HB552 Alabama 2010 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Pebblin W. WarrenRepresentative

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2010

Title

Macon Co., court costs, certain costs earmarked for county jail not pledged for county jail authorized to be used for roads and bridges, Amendment 530 (Section 4, Local Amendments, Macon County, Recompiled Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended) am'd., const. amend.

Summary

HB552 would let Macon County charge up to a $30 filing fee and up to a $5 service fee in civil and criminal cases to pay for planning, building, and financing a new county jail (including bonds and issuance costs) until those jail costs are fully paid, with a 30‑day wait after jail contracts are signed and construction begins before the fees take effect.

What This Bill Does

It creates new court fees in Macon County that fund the costs of a new county jail and related debt. The funds collected would go into the general fund and be used only for jail costs or to pay principal and interest on bonds issued to finance the jail (and for bond issuance costs), until the jail costs are fully paid or bonds retired. It also allows, for funds already in the Macon County Road and Bridge Fund before jail financing that were not pledged to the jail, those funds to be used for roads and bridges by the county commission.

Who It Affects

• People and businesses filing initial civil or criminal cases in Macon County courts would pay up to a $30 filing fee plus up to a $5 service fee, increasing the cost of filing and document handling.
• Macon County government (County Commission and related offices) and taxpayers, who would manage and bear responsibility for the jail funding plan, debt service, and potential reallocation of preexisting fund balances, with road/bridge fund flexibility if funds were not pledged to the jail.

Key Provisions

• Imposes a fee not to exceed $30 for filing an initial complaint in all civil and criminal cases in the county, and a fee not to exceed $5 for service of pleadings and documents; all fees go into the general fund and are used exclusively to pay for planning, construction, and equipping of a new county jail or to pay principal/interest on bonds and issuance costs related to jail financing.
• Fees shall continue until the jail costs are fully paid or bonds, warrants, or other obligations are retired, and the additional fee shall not be collected after that point, with a 30-day delay after the county signs jail contracts and construction actually begins before collection starts.
• If court costs and fees collected prior to jail financing were deposited into the Macon County Road and Bridge Fund and were not pledged to the jail, those funds may be used by the Macon County Commission for roads and bridges.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 25, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Macon County