By:  Turner                                           S.B. No. 1240
       73R1007 RJA-D
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to the compensation of certain statutory county court
    1-3  judges and to certain fees and costs collected by district and
    1-4  county clerks for deposit in the judicial fund.
    1-5        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-6        SECTION 1.  Section 25.0005(d), Government Code, is amended
    1-7  to read as follows:
    1-8        (d)  Notwithstanding Section 25.0001(a), this section
    1-9  prevails over any other law that limits a particular statutory
   1-10  county court judge to an annual salary of less than the amount
   1-11  provided by Subsection (a), but does not affect a salary minimum
   1-12  set by other law that equals or exceeds the amount provided by
   1-13  Subsection (a).
   1-14        SECTION 2.  Section 25.0016, Government Code, is amended by
   1-15  adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
   1-16        (c)  In determining the amount deposited in the judicial fund
   1-17  under Section 51.702 for a county that collects fees and costs as
   1-18  provided by that section, the comptroller shall credit one-half of
   1-19  the fees deposited in the judicial fund under Section 51.701 by
   1-20  that county for cases assigned to a statutory county court as fees
   1-21  deposited under Section 51.702.
   1-22        SECTION 3.  Section 51.701, Government Code, is amended by
   1-23  adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
   1-24        (d)  The district clerk, at the time fees are sent under
    2-1  Subsection (b), shall report to the comptroller the amount of fees
    2-2  collected under this section for cases assigned to a statutory
    2-3  county court.
    2-4        SECTION 4.  Section 51.702, Government Code, is amended by
    2-5  amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (g) to read as
    2-6  follows:
    2-7        (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (g), in <In> addition
    2-8  to all other fees authorized or required by other law, the clerk of
    2-9  a statutory county court shall collect a $20 filing fee in each
   2-10  civil case filed in the court to be used for court-related purposes
   2-11  for the support of the judiciary.
   2-12        (g)  A clerk may not collect a fee under this section and
   2-13  under Section 51.701.
   2-14        SECTION 5.   This Act applies only to filing fees for civil
   2-15  cases filed and to costs on convictions occurring on or after the
   2-16  effective date of this Act.
   2-17        SECTION 6.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-18  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-19  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-20  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   2-21  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
   2-22  and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
   2-23  passage, and it is so enacted.