HBA-JLV S.B. 1379 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 1379 By: Armbrister Judicial Affairs 5/10/2001 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, legislation implementing new court costs and fees or changes to court costs and fees is usually effective on September 1, the beginning of the state fiscal year. Normally these changes are not finally determined until late in the legislative session, and are generally signed into law during June of the session year. After the bills are signed into law, time is needed to determine and summarize all the resulting changes, and disseminate the information to the affected entities and groups. Typically, the comptroller of public accounts (comptroller) sends out information on the session changes in July or August, which does not give cities, counties, and the comptroller much time to implement required changes. The implementation date of September 1 also causes problems in the changes and conversions since most of the funds are reported on a calendar quarter basis and September 1 falls inside a calendar quarter. Moving the implementation date from September 1 to January 1 would give cities, counties, and the comptroller four additional months to implement changes, revise forms, change computer software programs, and train personnel on the changes. It would also fall at the beginning of a calendar quarter, which would eliminate the reporting problems when an implementation date falls in the middle of a calendar quarter. Senate Bill 1379 sets the implementation date of new or amended court costs and fees at January 1 after each legislative session. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS Senate Bill 1379 amends the Government Code to require the comptroller of public accounts (comptroller), following each regular session of the legislature, to identify each law enacted by that legislature, other than a law disapproved by the governor, that imposes or changes the amount of certain state court costs or fees collected by the clerk of a district, county, statutory county, municipal, or justice court from a party to a civil case or a defendant in a criminal case. These provisions do not apply under certain stated conditions. The bill requires the comptroller to prepare a list of each state court cost or fee to be imposed or changed and publish the list in the Texas Register by a certain date. The bill requires the comptroller to include with the list a statement describing the operation of these provisions and stating the date the imposition or change in the amount of the court cost or fee will take effect. The bill provides that, notwithstanding the effective date of the law imposing or changing the amount of a state court cost or fee included on the list, the imposition or change in the amount of the court cost or fee does not take effect until the next January 1 after the law takes effect. These provisions do not apply to a court cost or fee if the law imposing or changing the amount of the cost or fee meets certain requirements. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.