By: Ellis S.C.R. No. 12 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, The statewide collection rate for fines, fees, and 1-2 court costs imposed on criminal defendants is unacceptably low as 1-3 shown by a 1996 survey by the Office of Court Administration of the 1-4 Texas Judicial System that found a county-level court collection 1-5 rate of 61 percent, for an average loss of $412,000 in uncollected 1-6 fines, and a district court collection rate of just 26 percent, for 1-7 an average loss of $570,000; and 1-8 WHEREAS, Several Texas counties currently use a variety of 1-9 methods to increase their rate of collection, such as collecting 50 1-10 percent of the fees and fines within the first 48 hours, 1-11 determining defendants' ability to pay, and accepting personal 1-12 property or community service as repayment options; and 1-13 WHEREAS, In other jurisdictions, particularly in smaller 1-14 counties and cities with limited resources, collection efforts have 1-15 been hampered by a number of factors, including an increase in the 1-16 number of fees and a fee structure that is too complicated; and 1-17 WHEREAS, A simplification of the fee collection process would 1-18 enable smaller jurisdictions to use a lesser share of their limited 1-19 resources in identifying, collecting, and remitting fees; and 1-20 WHEREAS, Courts also could increase their efficiency in 1-21 collections through other measures such as on-site training, 1-22 manuals, software, and toll-free assistance lines if such means 1-23 were to be made available to them; and 1-24 WHEREAS, Because court orders are effectively broken when the 2-1 fines, fees, and court costs that have been imposed on defendants 2-2 by the courts remain uncollected, it is imperative that the courts' 2-3 unacceptably low collection rates be improved; now, therefore, be 2-4 it 2-5 RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas 2-6 hereby direct the comptroller of public accounts to develop 2-7 strategies for increasing the efficiency and reducing the 2-8 complexity of fee collection and dispersal by county and municipal 2-9 clerks and to submit recommendations to the legislature no later 2-10 than January 1, 2001; and, be it further 2-11 RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official 2-12 copy of this resolution to the comptroller of public accounts.