First Regular Session S.B. 1123
PROPOSED
SENATE AMENDMENTS TO S.B. 1123
(Reference to printed bill)
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert:
"Section 1. Section 12-115, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
12-115. Additional filing, appearance and answer or response fees; deposit
A. In addition to any other assessment authorized by law, the supreme court shall establish an additional fee on each filing, appearance and answer or response fee charged by a clerk of the superior court.
B. The clerk shall collect the additional fee and monthly remit the additional fees to the county treasurer. The county treasurer shall transmit the fees to the state treasurer on or before the fifteenth day of each month for deposit, pursuant to sections 35-146 and 35-147, in the Arizona lengthy trial and digital evidence fund established by section 21-222. The state treasurer shall invest and divest monies in the fund as provided by section 35-313, and monies earned from investment shall be credited to the fund.
C. The additional fee may be deferred or waived pursuant to sections 12-302 and 12-304.
D. In establishing the additional fees under subsection A of this section, the supreme court may designate by rule that the additional fees not be imposed on filings in types of cases that involve minimal use of court resources, or that are not afforded the opportunity for a trial by jury or that do not involve the use of digital evidence.
Sec. 2. Section 12-284.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
12-284.01. Document and digital evidence storage and retrieval conversion fund; purpose
A. A document and digital evidence storage and retrieval conversion fund for the clerk of the superior court is established consisting of monies received pursuant to subsection C of this section.
B. Except as provided in section 12-284.02, The clerk of the superior court shall administer the fund. The clerk, in coordination with the presiding judge, shall expend monies in the fund, subject to approval by the county board of supervisors, for the following purposes:
1. in order To defray the cost of converting and maintaining the clerk's document storage and retrieval system and to convert to micrographics or computer automation. The monies collected pursuant to section 12-284.02, subsection B shall be used to improve access to court records.
2. to manage and store digital evidence and to facilitate the display of evidence to the jury and court at a trial and related proceedings.
C. In addition to the filing or appearance fee charged pursuant to chapter 3, article 2 of this title or section 12-1705, the presiding judge of the superior court may assess each person required to pay a filing or appearance fee under such article or sections an additional fee of not to exceed fifteen dollars $15. All monies received from the additional fee pursuant to this subsection shall be transmitted to the county treasurer and placed in the document and digital evidence storage and retrieval conversion fund for the clerk of the superior court.
D. The clerk shall annually submit to the presiding judge the amount of projected revenues to be raised for the document and digital evidence storage and retrieval conversion fund pursuant to this section. If projected revenues of the fund are deemed insufficient to pay for conversion costs, fund monies may accumulate until sufficient monies are available in the fund.
Sec. 3. Repeal
Section 12-284.02, Arizona Revised Statutes, is repealed.
Sec. 4. Section 21-222, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
21-222. Arizona lengthy trial and digital evidence fund
A. The Arizona lengthy trial and digital evidence fund is established consisting of monies received from the additional fees paid on all filings, appearances, responses and answers pursuant to section 12-115. The monies in the fund shall not be used for any purpose other than as prescribed in this section.
B. The supreme court shall administer the fund and shall adopt rules for the administration of the fund. Not more than three per cent percent of the monies in the fund shall be used for the reasonable and necessary costs of administering the fund. On or before the fifteenth day of each month, on receipt of a request for reimbursement the supreme court shall transmit monies from the fund to a jury commissioner for monies paid to a juror under this section, together with a fee of not less than the amount prescribed in section 12-284, subsection A, class E for each application for payment of replacement or supplemental earnings by a juror.
C. Subject to the availability of monies, monies in the fund shall be used to:
1. Pay full or partial earnings replacement or supplementation to jurors who serve as petit jurors for more than five days and who receive less than full compensation. The amount of replacement or supplemental earnings shall be at least forty dollars $40 but not more than three hundred dollars $300 per day per juror beginning on the first day of jury service.
2. If monies are available in the fund after paying jurors pursuant to paragraph 1 of this subsection, pay for the management and storage of digital evidence and to facilitate the display of the evidence to the jury and court at a trial and related proceedings.
D. A juror whose jury service lasts more than five days may submit a request for payment from the fund. The amount a juror receives from the fund is limited to the difference between the jury fee prescribed in section 21-221 and the actual amount of earnings a juror earns, not less than forty dollars $40, up to the maximum level payable under subsection C, paragraph 1 of this section, minus any amount the juror actually received from the juror's employer during the same time period. A juror who requests payment from the fund:
1. Shall disclose on the form the juror's regular earnings, the amount the juror's employer will pay during the term of jury service starting on the first day and thereafter, the amount of replacement or supplemental earnings being requested and any other information that the jury commissioner deems necessary.
2. Before receiving payment from the fund, shall submit verification from the juror's employer, if any, regarding the earnings information that is provided under paragraph 1. This verification may include the employee's most recent earnings statement or a similar document.
3. In order to verify the weekly income if the juror is self-employed or receives compensation other than wages, shall provide a sworn affidavit attesting to the juror's approximate gross weekly income, together with any other information that the supreme court requires.
E. Jurors who are unemployed and are not eligible for payment pursuant to subsections subsection C, paragraph 1 and subsection D of this section are eligible to be paid forty dollars $40 per day, even if they receive income in the form of spousal maintenance, pensions, retirement, unemployment compensation, disability benefits or other similar income. Commissioners shall not deduct these other forms of income in calculating the amount these jurors are to be paid from the fund.
Sec. 5. Appropriation; supreme court; digital evidence storage and display system
The following amounts are appropriated from the state general fund in the following fiscal years to the supreme court for the costs of a digital evidence storage and display system:
1. In fiscal year 2021-2022, $400,000.
2. In fiscal year 2022-2023, $490,000."
Amend title to conform