| 1 | 1 | | 86R3114 SRS-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Moody H.B. No. 1021 |
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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 a prohibition on the imposition of court costs and |
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| 8 | 8 | | filing or other fees on certain indigent defendants and plaintiffs. |
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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. Subtitle I, Title 2, Government Code, is amended |
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| 11 | 11 | | by adding Chapter 104 to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | CHAPTER 104. COURT COSTS AND FILING AND OTHER FEES IN CIVIL AND |
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| 13 | 13 | | CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS |
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| 14 | 14 | | Sec. 104.001. WAIVING COURT COSTS AND FILING AND OTHER FEES |
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| 15 | 15 | | FOR INDIGENTS. (a) In this section, "indigent" means an individual |
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| 16 | 16 | | whose household income is at or below 125 percent of the federal |
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| 17 | 17 | | poverty guidelines as determined by the United States Department of |
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| 18 | 18 | | Health and Human Services. |
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| 19 | 19 | | (b) Notwithstanding Section 101.001, 102.001, 103.001, or |
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| 20 | 20 | | any other law, a judge or justice of the supreme court, the court of |
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| 21 | 21 | | criminal appeals, a court of appeals, a district court, a criminal |
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| 22 | 22 | | district court, a constitutional county court, a statutory county |
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| 23 | 23 | | court, a justice court, or a municipal court, in a civil or criminal |
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| 24 | 24 | | proceeding before the court, who finds that the defendant or |
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| 25 | 25 | | plaintiff in the proceeding is indigent shall waive all court |
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| 26 | 26 | | costs, including costs on conviction, and all filing fees and other |
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| 27 | 27 | | fees imposed by law on the indigent defendant or plaintiff. |
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| 28 | 28 | | (c) This section does not apply to a proceeding filed by the |
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| 29 | 29 | | state's Title IV-D agency for an individual to whom the agency is |
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| 30 | 30 | | providing services authorized under Chapter 231, Family Code. |
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| 31 | 31 | | SECTION 2. Chapter 104, Government Code, as added by this |
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| 32 | 32 | | Act, applies only to court costs and filing and other fees imposed |
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| 33 | 33 | | in a civil or criminal proceeding commenced on or after the |
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| 34 | 34 | | effective date of this Act. Court costs and filing and other fees |
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| 35 | 35 | | imposed in a civil or criminal proceeding commenced before the |
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| 36 | 36 | | effective date of this Act are governed by the law in effect on the |
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| 37 | 37 | | date the proceeding was commenced, and the former law is continued |
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| 38 | 38 | | in effect for that purpose. |
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| 39 | 39 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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