34.045 Cost recovery; use of the county court for ordinance or special law violations.—
(1)(a) In lieu of payment of a filing fee under s. 34.041, a filing fee of $10 shall be paid by a county or municipality when filing a violation of a county or municipal ordinance or a violation of a special law in county court. This fee shall be paid to the clerk of the court for performing court-related functions. A county or municipality is not required to pay more than one filing fee for a single filing against a single defendant that contains multiple alleged violations. A filing fee, other than that imposed under this section, may not be assessed for initiating an enforcement proceeding in county court for a violation of a county or municipal code or ordinance or a violation of a special law. The filing fee shall not apply to instances in which a county or municipality has contracted with the state, or has been delegated by the state, responsibility for enforcing state operations, policies, or requirements under s. 125.69, s. 166.0415, or chapter 162.
(b) No other filing fee may be assessed for filing the violation in county court. If a person contests the violation in court, the court shall assess $40 in costs against the nonprevailing party. The county or municipality shall be considered the prevailing party when there is a plea or finding of violation or guilt to any count or lesser included offense of the charge or companion case charges, regardless of adjudication. Costs recovered pursuant to this paragraph shall be deposited into the clerk’s fine and forfeiture fund established pursuant to s. 142.01.
(c) If the person does not contest the violation in court or if the county or municipality is the prevailing party, the court shall assess the person or nonprevailing party $10 for the filing fee provided in paragraph (a), which amount shall be forwarded to the county or municipality.
(2) To offset costs incurred by the clerks of the court in performing court-related functions associated with the processing of violations of special laws and municipal ordinances, 10 percent of the total amount of fines paid to each municipality for special law or ordinance violations filed in county court shall be retained by the clerk of the court for deposit into the clerk’s fine and forfeiture fund established pursuant to s. 142.01, except for fines a portion of which the clerk of the court retains pursuant to any other provision of state law.
History.—s. 33, ch. 2004-265; s. 22, ch. 2005-236.
