PRINTER'S NO. 2895
No. 2148 Session of 2003
INTRODUCED BY SCHRODER, ARMSTRONG, BALDWIN, BOYD, CAPPELLI,
CIVERA, CLYMER, COSTA, CREIGHTON, DALEY, DALLY, DENLINGER,
FLICK, GODSHALL, GORDNER, HARHART, HARPER, HERSHEY, HESS,
HICKERNELL, HORSEY, McCALL, NICKOL, PICKETT, PISTELLA, ROSS,
RUBLEY, SCAVELLO, STERN, E. Z. TAYLOR, J. TAYLOR, WASHINGTON,
WATSON AND WEBER, NOVEMBER 10, 2003
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, NOVEMBER 10, 2003
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the
2 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for
3 deposits of additional fees.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Section 3733(a.1) of Title 42 of the Pennsylvania
7 Consolidated Statutes, amended October 2, 2002 (P.L.841,
8 No.122), is amended to read:
9 § 3733. Deposits into account.
10 * * *
11 (a.1) Additional fees.--
12 (1) In addition to the court costs and filing fees
13 authorized to be collected by statute:
14 (i) An additional fee of $10 shall be charged and
15 collected by the prothonotaries of the Pennsylvania
16 Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth Courts for each
1 initial filing for which a fee, charge or cost is now
2 authorized.
3 (ii) An additional fee of $10 shall be charged and
4 collected by the prothonotaries, clerks of orphans'
5 courts and registers of wills of all courts of common
6 pleas, or by any officials designated to perform the
7 functions thereof, for the initiation of any civil action
8 or legal proceeding.
9 (iii) An additional fee of $10 shall be charged by
10 the clerks of courts of all courts of common pleas, or by
11 any officials designated to perform the functions
12 thereof, for the initiation of any criminal proceeding
13 for which a fee, charge or cost is now authorized and a
14 conviction is obtained or guilty plea is entered.
15 (iv) An additional fee of $10 shall be charged and
16 collected by the minor judiciary, including district
17 justices, Philadelphia Municipal Court, Philadelphia
18 Traffic Court and Pittsburgh Magistrates Court, for the
19 initiation of a legal proceeding for which a fee or cost
20 is now authorized, except that in criminal, summary and
21 traffic matters the fee shall be charged only when a
22 conviction is obtained or guilty plea is entered.
23 (v) An additional fee of $10 shall be charged and
24 collected by the recorders of deeds and clerks of court,
25 or by any officials designated to perform similar
26 functions, for each filing of a deed, mortgage [or
27 property transfer for which a fee, charge or cost is now
28 authorized.], easement, lease for a term of 30 years or
29 longer, or installment sales agreement.
30 (2) The additional fees identified in paragraph (1)
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1 shall be fixed and charged for the fiscal years as indicated:
2 (i) For the fiscal year 2002-2003, $9 of each
3 additional fee shall be deposited into the Judicial
4 Computer System Augmentation Account, and $1 of each
5 additional fee shall be deposited into the Access to
6 Justice Account under section 4904 (relating to
7 establishment of Access to Justice Account).
8 (ii) For the fiscal years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005,
9 $8.50 of each additional fee shall be deposited into the
10 Judicial Computer System Augmentation Account, and $1.50
11 of each additional fee shall be deposited into the Access
12 to Justice Account under section 4904.
13 (iii) For the fiscal year 2005-2006 and each fiscal
14 year thereafter, $8 of each additional fee shall be
15 deposited into the Judicial Computer System Augmentation
16 Account, and $2 of each additional fee shall be deposited
17 into the Access to Justice Account under section 4904.
18 (3) [The]
19 (i) Except as provided in subparagraph (ii), the
20 moneys charged and collected under this subsection shall
21 be paid to the court imposing the fee, which shall
22 transfer the moneys to the Department of Revenue for
23 deposit into the appropriate account. [For]
24 (ii) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(v), the court
25 shall be the court of common pleas[.] and the amount paid
26 to the court shall be 97% of the moneys charged and
27 collected. The remaining 3% shall be paid to the recorder
28 of deeds and clerk of courts, or to the officials
29 designated to perform similar functions, proportionately
30 in accordance with the amounts each officer collected and
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1 shall be used to defray the administrative costs of
2 collection.
3 * * *
4 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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