By Wilson H.B. No. 650 74R1012 MLR-D A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to donations to a state agency by certain attorneys. 1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-4 SECTION 1. Subtitle G, Title 2, Government Code, is amended 1-5 by adding Chapter 84 to read as follows: 1-6 CHAPTER 84. DONATION BY ATTORNEY 1-7 Sec. 84.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: 1-8 (1) "Court-appointed attorney" means an attorney 1-9 appointed by a court to represent a person and includes an attorney 1-10 appointed ad litem. 1-11 (2) "Donation" means a gift, grant, payment, devise, 1-12 bequest, or funding of money. 1-13 (3) "State agency" means a board, commission, 1-14 department, office, or other agency that: 1-15 (A) is in a branch of state government; 1-16 (B) was created by the constitution or a statute 1-17 of this state; and 1-18 (C) has statewide jurisdiction. 1-19 Sec. 84.002. ATTORNEY DONATION TO AGENCY. (a) A state 1-20 agency may accept a donation made by a court-appointed attorney 1-21 under this chapter. 1-22 (b) A court-appointed attorney may donate a fee that would 1-23 have been generated by an appointment to the state agency of the 1-24 attorney's choice. 2-1 (c) The supreme court by rule shall provide a payment waiver 2-2 system that authorizes a court-appointed attorney to donate the fee 2-3 generated by an appointment to a state agency. 2-4 Sec. 84.003. FEE TRANSFER. (a) The custodian of the county 2-5 treasury shall keep a record of the amount of the fees collected 2-6 under Section 84.002 and, on or before the last day of the month 2-7 following each calendar quarter, remit to the comptroller the fees 2-8 collected under Section 84.002 in the preceding quarter. The 2-9 custodian of the county treasury may retain 10 percent of the fees 2-10 collected under Section 84.002 and the interest as a service fee if 2-11 the custodian of the treasury keeps records of the amount of fees 2-12 on deposit collected under Section 84.002 and remits the funds to 2-13 the comptroller within the period prescribed by this section. 2-14 (b) The comptroller shall deposit a fee remitted under this 2-15 section to the credit of the fund or account specified by the 2-16 agency designated by the donor attorney under Section 84.002(b). 2-17 Sections 403.094 and 403.095 do not apply to funds or accounts 2-18 designated under this subsection. Money donated under this section 2-19 may be appropriated only to the agency designated by the attorney 2-20 donating the money. Money deposited under this section is 2-21 supplementary and is not income for purposes of reducing general 2-22 revenue appropriations to the agency that received the donation in 2-23 the General Appropriations Act. 2-24 SECTION 2. The supreme court shall adopt the rules required 2-25 by Section 84.002(c), Government Code, as added by this Act, not 2-26 later than January 1, 1996. 2-27 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 3-1 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 3-2 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 3-3 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 3-4 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.