82R13293 KFF-D
By: Wentworth S.B. No. 1830
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to increasing certain fees for preservation and archiving
of district court records.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 51.305(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The commissioners court of a county may adopt a district
court records archive fee of not more than $10 [$5] for the filing
of a suit, including an appeal from an inferior court, or a
cross-action, counterclaim, intervention, contempt action, motion
for new trial, or third-party petition, in a district court in the
county as part of the county's annual budget. The fee must be set
and itemized in the county's budget as part of the budget
preparation process and must be approved in a public meeting. The
fee is for preservation and restoration services performed in
connection with maintaining a district court records archive.
SECTION 2. Sections 51.317(b) and (c), Government Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) The fees are:
(1) except as provided by Subsection (b-1), for filing
a suit, including an appeal from an inferior court, $50;
(2) for filing a cross-action, counterclaim,
intervention, contempt action, motion for new trial, or third-party
petition, $15;
(3) for issuing a citation or other writ or process not
otherwise provided for, including one copy, when requested at the
time a suit or action is filed, $8;
(4) for records management and preservation, $15
[$10]; and
(5) in addition to the other fees imposed under this
section, for filing a suit, including an appeal from an inferior
court, or a cross-action, counterclaim, intervention, contempt
action, motion for new trial, or third-party petition, the amount
adopted by the county commissioners court under Section 51.305(b),
not to exceed $10 [$5], for court records archiving.
(c) The district clerk, after collecting a fee under
Subsection (b)(4), shall pay the fee to the county treasurer, or to
an official who discharges the duties commonly delegated to the
county treasurer, for deposit as follows:
(1) $5 to the county records management and
preservation fund for records management and preservation,
including automation, in various county offices; and
(2) $10 [$5] to the district clerk records management
and preservation fund for records management and preservation
services performed by the district clerk when a case or document is
filed in the records office of the district clerk.
SECTION 3. (a) Section 101.0611, Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 101.0611. DISTRICT COURT FEES AND COSTS: GOVERNMENT
CODE. The clerk of a district court shall collect fees and costs
under the Government Code as follows:
(1) appellate judicial system filing fees for:
(A) First or Fourteenth Court of Appeals District
(Sec. 22.2021, Government Code) . . . not more than $5;
(B) Second Court of Appeals District
(Sec. 22.2031, Government Code) . . . not more than $5;
(C) Third Court of Appeals District
(Sec. 22.2041, Government Code) . . . $5;
(D) Fourth Court of Appeals District
(Sec. 22.2051, Government Code) . . . not more than $5;
(E) Fifth Court of Appeals District
(Sec. 22.2061, Government Code) . . . not more than $5;
(E-1) Sixth Court of Appeals District (Sec.
22.2071, Government Code) . . . $5;
(E-2) Seventh Court of Appeals District (Sec.
22.2081, Government Code) . . . $5;
(F) Ninth Court of Appeals District
(Sec. 22.2101, Government Code) . . . $5;
(G) Eleventh Court of Appeals District
(Sec. 22.2121, Government Code) . . . $5;
(G-1) Twelfth Court of Appeals District (Sec.
22.2131, Government Code) . . . $5; and
(H) Thirteenth Court of Appeals District
(Sec. 22.2141, Government Code) . . . not more than $5;
(2) when administering a case for the Rockwall County
Court at Law (Sec. 25.2012, Government Code) . . . civil fees and
court costs as if the case had been filed in district court;
(3) additional filing fees:
(A) for each suit filed for insurance contingency
fund, if authorized by the county commissioners court (Sec. 51.302,
Government Code) . . . not to exceed $5;
(B) to fund the improvement of Dallas County
civil court facilities, if authorized by the county commissioners
court (Sec. 51.705, Government Code) . . . not more than $15;
(B-1) to fund the improvement of Bexar County
court facilities, if authorized by the county commissioners court
(Sec. 51.706, Government Code) . . . not more than $15; [and]
(C) to fund the improvement of Hays County court
facilities, if authorized by the county commissioners court
(Sec. 51.707, Government Code) . . . not more than $15; and
(D) to fund the preservation of court records
(Sec. 51.708, Government Code) . . . not more than $10;
(4) for filing a suit, including an appeal from an
inferior court:
(A) for a suit with 10 or fewer plaintiffs
(Sec. 51.317, Government Code) . . . $50;
(B) for a suit with at least 11 but not more than
25 plaintiffs (Sec. 51.317, Government Code) . . . $75;
(C) for a suit with at least 26 but not more than
100 plaintiffs (Sec. 51.317, Government Code) . . . $100;
(D) for a suit with at least 101 but not more than
500 plaintiffs (Sec. 51.317, Government Code) . . . $125;
(E) for a suit with at least 501 but not more than
1,000 plaintiffs (Sec. 51.317, Government Code) . . . $150; or
(F) for a suit with more than 1,000 plaintiffs
(Sec. 51.317, Government Code) . . . $200;
(5) for filing a cross-action, counterclaim,
intervention, contempt action, motion for new trial, or third-party
petition (Sec. 51.317, Government Code) . . . $15;
(6) for issuing a citation or other writ or process not
otherwise provided for, including one copy, when requested at the
time a suit or action is filed (Sec. 51.317, Government Code) . . .
$8;
(7) for records management and preservation
(Sec. 51.317, Government Code) . . . $15 [$10];
(7-a) for district court records archiving, if adopted
by the county commissioners court (Sec. 51.317(b)(5), Government
Code) . . . not more than $10;
(8) for issuing a subpoena, including one copy
(Sec. 51.318, Government Code) . . . $8;
(9) for issuing a citation, commission for deposition,
writ of execution, order of sale, writ of execution and order of
sale, writ of injunction, writ of garnishment, writ of attachment,
or writ of sequestration not provided for in Section 51.317, or any
other writ or process not otherwise provided for, including one
copy if required by law (Sec. 51.318, Government Code) . . . $8;
(10) for searching files or records to locate a cause
when the docket number is not provided (Sec. 51.318, Government
Code) . . . $5;
(11) for searching files or records to ascertain the
existence of an instrument or record in the district clerk's office
(Sec. 51.318, Government Code) . . . $5;
(12) for abstracting a judgment (Sec. 51.318,
Government Code) . . . $8;
(13) for approving a bond (Sec. 51.318, Government
Code) . . . $4;
(14) for a certified copy of a record, judgment,
order, pleading, or paper on file or of record in the district
clerk's office, including certificate and seal, for each page or
part of a page (Sec. 51.318, Government Code) . . . $1;
(15) for a noncertified copy, for each page or part of
a page (Sec. 51.318, Government Code) . . . not to exceed $1;
(16) fee for performing a service:
(A) related to the matter of the estate of a
deceased person (Sec. 51.319, Government Code) . . . the same fee
allowed the county clerk for those services;
(B) related to the matter of a minor
(Sec. 51.319, Government Code) . . . the same fee allowed the
county clerk for the service;
(C) of serving process by certified or registered
mail (Sec. 51.319, Government Code) . . . the same fee a sheriff or
constable is authorized to charge for the service under Section
118.131, Local Government Code; and
(D) prescribed or authorized by law but for which
no fee is set (Sec. 51.319, Government Code) . . . a reasonable
fee;
(17) jury fee (Sec. 51.604, Government Code) . . .
$30;
(18) additional filing fee for family protection on
filing a suit for dissolution of a marriage under Chapter 6, Family
Code (Sec. 51.961, Government Code) . . . not to exceed $15;
(19) at a hearing held by an associate judge in Dallas
County, a court cost to preserve the record, in the absence of a
court reporter, by other means (Sec. 54.509, Government Code) . . .
as assessed by the referring court or associate judge; and
(20) at a hearing held by an associate judge in Duval
County, a court cost to preserve the record (Sec. 54.1151,
Government Code) . . . as imposed by the referring court or
associate judge.
(b) Sections 101.06111, 101.06113, 101.06114, 101.06115,
101.06116, and 101.06117, Government Code, are repealed.
SECTION 4. (a) Section 51.607, Government Code, does not
apply to a fee imposed under Section 51.305(b), 51.317, or
101.0611, Government Code, as amended by this Act.
(b) Sections 51.305(b) and 51.317(b)(5), Government Code,
as amended by this Act, apply only to the imposition of a fee on a
filing in an action or proceeding made on or after the effective
date of an order of a commissioners court authorizing imposition of
the fee. The imposition of a fee on a filing made before that date
is governed by the law in effect on the date the filing was made, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(c) Sections 51.317(b)(4) and (c), Government Code, as
amended by this Act, apply only to a suit or action filed with a
district clerk on or after the effective date of this Act. A suit or
action filed before that date is governed by the law in effect on
the date the suit or action was filed, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
over another Act of the 82nd Legislature, Regular Session, 2011,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.