By Allen                                              H.B. No. 3577

         75R11855 PEP-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to certain fees a judge may impose on a defendant as a

 1-3     condition of community supervision.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 19(a), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal

 1-6     Procedure, is amended to read as follows:

 1-7           (a)  Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, a judge

 1-8     granting community supervision shall fix a fee of not less than $25

 1-9     and not more than $90 [$40] per month to be paid to the court by

1-10     the defendant during the community supervision period.  The judge

1-11     may make payment of the fee a condition of granting or continuing

1-12     the community supervision.  The judge may waive or reduce the fee

1-13     or suspend a monthly payment of the fee if the defendant

1-14     demonstrates to the judge specific facts indicating [determines]

1-15     that payment of the fee would cause the defendant a significant

1-16     financial hardship.

1-17           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.  The

1-18     change in law made by this Act applies to the imposition of a fee

1-19     on a defendant placed on community supervision for an offense

1-20     committed on or after the effective date of this Act.  The

1-21     imposition of a fee on a defendant placed on community supervision

1-22     for an offense committed before the effective date of this Act is

1-23     covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and

1-24     the former law continues in effect for that purpose.  For purposes

 2-1     of this section, an offense was committed before the effective date

 2-2     of this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that

 2-3     date.

 2-4           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

 2-5     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 2-6     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 2-7     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 2-8     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.