HBA-DMD C.S.H.B. 928 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 928
By: Junell
Judicial Affairs
4/15/1999
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The county court system in Texas collects and sends to the state portions
of fines and fees levied for use by the state in financing the court system
and the state. Currently, county judge's salaries are set by local counties
and are supplemented $5,000 by signing an affidavit affirming that 40
percent of the judge's functions are judicial in nature. With this
supplement, a county judge's salary is still lower than that of a district
judge, even though the workload is comparable to that of a district judge.  

C.S.H.B. 928 entitles a county judge to a $10,000 annual salary supplement
from the state if at least 40 percent of the functions that a county judge
performs are judicial. This bill requires the state to compensate annually
each county that collects the additional fees and costs in the amount of
$5,000, provided that the county judge is entitled to a $10,000 annual
salary supplement. It also requires the comptroller to determine the amount
paid to the counties and the amount deposited in the judicial fund from the
additional fees and costs that counties collect.  This bill requires the
state, if the total amount of additional fees and costs collected exceeds
the amount of money that was paid to the counties, to remit the excess
monies to the counties proportionately based on the percentage of the total
paid by each county. C.S.H.B. 928 requires the clerk of a county court with
a judge who is entitled to an annual salary supplement, to collect a $40
filing fee, in addition to all other fees authorized or required by law, in
each civil case filed in the court to be used for court-related purposes
for the support of the judiciary. This bill also requires a person to pay a
$15 court cost upon conviction of any criminal offense in a county court. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 26.006(a), Government Code, to entitle a county
judge to an annual salary supplement from the state of $10,000, rather than
$5,000, if at least 40 percent of the functions that a county judge
performs are judicial functions. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Subchapter A, Chapter 26, Government Code, by adding
Sections 26.007 and 26.008, as follows: 

Sec. 26.007.  STATE CONTRIBUTION.  (a) Requires the state to compensate
annually, beginning on the first day of the state fiscal year, each county
that collects the additional fees and costs under Section 51.703 in the
amount of $5,000, provided that the county judge is entitled to a $10,000
annual salary supplement.  Requires the amount be paid to the county's
salary fund in equal monthly installments from funds appropriated from the
judicial fund. 

Sec. 26.008.  EXCESS CONTRIBUTIONS.  (a) Requires the comptroller, at the
end of each state fiscal year, to determine the amount paid to the counties
under Section 26.007 and the amount deposited in the judicial fund from the
additional fees and costs that counties collect. Requires the state, if the
total amount of additional fees and costs collected exceeds the amount of
money that was paid to the counties, to remit the excess monies to the
counties that collect fees and costs under Section 51.703, proportionately
based on the percentage of  the total paid by each county. 

(b) Requires the amount that the state remits to the county be placed in
the county's general fund to be used exclusively for court-related purposes
for the support of the judiciary as provided by Section 21.006 (Judicial
Fund), Government Code. 

SECTION 3.  Amends the heading to Section 51.702, Government Code, as
follows: 

Sec. 51.702.  New Title:  ADDITIONAL FEES AND COSTS IN CERTAIN STATUTORY
COUNTY COURTS.  Adds "statutory" to existing title. 

SECTION 4.  Amends Subchapter H, Chapter 51, Government Code, by adding
Section 51.703, as follows: 

Sec. 51.703. ADDITIONAL FEES AND COSTS IN CERTAIN COUNTY COURTS. Requires
the clerk of a county court with a judge who is entitled to an annual
salary supplement from the state under Section 26.006, to collect a $40
filing fee, in addition to all other fees authorized or required by law, in
each civil case filed in the court to be used for court-related purposes
for the support of the judiciary.   

(b) Requires a person to pay a $15 court cost upon conviction of any
criminal offense in a county court, including cases in which probation or
deferred adjudication is granted, in addition to other court costs, and for
a conviction under Chapter 521 (Driver's Licenses and Certificates),
Transportation Code, or a conviction under Subtitle C (Rules of the Road),
Title 7 (Vehicles and Traffic), Transportation Code, but does not include a
conviction under any law that regulates pedestrians or the parking of motor
vehicles. 

(c) Requires court costs and fees due under this section to be collected in
the same manner as other fees, fines, or costs are collected in the case. 

(d) Requires the clerk to send the fees and costs collected at least
monthly to the comptroller, who is required to deposit the fees in the
judicial fund. 

(e) Sets forth that Section 51.320 (Bill for Services) applies to a fee or
cost collected under this section. 

SECTION 5.Makes application of Section 51.703, Government Code, of this Act
prospective. 

SECTION 6.Emergency clause.
  Effective date: upon passage.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

This substitute differs from the original bill in SECTION 1 (Section
26.006(a), Government Code), by entitling a county judge to a $10,000
annual salary supplement. In addition, this substitute deletes the
condition that the county must collect additional fees and costs in order
for a county judge to collect the $10,000 annual salary supplement and also
deletes the provision that the supplements is $5,000 if those fees are not
collected.  

This substitute differs from the original bill in SECTION 2 (proposed
Section 26.008, Government Code), to specify that counties that collect
fees and costs under Section 51.703, Government Code, as added by this Act,
are the counties eligible for proportionate reimbursement. This substitute
also deletes proposed Subsection (c), which requires the comptroller, when
determining the amount deposited in the judicial fund under Section 51.703
for a county that collects fees and costs as provided by that section, to
credit $40 of each fee deposited in the judicial fund under Section 51.701
by that county for cases assigned to a county court as fees deposited under
Section 51.703. 

This substitute differs from the original bill in SECTION 4 (proposed
Section 51.703, Government Code), by deleting an exception to the
requirement that the clerk of a county court collect a $40 filing  fee, in
addition to all other fees authorized or required by law, in each civil
case filed in the court to be used for court-related purposes for the
support of the judiciary. This substitute also specifies that this section
applies only to a clerk of a county with a judge who is entitled to an
annual salary supplement. This substitute also deletes proposed Subsections
(f)-(j), relating to the time period for the collection of fees and costs
in counties in which the commissioners court adopts a resolution allowing
the fees and costs to be collected, the ability of the commissioners court
to rescind such a resolution, the ability of a county to participate in the
collection of fees and costs if that county was not eligible to begin
participating on the required date but is eligible to participate later in
the year, and the prohibition against a clerk from collecting a fee under
this section and Section 51.701.