HB825: Civil or criminal actions; allows circuit court clerks to establish electronic filing.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 17.1-258.3 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 17.1-258.3. Electronic filing in civil or criminal actions.
A clerk of circuit court may establish a system for electronic
filing in civil or criminal actions that
shall be governed by Rule 1:17 of the Rules of Supreme Court of Virginia.
The circuit court clerk shall enter into an agreement with each person whom the
clerk authorizes to file documents electronically, specifying the electronic
filing procedures to be followed, including, but not limited to, security
procedures, as defined in the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, for
transmitting notarized documents. The clerk may charge up
to $50 for each civil case filed, up to $25 for each criminal case filed, and an annual
fee of up to $100 per user for
remote access to the system. All fees shall be paid to the
clerk's office and deposited by the clerk into a special nonreverting local
fund to be used to cover operational expenses of such system. The fund may be
the same as that established under § 17.1-258.3:1 if the
clerk has established a network or system for electronic filing of land records.