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Discounted court filing fees that originated during the summer’s budget stalemate in Harrisburg have ended.
State lawmakers this week reauthorized a $40.25 surcharge assessed on most court-related documents filed in courthouses throughout Pennsylvania.
Since Aug. 1, the cost to file documents such as divorces, deeds and mortgages were discounted by more than $21, a casualty of the state budget dispute that was resolved this summer. Lawmakers delayed in signing off on the reauthorization of a fee schedule that provides revenue for operation of the state court system.
Kim Bathgate, spokeswoman for the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, confirmed Friday that Gov. Josh Shapiro this week signed off on the restored court fee.
Those court fees raised more than $48 million in the last fiscal year, officials said.
Bathgate said lawmakers expanded the fees to include an additional $11.25 tacked on to summary traffic offenses.
Local officials started assessing the higher court fees Thursday.
Westmoreland County Recorder of Deeds Frank Schiefer said his office will resume charging the higher fees Monday “to give proper notice to the public and also allow for necessary changes in the software.”
Schiefer’s office assessed reduced fees for the past three months.
The Westmoreland County Prothonotary’s Office, where divorces and other civil and family court documents are filed, charged full price throughout the summer and early fall but issued refunds. Prothonotary Gina O’Barto said her office issued more than $9,700 in refunds since August to 457 filers to accommodate for the discount.
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich by email at rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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