SB0642eng 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB0642 Engrossed LRB102 11506 LNS 16840 b

AN ACT concerning courts.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Clerks of Courts Act is amended by changing Section 27.3b as follows:

(705 ILCS 105/27.3b) (from Ch. 25, par. 27.3b)

Sec. 27.3b. The clerk of court may accept payment of fines, penalties, or costs by certified check, credit card or debit card approved by the clerk from an offender who has been convicted of or placed on court supervision for a traffic offense, petty offense, ordinance offense, or misdemeanor or who has been convicted of a felony offense. The clerk of the circuit court may accept credit card payments over the Internet for fines, penalties, or costs from offenders on voluntary electronic pleas of guilty in minor traffic and conservation offenses to satisfy the requirement of written pleas of guilty as provided in Illinois Supreme Court Rule 529. The clerk of the court may also accept payment of statutory fees by a credit card or debit card. The clerk of the court may also accept the credit card or debit card for the cash deposit of bail bond fees.

The Clerk of the circuit court is authorized to enter into contracts with credit card or debit card companies approved by the clerk and to negotiate the payment of convenience and administrative fees normally charged by those companies for allowing the clerk of the circuit court to accept their credit cards or debit cards in payment as authorized herein. The clerk of the circuit court is authorized to enter into contracts with third party fund guarantors, facilitators, and service providers under which those entities may contract directly with customers of the clerk of the circuit court and guarantee and remit the payments to the clerk of the circuit court. Where the offender pays fines, penalties, or costs by credit card or debit card or through a third party fund guarantor, facilitator, or service provider, or anyone paying statutory fees of the circuit court clerk or the posting of cash bail, the clerk shall collect a service fee of up to $5 or the amount charged to the clerk for use of its services by the credit card or debit card issuer, third party fund guarantor, facilitator, or service provider. This service fee shall be in addition to any other fines, penalties, or costs. The clerk of the circuit court is authorized to negotiate the assessment of convenience and administrative fees by the third party fund guarantors, facilitators, and service providers with the revenue earned by the clerk of the circuit court to be remitted to the county general revenue fund.

As used in this Section, "certified check" has the meaning provided in Section 3-409 of the Uniform Commercial Code.

(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)