| 1 | 1 | | By: Nichols S.B. No. 1059 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (Jackson) |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the program for improvement of collection of court |
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| 8 | 8 | | costs, fees, and fines imposed in criminal cases. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Subsections (b), (c), (e), (h), (i), and (j), |
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| 11 | 11 | | Article 103.0033, Code of Criminal Procedure, are amended to read |
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| 12 | 12 | | as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (b) This article applies [only] to each[: |
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| 14 | 14 | | [(1) a] county in this state [with a population of |
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| 15 | 15 | | 50,000 or greater;] and to each |
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| 16 | 16 | | [(2) a] municipality with a population of 100,000 or |
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| 17 | 17 | | greater. |
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| 18 | 18 | | (c) Unless granted a waiver under Subsection (h), each |
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| 19 | 19 | | [county and] municipality shall develop and implement a program |
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| 20 | 20 | | that complies with the prioritized implementation schedule under |
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| 21 | 21 | | Subsection (h). A county may develop and implement a program that |
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| 22 | 22 | | complies with the prioritized implementation schedule under |
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| 23 | 23 | | Subsection (h). A county program must include district, county, |
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| 24 | 24 | | and justice courts. |
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| 25 | 25 | | (e) Not later than June 1 of each year, the office shall |
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| 26 | 26 | | identify those counties and municipalities that: |
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| 27 | 27 | | (1) have not implemented a program; and |
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| 28 | 28 | | (2) are planning [able] to implement a program before |
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| 29 | 29 | | April 1 of the following year. |
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| 30 | 30 | | (h) The office, in consultation with the comptroller, may: |
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| 31 | 31 | | (1) use case dispositions, population, revenue data, |
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| 32 | 32 | | or other appropriate measures to develop a prioritized |
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| 33 | 33 | | implementation schedule for programs; and |
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| 34 | 34 | | (2) for a municipality, determine whether it is not |
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| 35 | 35 | | actually cost-effective to implement a program in the [a county or] |
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| 36 | 36 | | municipality and grant a waiver to the [county or] municipality. |
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| 37 | 37 | | (i) Each county that implements a program and each |
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| 38 | 38 | | municipality shall at least annually submit to the office and the |
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| 39 | 39 | | comptroller a written report that includes updated information |
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| 40 | 40 | | regarding the program, as determined by the office in cooperation |
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| 41 | 41 | | with the comptroller. The report must be in a form approved by the |
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| 42 | 42 | | office in cooperation with the comptroller. |
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| 43 | 43 | | (j) The comptroller shall periodically audit [counties and] |
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| 44 | 44 | | municipalities to verify information reported under Subsection (i) |
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| 45 | 45 | | and confirm that the [county or] municipality is conforming with |
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| 46 | 46 | | requirements relating to the program. The comptroller shall |
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| 47 | 47 | | consult with the office in determining how frequently to conduct |
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| 48 | 48 | | audits under this section. |
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| 49 | 49 | | SECTION 2. Subsection (e), Section 133.058, Local |
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| 50 | 50 | | Government Code, is amended to read as follows: |
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| 51 | 51 | | (e) A municipality [or county] may not retain a service fee |
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| 52 | 52 | | if, during an audit under Section 133.059 of this code or Article |
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| 53 | 53 | | 103.0033(j), Code of Criminal Procedure, the comptroller |
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| 54 | 54 | | determines that the municipality [or county] is not in compliance |
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| 55 | 55 | | with Article 103.0033, Code of Criminal Procedure. The |
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| 56 | 56 | | municipality [or county] may continue to retain a service fee under |
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| 57 | 57 | | this section on receipt of a written confirmation from the |
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| 58 | 58 | | comptroller that the municipality [or county] is in compliance with |
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| 59 | 59 | | Article 103.0033, Code of Criminal Procedure. |
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| 60 | 60 | | SECTION 3. Subsection (c-1), Section 133.103, Local |
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| 61 | 61 | | Government Code, is amended to read as follows: |
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| 62 | 62 | | (c-1) The treasurer shall send to the comptroller 100 |
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| 63 | 63 | | percent of the fees collected under this section by a municipality |
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| 64 | 64 | | [to the comptroller] if, during an audit under Section 133.059 of |
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| 65 | 65 | | this code or Article 103.0033(j), Code of Criminal Procedure, the |
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| 66 | 66 | | comptroller determines that the municipality [or county] is not in |
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| 67 | 67 | | compliance with Article 103.0033, Code of Criminal Procedure. The |
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| 68 | 68 | | municipality [or county] shall continue to dispose of fees as |
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| 69 | 69 | | otherwise provided by this section on receipt of a written |
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| 70 | 70 | | confirmation from the comptroller that the municipality [or county] |
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| 71 | 71 | | is in compliance with Article 103.0033, Code of Criminal Procedure. |
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| 72 | 72 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 73 | 73 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 74 | 74 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 75 | 75 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 76 | 76 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |
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