1-1 By: Ellis S.C.R. No. 14 1-2 (In the Senate - Filed January 22, 1999; January 27, 1999, 1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Jurisprudence; 1-4 March 11, 1999, reported favorably, as amended, by the following 1-5 vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; March 11, 1999, sent to printer.) 1-6 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1 By: Ellis 1-7 Amend S.C.R. 14, on page 1, line 44, by striking "March 1, 1-8 1999" and substituting "January 1, 2001". 1-9 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-10 WHEREAS, A 1996 survey by the Office of Court Administration 1-11 of the Texas Judicial System revealed that county-level courts have 1-12 a collection rate of 61 percent for an average loss of $412,000 in 1-13 uncollected fines, while district courts collect just 26 percent 1-14 for an average loss of $570,000; and 1-15 WHEREAS, Although the statewide collection rate for fines, 1-16 fees, and court costs imposed on criminal defendants remains 1-17 unacceptably low, several Texas counties such as Dallas, Brazoria, 1-18 and Harris have improved their collection rates using innovative 1-19 in-house and private-sector collection strategies that have served 1-20 as effective models for other counties; and 1-21 WHEREAS, Enormous amounts of data are generated on 1-22 defendants, and the use of information technology to store and 1-23 access data, such as a centralized computer tracking system, can 1-24 make the work performed by collections personnel more manageable; 1-25 and 1-26 WHEREAS, Recognizing this fact, the Commission on Judicial 1-27 Efficiency recommended in 1996 that technology be improved in all 1-28 Texas county and municipal courts; and 1-29 WHEREAS, A computerized collections system and other 1-30 information technologies used in conjunction with conventional 1-31 collection techniques would better enable the courts to track and 1-32 assess the repayment status and residency of defendants, provide 1-33 other information necessary in collecting debts, facilitate the 1-34 transfer of information, and thus enhance the courts' collection 1-35 efforts and improve their fine collection rates; now, therefore, be 1-36 it 1-37 RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas 1-38 hereby request that the Office of Court Administration of the Texas 1-39 Judicial System work with the Judicial Committee on Information 1-40 Technology to develop recommendations for using technology and 1-41 training to notify counties in which an offense has been committed 1-42 of the defendant's residency and the fine's repayment status and 1-43 that the office submit its recommendations to the legislature no 1-44 later than March 1, 1999; and, be it further 1-45 RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official 1-46 copy of this resolution to the director of the Office of Court 1-47 Administration of the Texas Judicial System and to the presiding 1-48 officer of the Judicial Committee on Information Technology. 1-49 * * * * *