16-10-308. City administration of justice fund.

16-10-308. City administration of justice fund. (a)(1) There is hereby created in each town or city which operates a district court a fund in the office of the city treasurer to be known as the “city administration of justice fund”. (2) (A) A town or city operating a city court that becomes a department of district court shall continue to maintain the city administration of justice fund as originally established by this section. (B) The city administration of justice fund of any town or city shall cease to exist on and after the effective date of the ordinance that abolishes the department of district court for that town or city pursuant to state law. (b) The city administration of justice fund shall be used to defray a part of the expense of the administration of justice in the town or city. From the fund, the town or city shall continue to finance the following town or city agencies and programs which are currently funded, in whole or in part, by filing fees and court costs, at a funding level equal to not less than the greater of the amount which was collected by the town or city from court costs and filing fees for the agency or program in the calendar year ending December 31, 1994, or the amount appropriated by ordinance enacted prior to December 31, 1994, to the agency or program for the calendar year ending December 31, 1995: (1) The municipal court judge and clerk retirement fund for disbursement as otherwise provided by law; (2) The police and fire pension fund; (3) The intoxication detection equipment fund; (4) All municipal-level programs and agencies funded in whole or in part by court costs and filing fees assessed and collected by the district court, notwithstanding the repeal by this act of laws authorizing the collection of court costs and filing fees; and (5) All county-level programs and agencies funded in whole or in part by court costs and filing fees assessed and collected by the district court, notwithstanding the repeal by this act of laws authorizing the collection of court costs and filing fees and the disbursement of all or a part thereof to the county. (c)(1)(A) The city administration of justice fund of each town or city may retain an amount equal to the amount which was collected by the town or city from court costs and filing fees for city administration of justice expense in the calendar year ending December 31, 1994, or the amount appropriated from court costs and filing fees by ordinance enacted prior to December 31, 1994, for city or county administration of justice expense from court costs and filing fees for the calendar year ending December 31, 1995, plus, for calendar years 1995-2001, an additional amount based upon the average percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers or its successor, as published by the United States Department of Labor for the two (2) years immediately preceding. (B)(i) The amount retained during calendar years 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 shall be the amount retained during calendar year 2001. (ii) Except as provided in subdivision (c)(1)(B)(iii) of this section, for calendar years beginning 2014 and each calendar year thereafter, an additional amount shall be added to the amount to be retained based upon the lesser of the average percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers or its successor, as published by the United States Department of Labor, for the two (2) years immediately preceding or the percentage rate of increase in collections of the State Administration of Justice Fund for the two (2) years immediately preceding. (iii) The provisions of subdivision (c)(1)(B)(ii) of this section shall not be effective if the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State determines that the additional amount retained under subdivision (c)(1)(B)(ii) of this section has exceeded one million dollars ($1,000,000) in a calendar year, and any additional amount to be retained must be authorized by the General Assembly. (C) All local ordinances of the counties and cities authorized and adopted under § 24-8-318 shall remain in full force and effect. (2) For the calendar year beginning January 1, 1998, the base amount to be retained shall be: (A) Increased by any increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers as provided for in subdivision (c)(1) of this section; and (B) Decreased by eighty-five percent (85%) of the total dollar amount which was certified by the town or city as having been collected during calendar year 1994 for the purpose of funding the office and operation of the public defender and public defender investigator. (d) Nothing in this act shall prevent the town or city from funding any additional costs for the administration of justice from other town or city funds. (e) The town or city shall remit, on or before the fifteenth day of each month, all sums received in excess of the amounts necessary to fund the expenses enumerated in subsections (b) and (c) of this section during the previous month from the uniform filing fees provided for in § 16-17-705 and the uniform court costs provided for in § 16-10-305 to the Administration of Justice Funds Section for deposit into the State Administration of Justice Fund.