Recently enacted $5 civil fee will affect most civil filing and appearance fees in Illinois courts.

Of particular interest to the legal community is a provision contained in the final legislation that amends the Circuit Court Clerks Act, 705 ILCS 105/27.1b. This amendment requires that $5 from an applicable civil filing and appearance fee schedule be remitted to the State Treasurer for deposit into the State Guardianship and Advocacy Fund.

To be clear, the county receives no portion of this fee, we are required to collect and distribute these funds directly to the State.

Senate Bill 3019 was originally introduced as an agriculture-related bill and appears to have remained largely outside of the usual court-related legislative discussions during the legislative process. This bill was substantially amended before passage and ultimately became Public Act 104-0468.

The provision appears to apply broadly to a range of ordinary civil matters, rather than being limited to a particular type of case.

It is also noteworthy that this change does not appear to have been identified by the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts or the Illinois Circuit Clerks' association during the legislative process. Given that SB 3019 originated as an agriculture-related bill, the court-related provision did not have receive attention until after enactment.

The relevant language is contained in Section 65-10 of Public Act 104-0468, which amends 705 ILCS 105/27.1b. Section 65-5 also amends the State Finance Act concerning the State Guardianship and Advocacy Fund.

For reference, the Illinois General Assembly's bill status page and the final legislation are available here: https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus?DocNum=3019&DocTypeID=SB&GAID=18