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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 99-1617

THE COURTS

COLUMBIA COUNTY

Order Establishing Uniform Costs for Driving Under the Influence Prosecutions; Criminal Division, No. 1 of 1999

[29 Pa.B. 4948]

Order

   And Now, this 16th day of July, 1999, It Is Ordered that the Administrative Order establishing costs for Driving Under the Influence prosecutions, be, and the same is, promulgated herewith, to become effective thirty (30) days after the publication of the Administrative Order in the Pennsylvania Bulletin; that seven (7) certified copies shall be filed with the Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts:  that two (2) certified copies shall be filed with the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin:  that one (1) certified copy shall be filed with the Criminal Procedural Rules Committee: and that one (1) copy shall be filed with the Clerk of Courts of the Court of Common Pleas of Columbia County.

By the Court

GAILEY C. KELLER,   
President Judge

Order

   And Now, this 16th day of July, 1999, the District Attorney of Columbia County having informed the Court:  (A) that the county of Columbia has obtained a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation grant enabling it to establish a centralized location (''DUI Center'') for the testing and initial processing of Driving Under the Influence cases,1 (B) that after said center becomes operational, all police agencies in said County have agreed to use above said DUI Center in such cases initiated by the officers of the departments, and (C) that a specific condition of said grant is that the Court enter an Administrative Order establishing a uniform cost to be assessed against each defendant convicted of, or admitted to the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (''ARD'') Program for Driving Under the Influence, which will insure that after the first six (6) months of operation under the grant, the DUI Center will be self-supporting.

   It Further Appearing That the District Attorney has estimated that in order to meet self-supporting requirement, an appropriate cost for each defendant convicted of, or admitted to the ARD Program for Driving Under the Influence, would be One Hundred and Seventy-Five ($175.00) Dollars.

   It Is Therefore Ordered and Decreed That:

   1.  The District Attorney shall file a certification to the above File Number, in the Office of the Clerk of Court-Criminal, immediately upon the opening of said DUI Center, indicating the date when it became operational.

   2.  Effective as to all cases where the charges of Driving Under the Influence were initiated on or after the date so certified by the District Attorney, the sum of One Hundred and Seventy-Five ($175.00) Dollars shall be assessed as costs in each such case against every Defendant convicted of Driving Under the Influence2 or admitted to the ARD Program.3 This charge shall be in addition to all other authorized costs and supervision fees not duplications4 of the processing, booking and testing costs herein authorized.5

   3.  The funds so collected as costs for the DUI Center shall be paid into the General Fund of the County of Columbia, but separately identified in the County's records and accounts so that the amounts collected during any period can be readily determined. The Police Department of the Town of Bloomsburg shall maintain appropriate records of all processed through the DUI Center, including the dates of processing and the final disposition and dates thereof, as well. These records shall reflect the number of defendants whose cases are processed by the DUI Center, including the number of defendants released without filings, the numbers charged, convicted, admitted to ARD, discharged and acquitted of such charges initiated through the DUI Center, and the dates of all such processings, filings and dispositions. The Police Department of the Town of Bloomsburg shall also keep complete and accurate records of the actual costs of personnel, equipment and materials expended in the operation of the DUI Center, and complete such expenses to the cases processed and disposed of. The Police Department of the Town of Bloomsburg shall account to the Court on an interim quarterly basis with these figures, and shall annually submit to the Court a complete calculation based upon actual experience so that the costs assessed for said DUI Center can be reviewed and adjusted, if necessary, to reflect, as accurately as possible, the actual costs of its operation distributed equally among the defendants convicted and admitted to the ARD Program.

   4.  The Court directs, in accordance with the District Attorney's agreement, that qualified officers from the police departments in Columbia County selected by the Supervisor of the DUI Center and approved by the District Attorney for said County shall remain and be paid as employees of their respective municipalities for services performed when operating the DUI Center and the Township/Town/Borough will thereafter be reimbursed. The District Attorney shall make an annual general evaluation of the operation of the DUI Center and review with the various police agencies using the DUI Center its efficiency and effectiveness in providing services to the public.

By the Court

GAILEY C. KELLER,   
President Judge

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 99-1617. Filed for public inspection September 24, 1999, 9:00 a.m.]

_______

1Driving under the influence of alcohol or controlled substance in violation of 75 Pa.C.S. § 3731.

2The Act of August 9, 1955, P. L. 323, § 1403, 16 P. S. § 1403, authorizes such costs.

3Pa.R.C.P. 182, authorizes costs in ARD dispositions, and 75 Pa.C.S. § 3731(e)(6) authorizes certain additional costs in DUI/ARD cases.

4Where blood samples are analyzed by the Pennsylvania State Police Regional Crime Laboratory rather than the Laboratory attached to the DUI Center, and costs for such analysis are assessed pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 1725.3, the laboratory component of the DUI Center costs shall be deducted from the costs taxed under the Order, and the authorized user fee taxed pursuant to Section 1725.3.

5See 75 Pa.C.S. § 1548.



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