HB343 Summary

• Amends Section 45-35-235, Code of Alabama 1975, to clarify that service of process fees apply to the civil division of Family Court and Juvenile Court in Houston County, in addition to District Court and Circuit Court.

• Establishes a $25 service of process fee for documents requiring personal service by the sheriff in Houston County courts, and a $50 fee for documents in courts outside the State of Alabama.

• Creates a Sheriff's Law Enforcement Fund to receive collected fees, to be used for law enforcement purposes including training, ammunition, uniforms, vehicles, and equipment as determined by the sheriff.

• Allows courts to waive the fee if payment would create substantial hardship, upon filing of a verified hardship statement with the court clerk.

• Exempts the district attorney, law enforcement, grand juries, and Houston County from payment of the fees; the fund is separate from the sheriff's regular budget.