Relates to electronic citation fees

BILL NUMBER:S5724

Title of bill

An act to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to electronic citation fees

Purpose or general idea of bill

To insure law enforcement safety and court efficiency by creating electronic citations, which will be printed instead of hand-written.

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1: Amends the Civil Practice Law and Rules. Provides that the clerks of the county in the state shall be entitled to charge and collect an electronic citation fee of $5, which shall be paid by the defendant in any traffic, misdemeanor, municipal ordinance, or conserva- tion case upon a plea of guilty, judgment of guilty, or grant of super- vision. Provides that 60% of the fee shall be deposited into the "Elec- tronic Citation Fund," established by each county, and 40% of the fee shall be disbursed to the arresting agency to defray expenses related to the establishment and maintenance of electronic citations. Contains provisions that establish the county clerk as the custodian of the Elec- tronic Citation Fund, and accounts for the duties that are required by the office for establishing and maintaining electronic citations. Provides that the county clerk shall not charge and collect an electron- ic citation fee if the county has by ordinance elected not to be subject to this section.

Section 2: Establishes the effective date.

Justification

Nationally, the leading cause of death for police officers over the past decades has been being struck by a vehicle during a traffic stop, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. The purpose of administering electronic citations is to increase law enforcement safety in the state. Instead of being hand-written, electronic citations will be printed. Electronic citations will enable police officers to issue citations in a quicker manner, spend less time alongside the road and in harm's way, and concentrate more fully on the stop. In addition to increasing officer safety, electronic citations will also aid courts by reducing data entry and processing costs. With electronic citations. courts will have greater efficiency because they will be sent electronically by the issuing officer directly to the court clerk. Furthermore, electronic citations will relieve the issues with illegible hand-written citations, also making future citations free of handwriting errors, as well as easily reproducible unlike difficult to read carbon copies of documents.

Prior legislative history

None.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect 180 days after it shall have become law.