§1312. Judicial expense fund; sources, control, and administration

A. The clerks of the First and Second City Court shall place all sums collected or received under this Section in a separate account to be designated as the Judicial Expense Fund for the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans. The judges, en banc, of the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans and the First and Second City Courts of the city of New Orleans shall have control over the fund and all disbursements made therefrom. They shall cause to be conducted annually an audit of the fund and the books and accounts relating thereto, and shall file the audit with the office of the legislative auditor where it shall be available for public inspection.

B. The judges of the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans and the First and Second City Courts of the city of New Orleans, sitting en banc, shall have control over the judicial expense fund for the parish of Orleans, accruing and accrued, and to this end shall fix and regulate from time to time the number of deputies and employees of the offices of the clerks of the City Courts and their expenses, and also shall have the power to fix the tariff of costs and charges to be paid for official services in the offices, which are paid into, and constitute the fund; due publication of which tariff, when made, shall be given. They shall have power to determine whether any amounts from the fund shall be devoted to the expense or payment of taking testimony by shorthand and to regulate and provide for the same. The judges are authorized to contribute out of the fund, to the embellishment, maintenance, improvement or repair, or both, of each courtroom, the courthouse itself or its furnishings, or both, and may contribute to any pension, retirement system and group hospitalization plans to which officers and employees paid out of the fund may belong.

C. The judges, en banc, may further appoint such secretarial, clerical, research, administrative, or other personnel as they deem necessary to expedite the business and function of the court and fix and pay all or any part of the salaries of such personnel out of the monies in the judicial expense fund. In like manner, the judges, en banc, may utilize the monies in the judicial expense fund to pay all or any part of the cost of establishing or maintaining, or both, a law library for the court, or for buying or maintaining, or both, any type of equipment, supplies, or other items consistent with or germane to the efficient operation of the court. In general, the judicial expense fund is established and may be used for any purpose or purposes connected with, incidental to, or related to the proper administration or function of the said court or the offices of the individual judges and is in addition to any and all other funds, salaries, expenses, or other monies that are now or hereafter provided, authorized, or established by law for any of the aforesaid purposes.

D.(1) The judges, en banc, may utilize the monies in the judicial expense fund to pay all or any part of the cost of planning, designing, and constructing a new courthouse for the parish of Orleans, which shall house the following courts and all related support offices:

(a) Civil District Court.

(b) First and Second City Courts.

(c) Juvenile Courts.

(2) No additional fees or costs shall be imposed to fund any portion of the planning, designing or construction of a new courthouse.

(3) Any additional funds used for the planning, design or construction of a new courthouse shall come from commercial leasing revenues, contributions from agencies located or to be located in the courthouse, and any other non-court cost related source.

(4) Before any construction of a new courthouse is begun, the plans and costs shall be submitted to and approved by the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget.

(5) Any contract for the planning, designing or construction of a new courthouse shall be subject to the public bid laws.

Acts 1983, No. 192, §1, eff. June 24, 1983; Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 121, §1; Acts 2006, No. 621, §19(A), eff. Jan. 1, 2009; Acts 2008, No. 675, §1, eff. July 1, 2008; Acts 2008, No. 873, §1, eff. July 9, 2008; Acts 2011, No. 340, §2, eff. June 29, 2011; Acts 2012, No. 474, §§2 and 4(B)(2).