Donation of juror per diem; procedures

A. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any person serving as a juror in any judicial district court may elect to donate their entire juror per diem compensation to the court-appointed special advocate program (CASA), formally recognized pursuant to Children's Code Article 424 et seq. B. The clerk of court for the judicial district court shall provide each juror with an option to donate their per diem compensation to CASA at the time of juror orientation or at another appropriate time during the juror service process. The option to donate shall be voluntary and presented in a manner that ensures informed consent of the juror. C. The clerk of court shall establish procedures for the collection and timely distribution of donated per diem compensations to CASA. These procedures shall include provisions for donor acknowledgment and compliance with financial management standards. Each person registered for the jury pool shall be provided with a form that explains the mission of CASA and offers jurors the voluntary option to assign all fees due them as a tax-deductible donation to CASA. D. The program is established as a voluntary option for jurors to support CASA with the judicial district jury office facilitating the consolidation of individual juror payments into a monthly payment to CASA. The juror office shall send a monthly check to CASA and provide the list of the names, addresses, and amounts for participating jurors to allow CASA to mail a tax-deductible receipt for their donation. Information provided by the juror office to CASA shall remain confidential and not subject to disclosure under the public records law. E. CASA shall utilize the donations exclusively for supporting its mission.