HBA-EDN H.B. 2368 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2368
By: George
Juvenile Justice & Family Issues
3/12/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, district court judges are authorized to assess fees for
court ordered social studies in juvenile and family matters.  Dallas County
has had a $200 limit on such fees since 1984 and the fees have not been
raised since 1994.  Although the number of court ordered social studies in
this county has significantly increased, there has been no increase in fees
to help offset rising expenses necessitated by the additional workload.  In
other counties, district judges may assess reasonable fees, which are not
subject to statutory limitations, for court ordered social studies.   House
Bill 2368 grants district court judges in Dallas County this same
authority.   

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. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 2368 amends the Human Resources Code to authorize a district
court judge in Dallas County to assess a reasonable fee for adoption,
family, or home study investigations ordered by the court.  The bill
removes the provision that such fees may not exceed $200 per case. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.