HB485 Summary

• Establishes a solicitor's fee assessed in all juvenile, traffic, criminal, and quasi-criminal cases across Alabama's state and municipal courts in an equal amount payable to the Fair Trial Tax Fund.

• Distributes collected fees monthly with $3 per case going to the circuit clerk for office operations and the remainder going to the county Solicitor's Fund or District Attorney's Fund.

• Applies the fee in cases where a defendant is adjudged guilty, a bond is forfeited, a penalty is imposed, or an arrest warrant is issued, with the fee in addition to all other fees and costs.

• Permits waiver or remission of the fee only if the defendant proves to the sentencing judge's reasonable satisfaction that they cannot pay within the foreseeable future.

• Allows district attorneys to expend the collected fees for law enforcement expenses and purposes, while preserving existing local solicitor's fee laws unless expressly repealed.