West Virginia Code § 50-3-4

Disposition of costs; magistrate court fund
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(a) All costs collected in magistrate courts in a civil proceeding pursuant to the provisions of
section one of this article and all costs collected in magistrate courts in a criminal
proceeding pursuant to the provisions of section two of this article shall be submitted on or
before the tenth day of the month following the month of their collection to the magistrate
court clerk along with any information that may be required by the rules of ethe Supreme
Court of Appeals and by the rules of the State Auditor.
(b)(1) The special county fund known as the magistrate court fund established in each
county by chapter thirty-three, Acts of the Legislature, 1976 reguular session, as amended
and reenacted in subsequent Acts of the Legislature, is hereby continued. The moneys
credited to the fund may be used solely for the purposes protvided in this section.
(2) The magistrate court clerk of each county shall pay the sum of $10 collected in
magistrate court for each civil and criminal proceeding into the magistrate court fund during
each fiscal year until there is paid a sum equal to $l15,000 multiplied by the number of
magistrates authorized for the county. s
(3) A county may, in accordance with the siupervisory rules of the Supreme Court of Appeals,
appropriate and spend from the fundg such sums as are necessary to defray the expenses of
providing services to magistrate courts.
(c)(1) There is hereby created in the state Treasury a special escrow account designated as
the Magistrate Court Surplus Account. The moneys credited to the account may be used
solely for the purposes provided in this subsection.
(2) Beginning on July 1, 2000, all costs collected during a fiscal year in excess of the sum
specified in suVbdivision (2), subsection (b) of this section shall be deposited in the Magistrate
Court Surplus Account in the state Treasury.
(3) Beginning on September 1, 2001, and on September 1, of each year thereafter, in
accordance with the supervisory rules of the Supreme Court of Appeals, funds from the
Magistrate Court Surplus Account deposited therein as excess costs collected in the prior
fiscal year pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (2) of this subsection shall be disbursed
as a supplement to any county magistrate court fund which generated less than $15,000 per
magistrate in the prior fiscal year in accordance with the provisions of this subsection.
(4) The amount disbursed to a county magistrate court fund from the Magistrate Court
Surplus Account, when combined with the court costs generated by the magistrate court
fund of the county in the prior fiscal year, may not exceed $15,000 per magistrate.
(5) The disbursements described in subdivision (3) of this subsection shall be made as
follows:
(A) There shall be distributed to each county magistrate court fund that generated less than
$9,000 in the prior fiscal year the sum of $9,000 less the amount of court costs generated by
the county magistrate court fund in the prior fiscal year. To the extent that the funds
available for this disbursement are insufficient to fully fund this disbursement, the funds
available shall be disbursed to these counties on a pro rata basis.
(B) Any funds that remain available for disbursement after disbursements made pursuant to
paragraph (A) of this subdivision shall be disbursed in equal shares to each ecounty
magistrate court fund that generated less than $15,000 per magistrate in the prior fiscal
year. The shares to be disbursed to each county magistrate court fund rare to be equal to the
number of magistrates in the county. Any disbursement made under this paragraph shall be
subject to the limitations specified in subdivision (4) of this subsection.
(6) Any funds that remain available in the Magistrate Court tSurplus Account after the
disbursements have been made pursuant to the provisions of paragraphs (A) and (B),
subdivision (5) of this subsection shall be deposited by the state Treasurer into the General
Revenue Fund of the state.

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