Circuit clerk fees; increase for attendance upon court.
Summary
House Bill 1448 amends Section 25-7-13 of the Mississippi Code to increase the fee paid to circuit clerks for each day of attendance upon the circuit court term, including attendance by necessary deputies allowed by the court. The bill changes that daily attendance fee from $75 to $85, effective July 1, 2025. The measure leaves the rest of the circuit clerk fee schedule largely intact, including filing, copying, recording, marriage license, juror-related, and transcript fees, as well as the existing special deposits to state funds.
The bill also preserves the current structure under which some clerk fees are paid by litigants and others are paid by counties or deposited into dedicated funds. It continues the $14 deposit from each marriage license fee to the Victims of Domestic Violence Fund and the $5 civil filing deposit to the Civil Legal Assistance Fund, while maintaining the additional civil case deposits for the electronic court systems fund and the judicial system operation fund. The act would take effect July 1, 2025, and would directly affect circuit clerks, county treasuries, and court users who pay the underlying fees.
Impact
HB1448 would amend Mississippi’s court fee statute, Section 25-7-13, by raising the per-day compensation for circuit clerk attendance at court from $75 to $85. Because that fee is paid by the county, the bill increases county expenditures for circuit clerk and deputy attendance at circuit court terms. The bill does not alter the broader fee framework for filing, recording, copying, marriage licenses, juror services, or transcript preparation, but it does update one line item in the statutory schedule governing circuit clerk compensation and court administration costs.
Sentiment
No committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate, opposition, or support from recorded discussion. Based on the bill’s narrow scope and the absence of recorded controversy, the measure appears to be a routine administrative fee adjustment rather than a highly contentious policy change. The caption and committee referral suggest it was treated as a county affairs and government operations matter.
Contention
The main potential point of contention is fiscal: counties would bear the increased cost of paying circuit clerks and approved deputies for court attendance. Any concern would likely come from county officials or budget-minded lawmakers focused on local government expenses, while circuit clerks and court administrators would likely support the increase as a compensation adjustment. Because the bill is limited to a single fee increase and does not change litigant-facing filing fees or substantive court procedures, broader legal or policy objections appear unlikely from the text alone.