Bill Text: VA SB803 | 2020 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: Attorneys for the Commonwealth; compensation and collection of fees.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-02-03 - Continued to 2021 in Judiciary (15-Y 0-N) [SB803 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2020-SB803-Prefiled.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§15.2-1626, 15.2-1627.2, 15.2-1627.3, and 15.2-1636.8 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§15.2-1626. Attorney for the Commonwealth.
The voters in every county and city shall elect an attorney for the Commonwealth unless otherwise provided by general law or special act. The attorney for the Commonwealth shall exercise all the powers conferred and perform all the duties imposed upon such officer by general law. He may perform such other duties, not inconsistent with his office, as the governing body may request. He shall be elected as provided by general law for a term of four years. Every county and city may, with the approval of the Compensation Board, provide for employing compensated assistants to the attorney for the Commonwealth as in the opinion of the Compensation Board may be required, but in no instance shall staffing or funding levels be determined by reference to the number of charges brought or the number of convictions obtained, nor shall the Compensation Board rely on standards devised or recommended by the attorney for the Commonwealth, law-enforcement agencies, or professional associations representing attorneys for the Commonwealth or law-enforcement officers. Such assistant or assistants shall be appointed by the attorney for the Commonwealth for a term coterminous with his own. The compensation for such assistants to the attorneys for the Commonwealth shall be as provided for assistants to attorneys for the Commonwealth under § 15.2-1627.1.
§15.2-1627.2. Disposition of fees of attorneys for the Commonwealth.
Every such attorney for the Commonwealth shall, however,
continue to collect all fees which he may be entitled to receive by law, other
than from the Commonwealth and any political subdivision, and shall dispose of
the same as in this section provided. One-half of all The fees to
which attorneys for the Commonwealth are entitled for collected in consideration of
the performance of official duties or functions, of attorneys for the Commonwealth
shall be paid by them, or
such official as may collect the same, not later than the
tenth day of the month following their receipt, into the treasuries of their
respective counties and cities, and the remaining one-half of all such fees
shall be paid by such official as may collect the same into
the state treasury, not later than the tenth day of the month following their
receipt. The State Treasurer
shall pay to the treasuries of the respective counties and cities of the
attorneys for the Commonwealth a proportion of half of all such fees
collected by all attorneys for the Commonwealth, as determined by each county
or city's crime rate, criminal incident rate, or arrest rate.
§15.2-1627.3. Attorneys for the Commonwealth and city attorneys; in criminal cases; when no costs or fees taxed.
The fees of attorneys for the Commonwealth in all felony and misdemeanor cases in which there is a conviction and sentence not set aside on appeal or a judgment for costs against the prosecutor, and for expenditures made in the discharge of his duties shall be as follows:
For each trial of a single count felony Class 1 or Class 2 felony
indictment, $40 or
other felony that carries a possible penalty of life in prison, except robbery
in violation of §18.2-58, $120.
For each trial of a multiple count any other felony indictment, or robbery in violation of §18.2-58,
$40 per count,
regardless of the number of counts.
For each person tried for a misdemeanor in his circuit court, $15, and for each person prosecuted by him before such court of his county or city for a misdemeanor, which he is required by law to prosecute, or upon an indictment found by a grand jury, $15, and in every misdemeanor case so prosecuted the court or judge shall tax in the costs and enter judgment for such misdemeanor fee.
No attorney for the Commonwealth or city attorney shall receive a fee for appearing in misdemeanor cases before a district court notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary.
No costs or fees shall be taxed for, or in any way allowed to, an attorney for the Commonwealth of any city or county or a city attorney of any city in any case, unless he in person, or by a duly authorized assistant, actually appears and prosecutes the proceedings before the court.
§15.2-1636.8. Duties of Board in fixing salaries, expenses, etc.
All salaries of such officers shall be as hereinafter
provided. The expenses and other allowances of all such officers shall be fixed
and determined on or before May 1 of each year. The Board shall, no later than
the fifteenth day following final adjournment of the General Assembly of
Virginia in each session, provide to such officers and the local governing body
of each city and county he represents, an estimate of expenses and other
allowances to be fixed by the Board for the next fiscal year. The Board shall,
at meetings duly called by the chairman, carefully consider the questionnaires
and written requests filed as required by §15.2-1636.7 and consider the work involved
in the discharge of the duties of the respective officers, the extent to which
such duties are imposed by actions of the local governing body, the amount
expended or proposed to be expended by each for clerks, deputies, and other assistants, the
efficiency with which the affairs of each such office are conducted, and such
other matters as the Board may deem pertinent and material, including the
number of local governments served if more than one, including the pay and
compensation plan of each political subdivision, if it has one, and the
locality's plans for adjustments of salaries and expenses for the ensuing
fiscal year, as well as the plan of the Commonwealth for adjustment of state
salaries and expenses for such year. The Board shall fix and determine what
constitutes a fair and reasonable budget for the participation of the
Commonwealth toward the total cost of the office. In its deliberations with
respect to any office of an attorney for the Commonwealth, the Board shall not
consider whether volunteer assistants are being used in that office. In determining staffing or funding levels for any
office of an attorney for the Commonwealth, the Board shall not consider the
number of charges brought or the number of convictions obtained, nor shall the Board rely
on standards devised or recommended by the attorney for the Commonwealth,
law-enforcement agencies, or professional associations representing attorneys
for the Commonwealth or law-enforcement officers. Insofar as the number and
types of criminal cases handled by an office of an attorney for the
Commonwealth are relevant to staffing or funding levels, the relevant data
shall be calculated from population data, crime rates, criminal incident rates,
or arrest rates, collected and published by the Virginia State Police or the
Federal Bureau of Investigation. In no instance shall the workload of any
office of the attorney for the Commonwealth be determined using measures that
increase if an attorney for the Commonwealth (i) elects to prosecute a more serious
charge, (ii) elects to prosecute additional charges from a single arrest or
criminal incident, (iii) obtains convictions rather than dismissing charges or
offering reduced charges, or (iv) proceeds with prosecution rather than
diversion. Such budgets, in the aggregate, shall not
contemplate state expenditures in excess of the appropriation available to the
Board. Prior to holding any such meeting for the fixing of salaries and
expenses as provided in this article, ten 10 days' written notice of the
time, place, and purpose of such meeting
shall be given every officer affected and to the mayor or city manager of the
city or to the chairman of the governing body and administrator, executive, or manager of the county
affected.
When the salaries, expenses,
and other allowances for the several counties and cities have been tentatively
fixed by the Board they shall notify the governing body of each city and county
of the amounts so fixed. Within thirty 30 days thereafter, but not
later, the governing body may file with the Compensation Board any objection it
may have to such allowances so fixed. When such objection is filed the Board
shall fix a time for a hearing on such objection, of which time the governing
body as well as the officer affected shall have at least fifteen 15 days' notice. For the
purpose of determining the merits of such protest the governing body may
designate two members of such body to serve as additional members of the
Compensation Board, and
such additional members shall each have one vote on the Board.
The chairman of the Board shall record the salary of each such
officer, his clerks, assistants, and
deputies, and the allowances made for other items,
and shall promptly notify each such officer of the same with respect to his
office.
In fixing, determining, and recording the salaries of the full-time deputy sheriffs mentioned in § 15.2-1609.2, the Board shall act solely with reference to establishing an aggregate allowance for personal services to the respective sheriffs for such deputy sheriffs. The annual salary of each such full-time deputy sheriff shall be fixed and determined as provided by §15.2-1609.2.
