2019S0290-1 02/26/19
By: Kolkhorst S.B. No. 1633
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a program within the Office of Court Administration of
the Texas Judicial System to provide reimbursement for legal
representation in certain suits affecting the parent-child
relationship.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 72, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 72.033 to read as follows:
Sec. 72.033. REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM FOR PROVIDING LEGAL
REPRESENTATION IN CHILD PROTECTION COURTS. (a) In this section,
"child protection court" means a court presided over by an
associate judge appointed under Subchapter C, Chapter 201, Family
Code, and to whom child protection cases are referred in accordance
with that subchapter.
(b) The director shall establish a program within the office
to reimburse counties for certain attorney's fees paid by the
counties for legal representation provided under Part 1, Subchapter
B, Chapter 107, Family Code, in suits affecting the parent-child
relationship heard in a child protection court. A county may be
reimbursed for attorney's fees if:
(1) the attorney who provided representation was on
the list maintained by the office under Subsection (c); and
(2) the attorney was paid in accordance with the fee
schedule set by the office for attorney's fees under Subsection
(c).
(c) The office shall:
(1) maintain a list of attorneys whose fees may be
eligible for state reimbursement to the county under this section;
(2) establish minimum standards and qualifications
for an attorney to be placed on the list;
(3) monitor and audit the legal representation
provided by the attorneys whose fees are reimbursed under this
section; and
(4) set a uniform fee schedule that a county must
follow to qualify for reimbursement under this section.
(d) The office may use available funding to expand the
reimbursement provided to counties other than those with a child
protection court for suits affecting the parent-child relationship
under Part 1, Subchapter B, Chapter 107, Family Code.
(e) Not later than December 31 of each even-numbered year,
the office shall report to the legislature:
(1) a list of the counties that received reimbursement
under this section and the amount received by each county;
(2) the number of cases, by county, where attorney's
fees were eligible for reimbursement under this section;
(3) the average amount per case reimbursed to each
county under this section; and
(4) a list of the counties with child protection
courts that did not receive reimbursement under this section.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.