§ 16-10-604 — Procedure - City administration of justice funds

Arkansas § 16-10-604

• Jurisdiction: Arkansas
• Title: 16

Text

(a) (1) Pursuant to § 16-10-308 , each town or city which operates a district court is to create a city administration of justice fund. (2) (A) Any town or city operating a city court that becomes a department of district court shall continue to maintain the city administration of justice fund as originally established pursuant to § 16-10-308 . (B) The city administration of justice fund of any town or city shall cease to exist on and after the effective date of an ordinance that abolishes the department of district court for the town or city pursuant to state law. (3) There shall be deposited into the fund: (A) All receipts from the collection of uniform filing fees established by § 16-17-705 which are collected by the district court operated by the town or city; and (B) All receipts from the collection of uniform court costs, established by § 16-10-305 which are collected by the county, town, or city official, agency, or department designated pursuant to § 16-13-709 as primarily responsible for the collection of fines assessed in the district court operated by the town or city. (b) From the city administration of justice fund, the following fund transfers or disbursements shall be made on a monthly basis: (1) (A) Pursuant to § 16-10-308(c) , the Department of Finance and Administration will certify for each town or city the town's or city's monthly share of uniform court costs and filing fees to be retained by the town or city. (B) (i) Each year the town or city council shall establish the amount of uniform filing fees and court costs to be appropriated to each of the town or city programs or agencies enumerated in § 16-10-308(b) from the town's or city's share of uniform court costs and filing fees. (ii) Each program or agency shall receive, as a minimum, the amount established by § 16-10-308(b) . (C) Each program or agency shall be paid, by warrant or fund transfer, a monthly installment of at least one-twelfth (1/12) of the annual appropriation provided for each by the town or city council; (2) (A) Pursuant to § 16-10-308(b)(5) , the town or city shall remit to the county treasurer for deposit into the county administration of justice fund a portion of the town's or city's share of uniform court costs and filing fees. (B) The amount of the remittance shall be based upon the amount, if any, of uniform court costs and filing fees which had been remitted by the town or city to the county to fund county-level programs and agencies during the base year defined in § 16-10-308(b) . (C) By common agreement, towns, cities, and counties may establish a different fixed dollar amount or percentage of the town's or city's monthly share of filing fees and court costs which shall be remitted to the county treasurer; (3) For the calendar year beginning January 1, 1998, the amount of the remittance shall be based upon the amount, if any, of uniform court costs and filing fees which had been remitted by the town or city to fund county-level programs and agencies during the base year defined in § 16-10-308(b) , less eighty-five percent (85%) of the total dollar amount which was certified by the town or city as having been collected during calendar year 1994 for the purpose of funding the office and operation of the public defender and public defender investigator; and (4) The excess of the monthly receipts into the fund, less the town's or city's certified monthly share, shall be remitted to the department, pursuant to § 16-10-308(e) . (c) (1) If a district court is operated solely by a county rather than a town or city and all of the uniform court costs and filing fees collected by the court are remitted to the county, the town or city shall not be required to create a city administration of justice fund. (2) The town's or city's share of uniform court costs and filing fees shall be remitted directly to the county treasurer for deposit into the county administration of justice fund. (d) (1) (A) For any district court which was created after January 1, 1994, such that the base year used to calculate the town's or city's share pursuant to § 16-10-308 was not complete, the town or city share shall be deemed to be fifty percent (50%) of the uniform court costs and filing fees collected and remitted to the city administration of justice fund. (B) District courts created pursuant to § 16-17-901 et seq. shall not be considered for purposes of this section to have been created after January 1, 1994, or to have a base year that is not complete if the district court is merely a continuation of a district or city court that was in existence on December 31, 2007, or December 31, 2011. (C) From the fifty-percent share described in subdivision (d)(1)(A) of this section, the town or city shall disburse or transfer fifty percent (50%) of the funds to the local programs or agencies pursuant to subdivision (b)(1) of this section and fifty percent (50%) to the county treasurer pursuant to subdivision (b)(2) of this section. (2) The remaining fifty percent (50%) shall be remitted to the Department of Finance and Administration, pursuant to § 16-10-308(e) .

Legislative History

Acts 1997, No. 788, § 9; 1997, No. 1341, § 9; 2001, No. 1809, § 2; 2003, No. 1185, §§ 60, 61; 2007, No. 663, § 30.