HB473 Alabama 2018 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Rod Scott

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2018

Title

Fairfield, municipal judges and magistrates for municipal courts authorized to issue warrant recall fee for failure to appear for municipal ordinance or traffic violation, distrib. to municipal corrections fund

Summary

HB473 would allow Fairfield's municipal court to charge a $100 recall fee to recall failure-to-appear warrants for municipal ordinance or traffic violations, with the money going to the city's corrections fund.

What This Bill Does

If passed, a Fairfield municipal judge or magistrate may seek a $100 recall fee when recalling a failure-to-appear warrant related to municipal violations. The defendant must pay the fee at the time the warrant is recalled, and recall is not guaranteed and remains at the judge's discretion. All collected fees go into the City of Fairfield Corrections Fund and are allocated according to state law; the act becomes effective immediately upon becoming law.

Who It Affects

• Defendants who have a Fairfield municipal ordinance or traffic violation warrant and want the warrant recalled (they would pay $100 to have the warrant recalled).
• City of Fairfield government, including the Municipal Court and its judges/magistrates, which would have the authority to assess the fee, decide whether to recall warrants, and allocate the collected funds to the Fairfield Corrections Fund.

Key Provisions

• A municipal judge or magistrate in Fairfield may assess a warrant recall fee to recall a failure-to-appear warrant arising from a Fairfield municipal ordinance violation, notwithstanding other laws.
• The recall fee is set at $100 and must be paid by the defendant at the time the warrant is recalled.
• Recall of a warrant is discretionary; the city is not required to recall a warrant that has been issued.
• All fees collected for recall are deposited into the City of Fairfield Corrections Fund and allocated per subsection (a) of Section 11-47-7.1 of the Alabama Code.
• The act takes effect immediately after passage and approval by the Governor (or when it becomes law by other means).

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Fairfield