By Jones of Dallas H.B. No. 1508
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to court costs for certain traffic convictions and
1-3 administrative fees for certain criminal convictions in justice
1-4 courts.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Article 45.50, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
1-7 amended by adding Sections (c) and (d) as follows:
1-8 (c) The defendant shall pay an administrative fee in the
1-9 amount of $2 in each case of conviction in a criminal action where
1-10 the judgment allows the defendant to pay the entire fine and costs
1-11 at some later date or to pay a specified portion of the fine and
1-12 costs at designated intervals.
1-13 (d) A justice of the peace collecting the administrative fee
1-14 under this article shall deposit the funds in the county treasury.
1-15 A municipal court collecting the administrative fee under this
1-16 article shall deposit the funds in the municipal treasury. A
1-17 municipal or county treasury may retain the administrative fees as
1-18 a service fee for the collection of the judgments.
1-19 SECTION 2. Section (c), Article 102.014, Code of Criminal
1-20 Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
1-21 (c) A person convicted of an offense under the Uniform Act
1-22 Regulating Traffic on Highways (Article 6701d, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-23 Statutes), when the offense occurs within a school crossing zone as
1-24 defined by Section 20L of that Act, shall pay as court costs $25
2-1 <$20> in addition to other taxable court costs. A person convicted
2-2 of an offense under Section 104, Uniform Act Regulating Traffic on
2-3 Highways (Article 6701d, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), shall pay
2-4 as court costs $20 in addition to other taxable court costs. A
2-5 person convicted of an offense under Section 4.25, Education Code,
2-6 shall pay as taxable court costs $20 in addition to other taxable
2-7 court costs. The additional court costs under this subsection
2-8 shall be collected in the same manner that other fines and taxable
2-9 court costs in the case are collected.
2-10 SECTION 3. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
2-11 (b) The change in law made by this Act applies only to an
2-12 offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. For
2-13 purposes of this Act, an offense was committed before the effective
2-14 date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred before the
2-15 effective date of this Act.
2-16 (c) An offense committed before the effective date of this
2-17 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
2-18 and the former law is continued in effect for this purpose.
2-19 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
2-20 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-21 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-22 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-23 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.