Authority: §§ 16.1-69.30, 16.1-69.33, 17-111.1 through 17-111.7 and 17-116.3, Code of Virginia.
A. The Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court shall submit a monthly summary to the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees and to the Director, Department of Planning and Budget, which will report the number of individuals for whom legal or medical services were provided and the nature and cost of such services as are authorized for payment from the criminal fund or the involuntary mental commitment fund.
B. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 19.2-326, Code of Virginia, the amount of attorney's fees allowed counsel for indigent defendants in appeals to the Supreme Court shall be in the discretion of the Supreme Court.
C. The Chief Justice is authorized to reallocate legal support staff between the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals of Virginia, in order to meet changing workload demands.
D. Prior to January 1 of each year, the Judicial Council and the Committee on District Courts are requested to submit a fiscal impact assessment of their recommendations for the creation of any new judgeships, including the cost of judicial retirement, to the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees on Courts of Justice, and the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees.
E. It is the intent of the General Assembly that the Governor, in his budget recommendations for the 1998-2000 biennium which will be presented on or about December 20, 1997, shall include such additional sum in the budget of the Supreme Court of Virginia as may be required to assure that fees for compensation of court-appointed counsel in criminal matters pursuant to §§ 16.1-267 and 19.2-163, Code of Virginia, and fees associated with involuntary mental commitment proceedings pursuant to §37.1-89, Code of Virginia, may be increased each year by an amount equal to the proportionate change in the official estimate of Virginia Adjusted Gross Income for the respective year, when compared to the official estimate for the immediately preceding year.
F.1. The Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia, with assistance from the Auditor of Public Accounts and such other agencies or organizations as may be requested, shall examine the adequacy of the Commonwealth's current efforts in the collection of unpaid court-ordered fines and fees, data collection efforts associated with these collections, and fee-for-service payments associated with delinquent recoveries. The review shall consider the feasibility and practicality of authorizing Attorneys for the Commonwealth to issue notices of lien in order to improve debt collection. All agencies and institutions shall provide such information and assistance as may be requested by the Executive Secretary in this effort. A report, providing such recommendations as may seem appropriate, shall be presented to the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees by December 1, 1997.
2. The Executive Secretary shall prepare a report on the potential for increasing court costs assessed against convicted offenders for the purpose of offsetting the required deposit into the Corrections Special Reserve Fund, created pursuant to § 30-19.1:4. Copies of the report shall be provided to the Chairmen of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees, and the Senate and House Committees on Courts of Justice, by December 1, 1997.
G. The Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court and the Superintendent of the Department of State Police shall jointly consider the steps necessary to facilitate the entry of protective orders into the Virginia Criminal Information Network (VCIN), to ensure that the information so provided is available to law enforcement agencies on a timely basis. The Executive Secretary and the Superintendent shall jointly report on their findings and recommendations to the Commission on Family Violence Prevention and to the 1998 General Assembly.