Pennsylvania Act 2017-49 — JUDICIAL CODE (42 PA.C.S.) - COURTS OF COMMON PLEAS AND SENIOR JUDGE OPERATIONAL SUPPORT GRANT PROGRAM

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Act text
JUDICIAL CODE (42 PA.C.S.) - COURTS OF COMMON PLEAS AND SENIOR JUDGE OPERATIONAL SUPPORT GRANT PROGRAM
Act of Oct. 30, 2017, P.L. 802, No. 49Cl. 42

Session of 2017

No. 2017-49

SB 222

AN ACT

Amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in organization and jurisdiction of courts of common pleas, further providing for courts of common pleas; and, in Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, providing for senior judge operational support grant program.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Section 911(a) of Title 42 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:

§ 911. Courts of common pleas.

(a) General rule.--There shall be one court of common pleas for each judicial district of this Commonwealth consisting of the following number of judges:

Judicial DistrictNumber of Judges
First93
Second15
Third9
Fourth1
Fifth43
Sixth9
Seventh[13] 15
Eighth3
Ninth[6] 7
Tenth11
Eleventh10
Twelfth10
Thirteenth2
Fourteenth5
Fifteenth14
Sixteenth3
Seventeenth2
Eighteenth1
Nineteenth15
Twentieth1
Twenty-first6
Twenty-second[1] 2
Twenty-third13
Twenty-fourth5
Twenty-fifth2
Twenty-sixth2
Twenty-seventh[6] 7
Twenty-eighth2
Twenty-ninth5
Thirtieth3
Thirty-first10
Thirty-second[20] 21
Thirty-third2
Thirty-fourth1
Thirty-fifth4
Thirty-sixth7
Thirty-seventh2
Thirty-eighth[23] 24
Thirty-ninth5
Fortieth3
Forty-first2
Forty-second2
Forty-third[6] 7
Forty-fourth1
Forty-fifth9
Forty-sixth2
Forty-seventh5
Forty-eighth2
Forty-ninth4
Fiftieth6
Fifty-first4
Fifty-second4
Fifty-third4
Fifty-fourth1
Fifty-fifth1
Fifty-sixth3
Fifty-seventh2
Fifty-eighth2
Fifty-ninth1
Sixtieth2

Section 2. Title 42 is amended by adding a section to read:

§ 1906.1. Senior judge operational support grant program.

(a) Continuation.--The Court Administrator of Pennsylvania shall continue the program to defray the costs imposed on counties by the rules of judicial administration for facilities and staff for senior judges assigned to the courts of common pleas.

(b) Availability.--Grants shall be made available to counties based on the level of operational support provided by a county to:

(1) Senior judges formerly of the judicial district in which the county is situated who are regularly or periodically assigned in that county or who are assigned under section 4544 (relating to convening multicounty investigating grand jury).

(2) Visiting senior judges.

(c) Purpose.--Grants shall reimburse counties for operational support provided by the county during the preceding calendar year. Grants shall be calculated based on use of judicial chambers, utilization of the services of a law clerk and utilization of the services of a secretary, which chambers or services are deemed adequate and appropriate by the Administrative Office as follows:

(1) Use of judicial chambers shall be reimbursed at the rate of $60 per day, billable in one-half-day increments.

(2) Utilization of services of a law clerk shall be reimbursed at $20 per hour.

(3) Utilization of services of a secretary shall be reimbursed at $12 per hour.

(d) Reimbursement.--

(1) Counties shall be reimbursed upon timely application by the board of commissioners or, in the absence of a board of commissioners, the executive authority of the county or, in the case of a county which is coterminous with a city of the first class, the mayor of the city of the first class.

(2) The application shall be certified by the president judge of the judicial district in which the county is situated and shall include such documentation as may be required by the Administrative Office.

(3) The due dates for applications for operational support provided during each calendar year shall be established by the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania.

(e) Minimum standards.--The Administrative Office shall set forth minimum standards regarding adequacy, appropriateness and quality of judicial chambers and services required to qualify for reimbursement.

(f) Reduction.--In the event that the total reimbursement qualifying for payment for any calendar year exceeds the amount appropriated by the General Assembly for such purpose, the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania shall proportionally reduce the grant for each county so that the total of all grants does not exceed the amount appropriated.

(g) Limit on grant amount.--No county shall receive more than 20% of the amount appropriated for senior judge operational support grants in any fiscal year.

(h) Report.--Not later than 60 days following payment of grants for any year, the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania shall make a report to the Appropriations Committee of the Senate and the Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives setting forth the payments made to counties and the services provided.

Section 3. The following shall apply:

(1) The new judgeship for the Ninth Judicial District added by the amendment of 42 Pa.C.S. § 911(a) shall be established on January 6, 2020, and shall be initially filled by election at the 2019 municipal election.

(2) The new judgeship for the Twenty-second Judicial District added by the amendment of 42 Pa.C.S. § 911(a) shall be established on January 3, 2022, and shall be initially filled by election at the 2021 municipal election.

(3) The addition of 42 Pa.C.S. § 1906.1 shall apply retroactively to July 1, 2017.

Section 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

APPROVED--The 30th day of October, A.D. 2017.

TOM WOLF

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