FISCAL NOTE

Senate Bill 203 as introduced requires the Administrative Office of Courts (AOC) to establish a statewide database and public website for the collection and viewing of data related to fines and fees collected by municipalities and submit a written report annually to the Legislature, the Attorney General, and the Governor the value of all fines and fees collected by municipalities and court data. According to AOC, this would increase AOC’s administrative and financial obligations by an estimated $1.2 million.

In addition, this bill will increase the administrative and financial obligations of municipalities (including municipal courts) authorized by law to collect fines and fees by an undetermined amount to: (1) submit an Annual Municipal Financial Report; (2) submit data on fines and fees collected to AOC within sixty days after the end of the fiscal year; and (3) upon request by certain elected officials, have a financial audit performed on the revenue collected through fines and fees by an independent certified public accountant or the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts. This bill also authorizes municipalities to use revenue collected from fines and fees to defray the costs to comply with the provisions of this bill and to pay the fees assessed for a financial audit performed by the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts.

In addition, this bill imposes a civil fine in the amount of $500, or the equivalent of one-quarter of the fines and fee revenue collected by the city for the fiscal year reported, whichever is greater, on municipalities that fail to timely upload its annual financial report into the database, which would increase receipts to the State General Fund, presumably by an undetermined amount depending on the number of and amount of civil fines imposed.