SB 24 – County Extradition & Sheriff’s Assistance Fund

SB 24 concerning the county extradition and sheriff’s assistance fund has passed both houses and is ready for the Governor’s signature. It changes the name of the county extradition fund to the extradition and sheriff’s assistance fund and expands the uses to which the money may be put.

Money in the fund, both currently and under the terms of the bill, comes from late surrender fees imposed when bail agents and surety’s don’t produce a criminal defendant out on bail when ordered by a court. What the bill changes is that, currently, money in the fund can be used only to offset the costs of extraditing criminal defendants. The bill adds to that permission to use the money to train and equip law enforcement officers in the county and offset the costs of providing law enforcement services.