HB 2491

Upon approval by a two-thirds vote of the county legislative body , present law requires the clerk of every court having jurisdiction of state misdemeanors and felonies to include in every misdemeanor and felony cost bill, a charge of $12.50 that must be remitted to the county government, except in counties that are part of a multiple county judicial district, in which case such charge must be remitted to the office of the executive director of the district attorneys general conference for the purpose of pr oviding supplemental funding for the office of the district attorney general within that judicial district. FRAUD AND ECONOMIC CRIMES PROSECUTION ACT The Fraud and Economic Crimes Prosecution Act authorizes a victim, before the commencement of criminal prosecution in a bad check case, to apply to the clerk in the county where the alleged offense occurred for participation in the bad check restitution program, which, upon application along with a $10 fee and any application fee, requires the clerk to forward the form to the district attorney general who will then send a letter to the last known address of the alleged violator stating that unless the amou nt of the check plus the $10.00 handling fee, and any additional application fees, are paid to the holder of the check within 15 days, criminal prosecution will commence. The Act requires judges presiding over criminal prosecutions to order that the fees are to be paid by the person or corporations against whom the costs are taxed, and the clerk of the court is required to collect those fees when the costs are paid. These fees include prosecutions for:  Worthless checks depending on the face amount of the check or sight order.  Forgeries with t he face amount of the check or money order be ing the determining factor in arriving at the proper fee .  All other offenses, where the fee is $75 regardless of the amount alleged to have been stolen or taken. The Act provides that a ny fees so collected must be collected by the clerk of the court in the same manner in which other costs are collected. The clerk is entitled to a reasonable handling fee not to exceed 5% of the amount collected, except in Shelby C ounty where the fee must not exceed 10% of the amount collected. WHEN COLLECTING THE ACT'S FEES ARE PROHIBITED This bill provides that, upon the enactment of the $12.50 cost as described above, the fees and assessments established in the Fraud and Economic Crimes Prosecution Act for fraud and economic crimes as described above must not be enforced within that county. Any existing funds collected under such Act that are in the possession, custody, or control of a district attorney general must be held and retained by the district attorney general until the balance of the funds collected from the $12.50 court costs equal or exceed the balance of the fraud and economic crimes prosecution funds, at which time the balance of the funds deposited into such fraud and economic crimes prosecution account s must revert to and be remitted back to the county government of original assessment and collection.