HB606 Alabama 2010 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Alan Harper

Republican

Co-Sponsor

William E. Thigpen

Session

Regular Session 2010

Title

Fayette Co., court costs, drug enforcement fees, specified fees provided for, distrib. to clerk of the court and district attorney's drug enforcement fund, Legislature authorized to provide for additional court costs and distribution, const. amend.

Summary

Proposes a Fayette County constitutional amendment to create a drug enforcement fee in specified court cases and to authorize local control over court costs and their distribution to a drug enforcement fund.

What This Bill Does

If passed, the amendment would add a drug enforcement fee in juvenile, traffic, criminal, and quasi-criminal cases in Fayette County courts. The fee amounts would be $10 for non-drug cases, $60 for misdemeanor drug cases, and $85 for felony drug cases, with $3 kept by the court clerk as an administrative fee and the rest sent to the Drug Enforcement Fund. The district attorney would establish a Fayette County Drug Enforcement Fund to support the county drug task force, including expenses, salaries, and grant matching; the Legislature could fix or change court costs by local law, and any existing local laws authorizing additional costs would be ratified.

Who It Affects

• Defendants in Fayette County's juvenile, traffic, criminal, and quasi-criminal cases, who would be assessed the new drug enforcement fee in accordance with case type.
• Fayette County's court system and law enforcement, including the clerk of the court (administrative fee), the district attorney (drug enforcement fund administration), the drug task force, and the public who benefits from funded drug enforcement activities.

Key Provisions

• Imposes a drug enforcement fee in Fayette County in all juvenile, traffic, criminal, and quasi-criminal cases, with amounts: $10 (non-drug cases), $60 (misdemeanor drug cases), $85 (felony drug cases).
• Distributes collected fees: $3 retained by the clerk as an administrative fee; the remainder goes to the Fayette County Drug Enforcement Fund or another prescribed fund for drug enforcement.
• Establishes a Fayette County Drug Enforcement Fund to be managed by the district attorney for the drug task force, covering expenses, salaries, grant matching, and other related law enforcement costs.
• Authorizes the Legislature, by local law, to fix, regulate, and alter the costs and charges of Fayette County courts and to provide for their distribution; ratifies any existing local laws authorizing additional court costs.
• Requires collection of the fee in all cases where court costs are assessed, regardless of guilty status, including adjudications of guilt, bond forfeitures, penalties, warrants, and other costs.
• Proposes a voter referendum for adoption, with a specified ballot description and yes/no choices, as part of a constitutional amendment process.

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

Subjects

Fayette County