1-1 By: Jones of Dallas (Senate Sponsor - West) H.B. No. 1508
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 17, 1993;
1-3 May 18, 1993, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
1-4 Justice; May 25, 1993, reported favorably by the following vote:
1-5 Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 25, 1993, sent to printer.)
1-6 COMMITTEE VOTE
1-7 Yea Nay PNV Absent
1-8 Whitmire x
1-9 Brown x
1-10 Nelson x
1-11 Sibley x
1-12 Sims x
1-13 Turner x
1-14 West x
1-15 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-16 AN ACT
1-17 relating to court costs for certain traffic convictions and
1-18 administrative fees for certain criminal convictions in justice
1-19 courts.
1-20 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-21 SECTION 1. Article 45.50, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
1-22 amended by adding Sections (c) and (d) as follows:
1-23 (c) The defendant shall pay an administrative fee in the
1-24 amount of $2 in each case of conviction in a criminal action where
1-25 the judgment allows the defendant to pay the entire fine and costs
1-26 at some later date or to pay a specified portion of the fine and
1-27 costs at designated intervals.
1-28 (d) A justice of the peace collecting the administrative fee
1-29 under this article shall deposit the funds in the county treasury.
1-30 A municipal court collecting the administrative fee under this
1-31 article shall deposit the funds in the municipal treasury. A
1-32 municipal or county treasury may retain the administrative fees as
1-33 a service fee for the collection of the judgments.
1-34 SECTION 2. Section (c), Article 102.014, Code of Criminal
1-35 Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
1-36 (c) A person convicted of an offense under the Uniform Act
1-37 Regulating Traffic on Highways (Article 6701d, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-38 Statutes), when the offense occurs within a school crossing zone as
1-39 defined by Section 20L of that Act, shall pay as court costs $25
1-40 <$20> in addition to other taxable court costs. A person convicted
1-41 of an offense under Section 104, Uniform Act Regulating Traffic on
1-42 Highways (Article 6701d, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), shall pay
1-43 as court costs $20 in addition to other taxable court costs. A
1-44 person convicted of an offense under Section 4.25, Education Code,
1-45 shall pay as taxable court costs $20 in addition to other taxable
1-46 court costs. The additional court costs under this subsection
1-47 shall be collected in the same manner that other fines and taxable
1-48 court costs in the case are collected.
1-49 SECTION 3. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
1-50 (b) The change in law made by this Act applies only to an
1-51 offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. For
1-52 purposes of this Act, an offense was committed before the effective
1-53 date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred before the
1-54 effective date of this Act.
1-55 (c) An offense committed before the effective date of this
1-56 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
1-57 and the former law is continued in effect for this purpose.
1-58 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
1-59 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-60 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-61 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-62 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
1-63 * * * * *
1-64 Austin,
1-65 Texas
1-66 May 25, 1993
1-67 Hon. Bob Bullock
1-68 President of the Senate
2-1 Sir:
2-2 We, your Committee on Criminal Justice to which was referred H.B.
2-3 No. 1508, have had the same under consideration, and I am
2-4 instructed to report it back to the Senate with the recommendation
2-5 that it do pass and be printed.
2-6 Whitmire,
2-7 Chairman
2-8 * * * * *
2-9 WITNESSES
2-10 No witnesses appeared on H.B. No. 1508.