House Bill No. 514
Introduced By _______________________________________________________________________________
A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act establishing the civil legal assistance for indigent persons in domestic violence account; providing that the montana supreme court administrator shall establish procedures for distribution of the money in the account; increasing certain district court and justice's court fees to fund the account; amending sections 25-1-201, 25-31-112, and 25-35-608, MCA; and providing an effective date."
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:
Section 1. 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 $90; for filing a complaint in intervention, from the intervenor, $80 $90; for filing a petition for dissolution
of marriage, a fee of $120 $130; and for filing a petition for legal separation, a fee of $120 $130;
(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 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 a district court fund exists does not exist, that portion of the fees
must be deposited in the county 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.
(3) In the case of a fee collected for issuing a marriage license or filing a declaration of marriage without solemnization, $14 must be deposited in and credited to the state general fund, $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 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 in 41-3-702, $10 must be deposited in the civil legal assistance for indigent persons in
domestic violence account established in [section 4], and $20 must be deposited in and credited to the district court fund. If
no a district court fund exists does not exist, the $20 must be deposited in the county 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.
(7) Fees collected under subsections (1)(d) through (1)(i) must be deposited in the district court fund. If no a district court
fund exists does not exist, fees must be deposited in the county 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."
Section 2. Section 25-31-112, MCA, is amended to read:
"25-31-112. Fees. (1) The following is the schedule of fees which that, except as provided in 25-35-605, shall must be
paid in every civil action in a justice's court:
(1)(a) $25 $30 when complaint is filed, to be paid by the plaintiff;
(2)(b) $10 when the defendant appears, to be paid by the defendant;
(3)(c) $10 to be paid by the prevailing party when judgment is rendered. In cases where in which judgment is entered by
default, no charge except the $25 for the filing of the complaint shall may be made for any services, including issuing and
return of execution.
(4)(d) $10 for all services in an action where in which judgment is rendered by confession;
(5)(e) $10 for filing notice of appeal and transcript on appeal, justifying and approving undertaking on appeal, and
transmitting papers to the district court with certificate.
(2) Of the fee for filing, $5 must be deposited in the civil legal assistance for indigent persons in domestic violence account established in [section 4]."
Section 3. Section 25-35-608, MCA, is amended to read:
"25-35-608. Fees. (1) The clerk of the justice's court shall collect a fee of:
(a) $10 $15 from the plaintiff upon the filing of the sworn complaint; and
(b) $5 from the defendant upon his the defendant's appearance and contesting of the complaint or execution of a
counterclaim.
(2) The laws relating to paupers' affidavits apply to actions before the small claims court.
(3) Of the fee for filing, $5 must be deposited in the civil legal assistance for indigent persons in domestic violence account established in [section 4]."
NEW SECTION. Section 4. Civil legal assistance for indigent persons in domestic violence account. (1) There is a civil legal assistance for indigent persons in domestic violence account in the state special revenue fund. There must be paid into this account the filing fees paid under 25-1-201(4), 25-31-112(2), and 25-35-608(3). The money in the account must be used solely for the purpose of providing legal representation for indigent persons in civil matters in domestic violence cases and for alternative dispute resolution initiatives in family law cases. Money in the account may not be used for class action lawsuits.
(2) The supreme court administrator shall establish procedures for the distribution of money in the account. The supreme court administrator may designate not-for-profit organizations that ordinarily render or finance legal services to indigent persons in civil matters in domestic violence cases to receive or administer the distribution of the funds.
NEW SECTION. Section 5. Codification instruction. [Section 4] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 3, chapter 2, part 7, and the provisions of Title 3, chapter 2, part 7, apply to [section 4].
NEW SECTION. Section 6. Effective date. [This act] is effective July 1, 1997.
-END-