PRINTER'S NO. 544
No. 506 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY FLEAGLE, DiGIROLAMO, HARHAI, SAINATO, PISTELLA, SOLOBAY, DALLY, BOYD, MELIO, SHANER, WATSON, GEORGE, B. SMITH, WRIGHT, MICOZZIE, HERSHEY, TIGUE, PHILLIPS, O'NEILL, E. Z. TAYLOR, FICHTER, CLYMER, CALTAGIRONE, S. MILLER, READSHAW, CRAHALLA, HICKERNELL AND JAMES, FEBRUARY 14, 2005
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, FEBRUARY 14, 2005
AN ACT 1 Amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the 2 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for 3 fees for constables. 4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 5 hereby enacts as follows: 6 Section 1. Section 2950 of Title 42 of the Pennsylvania 7 Consolidated Statutes, amended November 30, 2004 (P.L.1618, 8 No.207), is amended to read: 9 § 2950. Fees. 10 (a) Travel or mileage.--[Actual mileage] Mileage for travel 11 by motor vehicle shall be reimbursed at a rate equal to the 12 highest rate allowed by the Internal Revenue Service with a 13 minimum charge of ten miles round trip. If travel is by other 14 than motor vehicle, reimbursement shall be for actual, vouchered 15 travel expenses. 16 (b) Apportionment.--If more than one defendant is
1 transported simultaneously, [reimbursements shall be for actual 2 miles traveled, and] the travel cost shall be divided between or 3 among the defendants. 4 (c) Additional persons.--A constable or deputy constable 5 when he is transporting a prisoner, serving a felony or 6 misdemeanor warrant other than for a summary offense or serving 7 a warrant on a juvenile or a defendant of the opposite sex may, 8 at his discretion, be accompanied by a second constable or 9 deputy constable who is certified under section 2947 (relating 10 to automatic certification) to perform judicial duties. In such 11 cases, each officer shall receive the fee set out in this 12 section. In all other civil, landlord-tenant and summary 13 criminal cases, the issuing authority may authorize payment to a 14 second officer. 15 (d) Civil and landlord-tenant cases.--In civil and landlord- 16 tenant cases, constable fees must be paid in advance to the 17 court for services desired to be performed. These fees shall not 18 be refundable to the plaintiff if a case is settled or a debt is 19 satisfied less than 48 hours prior to a scheduled sale or 20 ejectment, in which latter case the constable or deputy 21 constable shall be paid for holding the sale or carrying out an 22 ejectment, respectively. 23 (e) Payment.--[Fees] All civil, landlord-tenant and criminal 24 fees shall be paid by the court to the constable as soon as 25 possible and in no case not more than 15 days in civil and 26 landlord-tenant cases and 30 days in criminal cases after the 27 service is performed and a proper request for payment is 28 submitted, provided that, in criminal cases where the books and 29 accounts of the relevant county offices are payable on a monthly 30 basis, payment shall be made not more than 15 days after the 20050H0506B0544 - 2 -
1 close of the month. 2 [(f) Specific fees.--Fees in civil cases shall be as 3 follows: 4 (1) For serving complaint, summons or notice on suitor 5 or tenant, either personally or by leaving a copy, $10 plus 6 $5 for each additional defendant at the same address. 7 (2) For levying goods, including schedule of property 8 levied upon and set aside, $35. 9 (3) For advertising personal property to public sale, $5 10 per posting (maximum of $15) plus actual cost of advertising. 11 (4) For selling goods levied, $35. 12 (5) For clerk at sale, $20. 13 (6) For making return of not found, $10. 14 (7) For executing order of possession, $10. 15 (8) For ejectment, $70. 16 (9) For making return of service, other than not found, 17 $2.50. 18 (10) For providing courtroom security as ordered, $10 19 per hour, prorated to the nearest whole dollar, assessed 20 against one or more parties as determined by the court.] 21 (f) Civil and landlord-tenant cases.--Fees in civil and 22 landlord-tenant cases shall be as follows: 23 (1) For serving complaint, summons or notice on suitor 24 or tenant, either personally or by leaving a copy, $15.50, 25 plus $5 for each additional defendant at the same address, 26 $2.50 for each return of service, plus mileage. 27 (2) For levying goods, including schedule of property 28 levied upon and set aside, notice of levy, and return of 29 service, $75, plus mileage. 30 (3) For advertising personal property for public sale, 20050H0506B0544 - 3 -
1 $7 per posting (maximum of $21), plus mileage, plus actual 2 cost of advertising. 3 (4) For selling goods levied, clerk, receipts and 4 returns to court, $85, plus mileage. 5 (5) For making return of not found, $15.50, plus 6 mileage. 7 (6) For executing order of possession, $15.50, plus $5 8 for each additional defendant at the same address, $2.50 for 9 each return of service, plus mileage. 10 (7) For ejectment, $95, $2.50 for each return of 11 service, plus mileage. 12 (8) For making any return of service other than not 13 found, $2.50 each. 14 (9) For providing courtroom security as ordered, $15 per 15 hour, assessed against one or more parties as determined by 16 the court. 17 (10) Mileage for travel by motor vehicle shall be 18 reimbursed at the rate equal to the highest rate allowed by 19 the Internal Revenue Service with a minimum charge of ten 20 miles round trip. If travel is by other than motor vehicle, 21 reimbursement shall be for actual vouchered travel expenses. 22 (g) Criminal cases.--Fees in criminal cases shall be as 23 follows: 24 (1) For executing [a] each warrant of arrest, or for 25 effectuating the payment of fines and costs by attempting to 26 execute [a warrant, $15 per warrant] each warrant of arrest, 27 $25 for each docket number, and $2.50 for each return of 28 service, plus mileage. 29 (2) For taking custody of a defendant, $5 per defendant. 30 (3) For conveyance of defendant to or from court, $5 per 20050H0506B0544 - 4 -
1 defendant.
2 (4) For attendance at arraignment or hearing, [$5 per
3 defendant] $15.
4 (5) For executing discharge, $5 per defendant.
5 (6) For executing commitment, $5 per defendant.
6 (7) For executing release, $5 per defendant.
7 (8) For making returns to the court, $2.50.
8 [(9) For holding one or more defendants at the office of
9 a magisterial district judge, $10 per hour beyond the first
10 half hour.
11 (10) For conveying defendants for fingerprinting, $5 per
12 defendant.
13 (11) For fingerprinting or overseeing the fingerprinting
14 of defendants at the direction of a magisterial district
15 judge, $10 per defendant, plus $10 per hour beyond the first
16 half hour.
17 (12) For providing courtroom security as ordered, $10
18 per hour, prorated to the nearest whole dollar, assessed
19 against one or more parties as determined by the court.
20 (13) For serving subpoenas, $10 for the first witness at
21 each address, plus $2.50 for each additional witness at the
22 same address. The same fee shall be payable for attempting to
23 service a subpoena at a wrong address supplied by the party
24 requesting the service.
25 (h) Similar fees.--For civil and criminal services not
26 specifically provided for, the court shall pay the same fees as
27 it pays for services that it determines to be similar to those
28 performed.
29 (i) Assessment by court.--In all criminal cases wherein the
30 defendant is discharged or indigent, or the case is otherwise
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1 dismissed, the court shall assess to the county the fee provided 2 in this section, except that, in cases of private criminal 3 complaints wherein the defendant is discharged prior to the 4 indictment or the filing of any information or the case is 5 otherwise dismissed at the summary offense hearing, the court 6 shall assess the fee to the affiant.] 7 (9) Transporting each defendant for arraignment or to 8 jail, $20, plus mileage; transporting an incarcerated 9 prisoner, $45 per prisoner, plus an hourly rate of $15 per 10 hour, plus mileage. Computation of hourly rate will apply 11 after the expiration of the first hour, per prisoner, per 12 hour, not to exceed $30 per hour, per constable. 13 (10) Mileage for travel by motor vehicle shall be 14 reimbursed at the rate equal to the highest rate allowed by 15 the Internal Revenue Service with a minimum charge of ten 16 miles round trip. If travel is by other than motor vehicle, 17 reimbursement shall be for actual vouchered travel expenses. 18 (11) For conveying defendants for fingerprinting, $20 19 per defendant, plus $15 per hour beyond the first hour per 20 defendant, per hour, not to exceed $30 per hour, per 21 constable, plus mileage. 22 (12) For holding one or more defendants at the office of 23 a magisterial district judge, $15 per hour, per defendant, 24 beyond the first half hour. 25 (13) For courtroom security, as ordered, $15 per hour, 26 assessed against one or more parties as determined by the 27 court. 28 (14) In all criminal cases wherein the defendant is 29 discharged or indigent, or the case is otherwise dismissed, 30 the court shall assess to the county the fee provided in this 20050H0506B0544 - 6 -
1 section, except that, in cases of private criminal complaints 2 wherein the defendant is discharged prior to the indictment 3 or the filing of any information or the case is otherwise 4 dismissed at the summary offense hearing, the court shall 5 assess the fee to the affiant. 6 (h) Subpoenas.--For serving district court-issued subpoenas 7 for civil, landlord-tenant or criminal matters, $15.50 for first 8 witness, plus $5 for each additional witness at the same 9 address, $2.50 return of service for each subpoena, plus 10 mileage. The same fee shall be payable for attempting to serve a 11 subpoena at a wrong address supplied by the party requesting the 12 service. 13 (i) Similar fees.--For civil, landlord-tenant and criminal 14 services not specifically provided for, the court shall pay the 15 same fees as it pays for services that it determines to be 16 similar to those performed. 17 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days. A21L42BIL/20050H0506B0544 - 7 -