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.
         _______________________________     _______________________________
             President of the Senate              Speaker of the House
               I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 12 was adopted by the Senate
         on April 30, 1999.
                                             _______________________________
                                                 Secretary of the Senate
               I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 12 was adopted by the House
         on May 26, 1999.
                                             _______________________________
                                                 Chief Clerk of the House
         Approved:
         _______________________________
                     Date
         _______________________________
                   Governor