schedule of fees to be taxed as costs in a civil, criminal, or traffic proceeding in a municipal court for services performed by officers or employees of the municipal corporation's police department or marshal's office.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 1901.26 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 1901.26. (A) Subject to division (E) of this
section,
costs in a municipal court shall be fixed and taxed as follows: (1)(a) The municipal court shall require an advance deposit
for
the filing of any new civil action or proceeding when
required by
division (A)(9)(C) of this section, and in all other
cases, by rule,
shall establish a schedule of fees and costs to
be taxed in any
civil or criminal action or proceeding.
(b)(i) The legislative authority of a municipal corporation may by ordinance establish a schedule of fees to be taxed as costs in any civil, criminal, or traffic action or proceeding in a municipal court for the performance by officers or other employees of the municipal corporation's police department or marshal's office of any of the services specified in sections 311.17 and 509.15 of the Revised Code. No fee in the schedule shall be higher than the fee specified in section 311.17 of the Revised Code for the performance of the same service by the sheriff. If a fee established in the schedule conflicts with a fee for the same service established in another section of the Revised Code or a rule of court, the fee established in the other section of the Revised Code or the rule of court shall apply.
(ii) When an officer or employee of a municipal police department or marshal's office performs in a civil, criminal, or traffic action or proceeding in a municipal court a service specified in section 311.17 or 509.15 of the Revised Code for which a taxable fee has been established under this or any other section of the Revised Code, the applicable legal fees and any other extraordinary expenses, including overtime, provided for the service shall be taxed as costs in the case. The clerk of the court shall pay those legal fees and other expenses, when collected, into the general fund of the municipal corporation that employs the officer or employee.
(iii) If a bailiff of a municipal court performs in a civil, criminal, or traffic action or proceeding in that court a service specified in section 311.17 or 509.15 of the Revised Code for which a taxable fee has been established under this section or any other section of the Revised Code, the fee for the service is the same and is taxable to the same extent as if the service had been performed by an officer or employee of the police department or marshal's office of the municipal corporation in which the court is located. The clerk of that court shall pay the fee, when collected, into the general fund of the entity or entities that fund the bailiff's salary, in the same pro-rated amount as the salary is funded.
(iv) Division (A)(1)(b) of this section does not authorize or require any officer or employee of a police department or marshal's office of a municipal corporation or any bailiff of a municipal court to perform any service not otherwise authorized by law. (2) The municipal court, by rule, may require an advance
deposit for the filing of any civil action or proceeding and
publication fees as provided in section 2701.09 of the Revised
Code. The court may waive the requirement for advance deposit
upon affidavit or other evidence that a party is unable to
make
the required deposit. (3) When a jury trial is demanded in any civil action or
proceeding, the party making the demand may be required to make
an
advance deposit as fixed by rule of court, unless, upon
affidavit
or other evidence, the court concludes that the party
is unable to
make the required deposit. If a jury is
called, the fees of a
jury shall be taxed as costs. (4) In any civil or criminal action or proceeding,
witnesses' fees shall be fixed in accordance with sections
2335.06
and 2335.08 of the Revised Code. (5) A reasonable charge for driving, towing, carting,
storing, keeping, and preserving motor vehicles and other
personal
property recovered or seized in any proceeding may be
taxed as
part of the costs in a trial of the cause, in an
amount that shall
be fixed by rule of court. (6) Chattel property seized under any writ or process
issued
by the court shall be preserved pending final disposition
for the
benefit of all persons interested and may be placed in
storage
when necessary or proper for that preservation. The
custodian of
any chattel property so stored shall not be required
to part with
the possession of the property until a reasonable
charge, to be
fixed by the court, is paid. (7) The municipal court, as it determines, may refund all
deposits and advance payments of fees and costs,
including those
for jurors and summoning jurors, when
they have been paid by the
losing party. (8) Charges for the publication of legal notices required
by
statute or order of court may be taxed as part of the costs,
as
provided by section 7.13 of the Revised Code. (B)(1) The municipal court may determine that, for the
efficient
operation of the court, additional funds are necessary
to acquire and pay for
special projects of the court including,
but not limited to, the acquisition
of additional facilities or
the rehabilitation of existing facilities, the
acquisition of
equipment, the hiring and training of staff, community service
programs, mediation or dispute resolution services, the employment
of
magistrates, the training and education of judges, acting
judges, and
magistrates, and other related services. Upon that
determination,
the court
by rule may charge a fee, in addition to
all other
court costs, on the filing of each criminal cause, civil
action or proceeding,
or judgment by confession. If the municipal court offers a special program or service in
cases of a
specific type, the municipal court by rule may assess
an additional charge in
a case of that type, over and above court
costs, to cover the special program
or service. The municipal
court shall adjust the special assessment
periodically,
but not
retroactively, so that the amount assessed in those cases does not
exceed the actual cost of providing the service or program. All moneys collected under division (B)
of this section shall
be paid to the county treasurer if the court is a
county-operated
municipal court or to the city treasurer if the court is not a
county-operated municipal court for deposit into either
a general
special projects fund or a fund established for a specific special
project. Moneys from a fund of that nature shall be disbursed
upon an order
of the court in an amount no greater than the actual
cost to the court of a
project. If a specific fund is terminated
because of the discontinuance of a
program or service established
under division
(B) of this section, the municipal court may
order
that moneys remaining in the fund be transferred to an account
established under this division for a similar purpose. (2) As used in division (B) of this section: (a)
"Criminal cause" means a charge alleging the violation
of
a
statute or ordinance, or subsection of a statute or
ordinance,
that requires a
separate finding of fact or a separate
plea before
disposition and of which
the defendant may be found
guilty,
whether filed as part of a multiple charge
on a single
summons,
citation, or complaint or as a separate charge on a
single
summons, citation, or complaint.
"Criminal cause" does not
include
separate
violations of the same statute or ordinance, or
subsection of the same statute
or ordinance, unless each charge is
filed on a separate summons, citation, or
complaint. (b)
"Civil action or proceeding" means any civil litigation
that
must be determined by judgment entry. (C)
The municipal
court shall
collect in all its divisions
except the small claims
division the
sum of fifteen dollars as
additional filing fees in
each new civil
action or proceeding for
the charitable public
purpose of
providing financial assistance to
legal aid societies
that operate
within the state.
The municipal
court shall collect in its small
claims division
the sum of seven
dollars as additional filing
fees in each new
civil action or
proceeding for the charitable
public purpose of
providing
financial assistance to legal aid
societies that operate
within
the state. This division does not
apply to any execution
on a
judgment, proceeding in aid of
execution, or other
post-judgment
proceeding arising out of a
civil action. The
filing fees
required to be collected under
this division shall be
in addition
to any other court costs
imposed in the action or
proceeding and
shall be collected at the
time of the filing of the
action or
proceeding. The court shall
not waive the payment of
the
additional filing fees in a new
civil action or proceeding
unless
the court waives the advanced
payment of all filing fees in
the
action or proceeding. All such
moneys shall be transmitted on
the
first business day of each
month by the clerk of the court to
the
treasurer of state. The
moneys then shall be deposited by the
treasurer of state to the
credit of the legal aid fund established
under section 120.52 of
the Revised Code. The court may retain up to one per cent of the moneys it
collects under this division to cover administrative costs,
including the hiring of any additional personnel necessary to
implement this division. (D) In the Cleveland municipal court, reasonable charges
for
investigating titles of real estate to be sold or disposed of
under any writ or process of the court may be taxed as part of
the
costs. (E) Under the circumstances described in sections 2969.21
to
2969.27 of the Revised Code, the clerk of the municipal court
shall charge
the fees and perform the other duties specified in
those sections.
Section 2. That existing section 1901.26 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.
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