Chap. 115.—An ACT to provide for the expense of removing, supporting, and
maintaining insane persons; how paid.

Approved March 10, 1906.

Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That no citizen
ie State of Virginia who shall be committed to an insane asylum of
State, their estate or personal representative, shall be charged with
of the expenses attendant therewith, where the estate or effects of
insane person is less than the amount sufficient to support his or her
ly (where said family is primarily dependent upon such insane
on for support), or where said estate is of less value than the sum
vo thousand dollars.
2. That the governor of this State be authorized and empowered upon
the passage of this act to select a suitable agent, who shall be authorized
to take such steps, legal or otherwise, as to him may seem proper, for
the enforcement and collection of all unpaid claims, debts and judg-
ments, due and to become due, to the various insane hospitals in this
State, for the support and maintenance of such inmates who may have
estates out of which said debts, claims or judgments may be enforced
under this act, except no claim shall be enforced or collected when the
estate is worth less than two thousand dollars, nor where the estate is
less than the amount necessary for the support of such insane person or
his or her immediate family, and the said agent shall have and receive for
his services five per centum of the money actually paid into the State
treasury, where such amount is paid without motion or suit, and where
motion or suit has been instituted a compensation not exceeding ten per
centum of such amount, which shall be in full of all attorneys’ fees, ex-
cept the taxed fee; the said compensation in each case to be fixed and
allowed by the court in which suit or motion is instituted.

3. Any money for which any person is liable to any of the insane
hospitals of this State for the support and maintenance of any of the in-
mates therein may be recovered, with interest, from the time it ought to
have been paid by warrant, suit or motion, in the name of the hospital
or the Commonwealth, as the case may be, and no statute or limitation
shall run against any such claim or debt: provided, that no action or suit
shall be brought or maintained for any part of any claim which has
been due and payable for five years or more. When the suit or motion
is brought by the hospital it may be in the circuit court of the county or
circuit or corporation court of the corporation in which the defendant
resides, and in case of a motion, thirty days’ notice thereof shall be
given. .

4. The said agent shall, before entering on the duty prescribed by this
act, enter into and acknowledge a bond in the penalty of five thousand
dollars, conditioned for the faithful discharge of his duties, and pay-
able to the Commonwealth of Virginia, with good personal security.

5. All acts and parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby re-
pealed.