§ 12-14-113 — Forfeiture of Fees and Costs; Audit

(a) Any municipal court that fails to submit the data required in this article within 60 days of the due date shall forfeit any fees and costs collected by the court that would otherwise remain with the municipal court or municipality until the data is submitted. Any forfeited fees and costs shall be transferred to the state Comptroller for distribution to the Administrative Office of Courts.
(b) Any municipal court that fails to submit the data required by this article within 60 days of the due date, at the request of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Attorney General, or the Governor, shall be subject to a financial audit under generally accepted government auditing standards of municipal records related to revenue collected through fines and fees. The audit shall be performed by the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts or by an independent certified public accountant selected by the municipality.
(c) The chief examiner or the independent certified public accountant may recover any costs incurred for the audit by charging a reasonable fee to the municipality.
(d) The municipality may use revenue from fines and fees to pay the costs of compiling and reporting data under this section.

Legislative History

(Act 2022-425, §4.)