HBA-SEP H.B. 3247 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3247
By: Hinojosa
Criminal Jurisprudence
4/10/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, criminal district attorneys are not specifically
authorized to retain a commission, from money collected for the state or a
county, to be used to defray the salaries and expenses of the prosecutor's
office.  As a result, in some jurisdictions criminal district attorneys are
not receiving the revenue necessary to attract and retain qualified
prosecutors and to pay for additional expenses of the prosecutor's office.
House Bill 3247  specifies that a criminal district attorney is authorized
to retain a commission from money collected for the state or a county. 

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 3247 amends the Government Code to require a criminal district
attorney who receives money collected for the state or a county, after
deducting the commissions, to pay the money into the treasury of the state
or of the county to which it belongs.  The bill specifies that the district
attorney, criminal district attorney, or county attorney (attorneys) is
authorized to retain a commission of 15 percent of the total amount of
principal and interest from money collected for the state or a county
including money collected on a bond forfeiture.  A commission is required
to be deposited in the county treasury in a special fund to be administered
by the district attorney or county attorney.  Expenditures from the fund
are required to be at the sole discretion of the attorneys as applicable
and are authorized to be used only to defray the salaries and expenses of
the prosecutor's office, except that the attorneys are prohibited from
supplementing the attorney's own salary from the fund.   

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.