82S10043 YDB-D
By: Rodriguez S.B. No. 23
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to funding for basic civil legal services, indigent
defense, and judicial technical support through certain fees and
court costs and to the establishment of the judicial access and
improvement account.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 22, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 22.016 to read as follows:
Sec. 22.016. JUDICIAL ACCESS AND IMPROVEMENT ACCOUNT. (a)
The judicial access and improvement account is an account in the
general revenue fund.
(b) Subject to Subsection (d), money in the judicial access
and improvement account shall be appropriated only as provided by
this section. The supreme court may use an amount determined by the
supreme court, which annually may not exceed $1 million, to phase in
electronic filing and retrieval in courts in this state. The
remainder of the money in the account shall be divided as follows:
(1) an amount equal to 70 percent of the remainder
shall be deposited to the credit of the basic civil legal services
account of the judicial fund established under Section 51.943 for
use in programs approved by the supreme court that provide basic
civil legal services to indigents; and
(2) an amount equal to 30 percent of the remainder
shall be deposited to the credit of the fair defense account
established under Section 71.058.
(c) The supreme court in consultation with the judicial
committee on information technology may enter into an agreement
with the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial
System to implement the electronic filing and retrieval in courts
of this state authorized under Subsection (b), including acquiring
the necessary technology, software, and data storage.
(d) The comptroller may retain two percent of the money
remitted to the comptroller for deposit in the judicial access and
improvement account. The comptroller shall use the money to audit
and administer fund balances and to ensure the timely deposit of
money in accounts as required by this section.
(e) Section 403.095 does not apply to money dedicated under
this section.
SECTION 2. Section 101.0615, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 101.0615. DISTRICT COURT FEES AND COSTS: LOCAL
GOVERNMENT CODE. The clerk of a district court shall collect fees
and costs under the Local Government Code as follows:
(1) additional filing fees:
(A) for each civil suit filed, for court-related
purposes for the support of the judiciary and for civil legal
services to an indigent:
(i) for family law cases and proceedings as
defined by Section 25.0002, Government Code (Sec. 133.151, Local
Government Code) . . . $45; or
(ii) for any case other than a case
described by Subparagraph (i) (Sec. 133.151, Local Government Code)
. . . $50; and
(B) on the filing of any civil action or
proceeding requiring a filing fee, including an appeal, and on the
filing of any counterclaim, cross-action, intervention,
interpleader, or third-party action requiring a filing fee, to fund
civil legal services for the indigent:
(i) for family law cases and proceedings as
defined by Section 25.0002, Government Code (Sec. 133.152, Local
Government Code) . . . $15 [$5]; or
(ii) for any case other than a case
described by Subparagraph (i) (Sec. 133.152, Local Government Code)
. . . $20 [$10];
(2) additional filing fee to fund the courthouse
security fund, if authorized by the county commissioners court
(Sec. 291.008, Local Government Code) . . . not to exceed $5;
(3) additional filing fee for filing documents not
subject to certain filing fees to fund the courthouse security
fund, if authorized by the county commissioners court (Sec.
291.008, Local Government Code) . . . $1;
(4) additional filing fee to fund the courthouse
security fund in Webb County, if authorized by the county
commissioners court (Sec. 291.009, Local Government Code) . . . not
to exceed $20;
(5) court cost in civil cases other than suits for
delinquent taxes to fund the county law library fund, if authorized
by the county commissioners court (Sec. 323.023, Local Government
Code) . . . not to exceed $35; and
(6) on the filing of a civil suit, an additional filing
fee to be used for court-related purposes for the support of the
judiciary (Sec. 133.154, Local Government Code) . . . $42.
SECTION 3. Subchapter F, Chapter 102, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 102.1035 to read as follows:
Sec. 102.1035. ADDITIONAL COURT COSTS ON CONVICTION IN
JUSTICE COURT: LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE. A clerk of a justice court
shall collect from a defendant a court cost of $5 under Section
133.108, Local Government Code, on conviction of an offense, other
than an offense relating to a pedestrian or the parking of a motor
vehicle.
SECTION 4. Subchapter G, Chapter 102, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 102.1215 to read as follows:
Sec. 102.1215. ADDITIONAL COURT COSTS ON CONVICTION IN
MUNICIPAL COURT: LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE. A clerk of a municipal
court shall collect from a defendant a court cost of $5 under
Section 133.108, Local Government Code, on conviction of an
offense, other than an offense relating to a pedestrian or the
parking of a motor vehicle.
SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 403, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 403.0306 to read as follows:
Sec. 403.0306. FEES AND COSTS ASSESSED FOR JUDICIAL ACCESS
AND IMPROVEMENT ACCOUNT. Notwithstanding any other law, if in any
state fiscal biennium the legislature:
(1) does not appropriate any money to the judicial
access and improvement account for the purposes provided by Section
22.016:
(A) the comptroller and the office of court
administration shall notify each clerk of a justice or municipal
court, as appropriate, not to assess fees and court costs under
Sections 102.1035 and 102.1215 of this code and Section 133.108,
Local Government Code, during the state fiscal biennium; and
(B) a clerk of a justice or municipal court may
not assess fees and court costs under Sections 102.1035 and
102.1215 of this code and Section 133.108, Local Government Code,
during the state fiscal biennium; or
(2) appropriates only a portion of the money to the
judicial access and improvement account for the purposes provided
by Section 22.016:
(A) the comptroller and the office of court
administration shall:
(i) proportionally adjust the amount of the
fees and court costs to be assessed under Sections 102.1035 and
102.1215 of this code and Section 133.108, Local Government Code,
during the state fiscal biennium; and
(ii) notify each clerk of a justice or
municipal court, as appropriate, of the amount of the fees and court
costs to be assessed under Sections 102.1035 and 102.1215 of this
code and Section 133.108, Local Government Code, during the state
fiscal biennium; and
(B) a clerk of a justice or municipal court shall
assess the amount of the fees and court costs determined by the
comptroller under Paragraph (A) during the state fiscal biennium.
SECTION 6. Section 133.003, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 133.003. CRIMINAL FEES. This chapter applies to the
following criminal fees:
(1) the consolidated fee imposed under Section
133.102;
(2) the time payment fee imposed under Section
133.103;
(3) fees for services of peace officers employed by
the state imposed under Article 102.011, Code of Criminal
Procedure, and forwarded to the comptroller as provided by Section
133.104;
(4) costs on conviction imposed in certain statutory
county courts under Section 51.702, Government Code, and deposited
in the judicial fund;
(5) costs on conviction imposed in certain county
courts under Section 51.703, Government Code, and deposited in the
judicial fund;
(6) the administrative fee for failure to appear or
failure to pay or satisfy a judgment imposed under Section 706.006,
Transportation Code;
(7) fines on conviction imposed under Section
621.506(g), Transportation Code;
(8) the fee imposed under Article 102.0045, Code of
Criminal Procedure;
(9) the cost on conviction imposed under Section
133.105 and deposited in the judicial fund; [and]
(10) the cost on conviction imposed under Section
133.107; and
(11) the cost on conviction imposed under Section
133.108.
SECTION 7. Section 133.058, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
(c-1) A municipality or county may retain five percent of
the money collected as a fee under Section 133.108 to be used for
judicial support.
SECTION 8. Subchapter C, Chapter 133, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 133.108 to read as follows:
Sec. 133.108. FEE FOR JUDICIAL ACCESS AND IMPROVEMENT. (a)
A person convicted in a municipal or justice court of an offense,
other than an offense relating to a pedestrian or the parking of a
motor vehicle, shall pay as a court cost, in addition to other
costs, a fee of $5 to be used to fund basic civil legal services and
criminal defense for indigents and electronic filing in courts in
this state through the judicial access and improvement account
established under Section 22.016, Government Code.
(b) The treasurer shall remit the fees collected under this
section to the comptroller in the manner provided by Subchapter B.
The comptroller shall credit the remitted fees to the credit of the
judicial access and improvement account established under Section
22.016, Government Code.
SECTION 9. Section 133.152(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) In addition to other fees collected under Section
133.151(a) or otherwise authorized or required by law, the clerk of
a district court shall collect the following fees on the filing of
any civil action or proceeding requiring a filing fee, including an
appeal, and on the filing of any counterclaim, cross-action,
intervention, interpleader, or third-party action requiring a
filing fee:
(1) $15 [$5] in family law cases and proceedings as
defined by Section 25.0002, Government Code; and
(2) $20 [$10] in any case other than a case described
by Subdivision (1).
SECTION 10. (a) Section 51.607, Government Code, does not
apply to the imposition of a court cost or fee under this Act.
(b) The changes in law made by this Act apply to the costs
imposed on or after October 1, 2011, for conviction of an offense
that occurs on or after that date.
(c) For purposes of Subsection (b) of this section, an
offense is committed before the date specified by that subsection
if any element of the offense occurs before the specified date.
Court costs imposed on conviction of an offense committed before
that specified date are governed by the law in effect on the date
the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
(d) Section 133.152(a), Local Government Code, as amended
by this Act, and Section 101.0615, Government Code, as amended by
this Act, apply only to a civil action or proceeding filed in a
district court on or after the effective date of this Act. A civil
action or proceeding filed before that date is governed by the law
in effect on the date the action or proceeding was filed, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of
the legislative session.