By Gallego H.B. No. 789 75R2970 JMC-F A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the imposition of a fee on certain criminal defendants 1-3 to fund improvements in court technology and judicial 1-4 administration. 1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-6 SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 102, Code of Criminal 1-7 Procedure, is amended by adding Article 102.019 to read as follows: 1-8 Art. 102.019. FEE FOR COLLECTING LATE OR PARTIAL PAYMENTS OF 1-9 FINES. (a) A defendant punished by imposition of a fine on 1-10 conviction of an offense shall pay to the clerk of the court a fee 1-11 of $12 if the defendant: 1-12 (1) fails to timely pay the fine; or 1-13 (2) pays the fine in installments. 1-14 (b) A judge may not waive a fee imposed under Subsection 1-15 (a). 1-16 (c) The clerk of a municipal court shall deposit $6 of each 1-17 fee collected under Subsection (a) in the municipal treasury. The 1-18 clerk of a justice court, county court, statutory county court, or 1-19 district court shall deposit $6 of each fee collected under 1-20 Subsection (a) in the county treasury. The governing body of the 1-21 municipality or the commissioners court of the county may use the 1-22 funds deposited under this subsection only to maintain and improve 1-23 the collecting court's administration generally and to maintain and 1-24 improve the following operations of the court: 2-1 (1) the collection of costs and fees; 2-2 (2) the management of money collected and received; 2-3 (3) court automation; 2-4 (4) case processing; and 2-5 (5) the implementation of information technology. 2-6 (d) The custodian of a municipal or county treasury shall 2-7 keep a record of the amount of fees collected under Subsection (a) 2-8 and shall, not later than the last day of the month following each 2-9 calendar quarter, remit to the comptroller of public accounts $6 of 2-10 each fee collected under Subsection (a) during the preceding 2-11 quarter. The comptroller shall deposit the funds received under 2-12 this subsection in a special account in the state treasury to be 2-13 known as the state court technology and judicial administration 2-14 fund. 2-15 (e) The legislature may appropriate money from the state 2-16 court technology and judicial administration fund only to the 2-17 office of court administration to maintain and improve those 2-18 operations of a court that are listed in Subsections (c)(1)-(5) and 2-19 to maintain and improve the administration of justice generally. 2-20 (f) Funds deposited in the state court technology and 2-21 judicial administration fund under Subsection (d) are subject to 2-22 audit by the comptroller. Funds distributed by the office of court 2-23 administration under Subsection (e) are subject to audit by the 2-24 state auditor. 2-25 SECTION 2. (a) The imposition of a fee as authorized by 2-26 Article 102.019, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act, 2-27 applies only to a defendant convicted of an offense committed on or 3-1 after the effective date of this Act. For purposes of this 3-2 section, an offense is committed before the effective date of this 3-3 Act if any element of the offense occurs before the effective date. 3-4 (b) A defendant convicted of an offense committed before the 3-5 effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the 3-6 offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect 3-7 for that purpose. 3-8 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997. 3-9 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the 3-10 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 3-11 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 3-12 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 3-13 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.