HBA-JLV, LJP C.S.S.B. 1378 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.S.B. 1378 By: Armbrister Judicial Affairs 5/16/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Upon conviction of a municipal ordinance, misdemeanor, or felony, an offender is ordered to pay state and local court costs, fees, and fines. The current structure of state and local court costs, fees, and fines may be a time-consuming and burdensome task for municipalities or counties with limited resources and manual systems. In 1997, eleven of the court fees were consolidated into one fee to be reported and remitted each quarter to the comptroller of public accounts (comptroller). The comptroller's report to the 77th Legislature recommends consolidating the remaining four fees into the existing consolidated fee structure. According to the report, fee consolidation, simplified collection, and reporting by municipal courts could lead to significant savings in time and money. C.S.S.B. 1378 amends provisions relating to the collection, remittance, and distribution of consolidated criminal and civil fees. 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 C.S.S.B. 1378 amends the Local Government Code to consolidate and standardize the collection, remittance, and distribution of criminal and civil fees payable to the comptroller of public accounts (comptroller). The bill specifies the criminal and civil fees that are subject to the application of these provisions (Secs. 133.001, 133.003, and 133.004). The bill sets forth provisions relating to the recording, collection, remittance and deposit of civil and criminal fees. The bill requires the treasurer to remit to the comptroller the funds from all collected fees during the preceding quarter on or before the last day of the month following each calendar quarter. The bill sets forth provisions requiring the treasurer to report the criminal fees and civil fees collected for the preceding calendar quarter. The bill authorizes a municipality or county to retain 10 percent of the money collected from fees as a service fee for the collection if the municipality or county remits the funds to the comptroller within the prescribed time period. The bill authorizes a municipality or county to retain an amount greater than 10 percent of the money collected from fees if retention of the greater amount is authorized by law. The county is authorized to retain five percent of the money collected as a service fee on the basic legal service for indigents filing fee. The bill prohibits a county from retaining a service fee on the collection of a fee for the judicial fund. The bill authorizes the comptroller to audit the records of a county or municipality relating to the collected fees and provides for an audit by a state auditor for money spent from collected fees (Secs. 133.051-133.059). The bill sets forth the fees a person convicted of certain offenses is required to pay, in addition to all other costs. The bill requires that the money collected before January 1, 2002 be distributed using historical data so that each account or fund receives the same amount of money that the account or fund would have received if the fees for the accounts and funds had been collected and reported separately. The bill sets forth the percentages of the fees that the comptroller is required to allocate to the accounts for money collected on or after January 1, 2002. The bill prohibits the account or fund from receiving less than these percentages (Sec. 133.102). The bill requires that a person convicted of a felony or misdemeanor pay, in addition to all other costs, a fee of $25 if the person pays any part of a fine, court costs, or restitution on or after the 31st day after the date on which a judgment is entered. The bill sets forth provisions specifying the allocation of this fee (Sec. 133.103). The bill requires that fees for services performed by state peace officers be forwarded to the comptroller after deducting four-fifths of the amount of each fee received, and be credited to the general revenue fund (Sec. 133.104). In addition to standard filing fees, the clerk of a district court is required to collect a $45 fee for family law cases and proceedings and a $50 fee for the filing of any other civil suit and to remit the fees to the comptroller. The bill requires the comptroller to allocate the fees to certain accounts and funds (Sec. 133.151). In addition to other required fees, the bill requires the clerk of a district court, the clerk of a court other than a district court, the courts of appeals, or the supreme court, to collect certain fees for the filing of any civil action, counterclaim, cross-action, intervention, interpleader, or third-party action requiring a filing fee. The bill requires the fees to be remitted to the comptroller. The bill requires the comptroller to deposit the fees to the credit of the basic civil legal services account of the judicial fund for use in programs approved by the supreme court that provide basic civil legal services to an indigent (Secs. 133.152 and 133.153). The bill amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to decrease, from not less than $100 to not less than $50, the amount of fines or costs for eight hours of community service for a defendant to be discharged of such fines or costs. The bill also decreases, from not less than $100 to not less than $50, the rate of jail time to a fine or costs for a defendant who is placed in jail on account of not paying the fine or costs and who remains in jail to satisfy the fine and costs (Arts. 45.048 and 45.049). The bill applies the assessment of additional court costs on a person convicted of offenses against the rules of the road within a school crossing zone to all municipalities, rather than only municipalities with a population of 400,000 or more (Art. 102.014). EFFECTIVE DATE January 1, 2002. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.S.B. 1378 modifies the original to specify that provisions relating to the collection, remittance, and distribution of consolidated criminal and civil fees apply to the filing fee paid to a district court for basic civil legal services for indigents (Sec. 133.004). If the treasurer does not collect any fees during a calendar quarter, the substitute requires the treasurer to file the report required for the quarter in the regular manner and the substitute provides that the report must state that no fees were collected (Sec. 133.055). The substitute authorizes a county to retain five percent of the money collected as a service fee on the basic civil legal services for indigents filing fee. The substitute prohibits a county from retaining a service fee on the collection of a fee for the judicial fund (Sec. 133.058). The substitute modifies the fees a person convicted of certain offenses is required to pay, in addition to all other costs. The substitute also modifies the percentages of the fees that the comptroller is required to allocate to the accounts (Sec. 133.102). The substitute specifies that $40 of each civil filing fee in a district court shall be allocated to the judicial fund and specifies that the remainder of the fee be allocated to the basic civil legal services account of the judicial fund (Sec. 133.151). The substitute removes provisions increasing, from 25 cents to 50 cents, the fee a person convicted of certain offenses is required to pay on conviction of the offense and removes the requirement that the fee be used for the Center for the Study and Prevention of Juvenile Crime and Delinquency at Prairie View A&M University. The substitute no longer requires a person convicted of certain offenses to pay 50 cents on conviction of the offense. The substitute no longer requires the comptroller to deposit court costs for special services to the credit of an account in the state treasury to be used only for the establishment and operation of the Correctional Management Institute of Texas and Criminal Justice Center account.