House Bill No. 61

Introduced By wiseman

By Request of the Public Employees' Retirement Board

A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act requiring that the district court and supreme court fees being deposited to the judges' pension trust fund be deposited instead to the state general fund; increasing the state general fund contribution and the state special revenue contribution to provide for the actuarially required funding of the judges' retirement system; amending sections 3-2-404, 19-5-404, and 25-1-201, MCA; and providing an effective date."

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:

Section 1.  Section 3-2-404, MCA, is amended to read:

"3-2-404.   Disposition of fees. Except as otherwise provided by law, three-fourths of all fees collected by the clerk must be paid into the state treasury and shall must be credited to the general fund, and the remaining one-fourth of the fees shall be paid to the public employees' retirement division of the department of administration to be credited to the Montana judges' retirement system account."

Section 2.  Section 19-5-404, MCA, is amended to read:

"19-5-404.   Contributions by state. (1) The Except as provided in subsection (2), the state of Montana shall contribute monthly to the pension trust fund a sum equal to 6% 38.19% of the compensation of each member. In addition, the clerk of each district court shall transmit 68% of certain filing fees as required under 25-1-201(2) and that portion of the fee for filing a petition for dissolution of marriage and a motion for substitution of a judge specified in 25-1-201(4) and (6) to the state, which shall first deposit in the pension trust fund an amount equal to 34.71% of the total compensation paid to district judges and supreme court justices who are covered by the judges' retirement system and then deposit the balance in the state general fund. The clerk of the supreme court shall pay one-fourth of the fees collected under 3-2-403 to the division to be credited to the pension trust fund.

(2)  The state of Montana shall contribute monthly from the renewable resource grant and loan program account in the state special revenue fund to the judges' pension trust fund an amount equal to 34.71% 38.19% of the compensation paid to the chief water court judge."

Section 3.  Section 25-1-201, MCA, is amended to read:

"25-1-201.   Fees of clerk of district court. (1) The clerk of the district court shall collect the following fees:

(a)  at the commencement of each action or proceeding, except a petition for dissolution of marriage, from the plaintiff or petitioner, $80; for filing a complaint in intervention, from the intervenor, $80; for filing a petition for dissolution of marriage, a fee of $120; and for filing a petition for legal separation, a fee of $120;

(b)  from each defendant or respondent, on appearance, $60;

(c)  on the entry of judgment, from the prevailing party, $45;

(d)  for preparing copies of papers on file in the clerk's office, 50 cents per for each page for the first five pages of each file, per for each request, and 25 cents per for each additional page;

(e)  for each certificate, with seal, $2;

(f)  for each oath and jurat, with seal, $1;

(g)  for search of court records, 50 cents for each year searched, not to exceed a total of $25;

(h)  for filing and docketing a transcript of judgment or transcript of the docket from all other courts, the fee for entry of judgment provided for in subsection (1)(c);

(i)  for issuing an execution or order of sale on a foreclosure of a lien, $5;

(j)  for transmission of records or files or transfer of a case to another court, $5;

(k)  for filing and entering papers received by transfer from other courts, $10;

(l)  for issuing a marriage license, $30;

(m)  on the filing of an application for informal, formal, or supervised probate or for the appointment of a personal representative or the filing of a petition for the appointment of a guardian or conservator, from the applicant or petitioner, $70, which includes the fee for filing a will for probate;

(n)  on the filing of the items required in 72-4-303 by a domiciliary foreign personal representative of the estate of a nonresident decedent, $55;

(o)  for filing a declaration of marriage without solemnization, $30;

(p)  for filing a motion for substitution of a judge, $100.

(2)  Except as provided in subsections (3) through (8), 32% of all fees collected by the clerk of the district court must be deposited in and credited to the district court fund. If no district court fund exists, that portion of the fees must be deposited in the general fund for district court operations. The remaining portion of the fees must be remitted to the state to be deposited as provided in 19-5-404 general fund.

(3)  In the case of a fee collected for issuing a marriage license or filing a declaration of marriage without solemnization, $14 $23.60 must be deposited in and credited to the state general fund, and $6.40 must be deposited in and credited to the county general fund, and $9.60 must be remitted to the state to be deposited as provided in 19-5-404.

(4)  Of the fee for filing a petition for dissolution of marriage or legal separation, $40 $75 must be deposited in the state general fund, $35 must be remitted to the state to be deposited as provided in 19-5-404, $5 must be deposited in the children's trust fund account established by 41-3-702, and $20 must be deposited in and credited to the district court fund. If no district court fund exists, the $20 must be deposited in the general fund for district court operations.

(5)  (a) Before the percentages contained in subsection (2) are applied and the fees deposited in the district court fund or the county general fund or remitted to the state, the clerk of the district court shall deduct from the following fees the amounts indicated:

(i)  at the commencement of each action or proceeding and for filing a complaint in intervention, as provided in subsection (1)(a), $35;

(ii) from each defendant or respondent, on appearance, as provided in subsection (1)(b), $25;

(iii) on the entry of judgment, as provided in subsection (1)(c), $15; and

(iv) from the applicant or petitioner, on the filing of an application for probate or for the appointment of a personal representative or on the filing of a petition for appointment of a guardian or conservator, as provided in subsection (1)(m), $15.

(b)  The clerk of the district court shall deposit the money deducted in subsection (5)(a) in the county general fund for district court operations unless the county has a district court fund. If the county has a district court fund, the money must be deposited in that fund.

(6)  The fee for filing a motion for substitution of a judge, as provided in subsection (1)(p), must be remitted to the state to be deposited as provided in 19-5-404 in the state general fund.

(7)  Fees collected under subsections (1)(d) through (1)(i) must be deposited in the district court fund. If no district court fund exists, fees must be deposited in the general fund for district court operations.

(8)  The clerk of the district court shall remit to the credit of the state general fund $20 of each fee collected under the provisions of subsections (1)(a) through (1)(c), (1)(m), and (1)(n) to fund a portion of judicial salaries."

NEW SECTION. Section 4.  Effective date. [This act] is effective July 1, 1997.

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