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Senate Bill 659 |
Senate Author: Eltife et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-09 |
House Sponsor: Hughes |
Senate Bill 659 amends the Government Code to require the commissioners court of each county in the Twelfth Court of Appeals District to establish an appellate judicial system to assist the court of appeals for each county in the district in the processing of appeals from the county courts, statutory county courts, probate courts, and district courts. To fund the system, each county commissioners court must set a court costs fee of $5 for each civil suit filed in county court, statutory county court, probate court, or district court in the county, except for a suit filed by any governmental entity or a suit for delinquent taxes. The bill provides for the taxation, collection, and payment of the fee and the deposit of the fee in a separate appellate judicial system fund. The bill requires the commissioners court to administer the fund, to be used solely for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a fund system to assist the Twelfth Court of Appeals District and any other court of appeals district that has an appellate judicial system in the county, and requires the commissioners court to monthly order the funds collected from the fees to be forwarded in equal amounts to each clerk of a court of appeals that has an appellate judicial system in the county for expenditures by the court of appeals for its judicial system and to vest management of the system in the chief justice of the court of appeals.