Section 81.306. Requirements Applicable to MJ-IOTA Accounts

(a) Unless an exemption has been granted to the judicial official, each judicial official shall establish a MJ-IOTA account at the depository institution of his or her choice. If local county policies and procedures concerning accounts established by the judicial official exist, nothing herein shall be construed as relieving the judicial official of complying with such policies and procedures, except to the extent inconsistent herewith.

(b) In order to qualify as a MJ-IOTA Account, the depository institution must:

(1) Remit monthly any interest earned on the account to the Board, or if that is not possible, remit the interest earned at least quarterly; and

(2) Transmit to the Board with each remittance a statement showing not less than the following information: the name of the account, the account number, the service charges and/or fees deducted, if any, from the account, the amount of interest remitted from the account, and if available, the average daily collected balance in the account for the period reported.

(c) The following additional requirements apply to MJ-IOTA accounts:

(1) The rate of interest paid on MJ-IOTA Accounts shall be not less than the highest rate of interest generally available from the depository institution to depositors generally for accounts with the same minimum balance and other account eligibility requirements.

(2) Under no circumstances may the rate of interest payable on a MJ-IOTA account be less than the rate paid by the depository institution on negotiable order of withdrawal accounts or super negotiable order of withdrawal accounts.

(3) The accounts must continue to be collateralized by the assets of the depository institution in accordance with current practice and Act 72 of 1971.

(d) Depository institutions may impose reasonable service charges for the administration of MJ-IOTA accounts.

(1) A depository institution may deduct service charges such as maintenance fees and transaction charges against the amount of interest to be paid on the MJ-IOTA account to which service charges apply.

(2) All costs associated with check printing, overdraft charges, charges for a temporary extension of credit and similar bank charges shall not be assessed against funds in or interest earned on a MJ-IOTA account.

(3) All costs for services such as overdrafts on deposited items, stopped payments, certified checks, and wire transfers shall not be assessed against funds in or interest earned on a MJ-IOTA account.

The provisions of this § 81.306 adopted January 6, 2005, effective February 1, 2005, 35 Pa.B. 497.