1-1     By:  Luna (Senate Sponsor - Staples)                   H.B. No. 177
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 2, 2001;
 1-3     April 3, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Intergovernmental Relations; May 2, 2001, reported favorably by the
 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 2, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to the authority of the commissioners court of a county to
 1-9     create a justice court technology fund and to require certain
1-10     defendants to pay court costs for deposit in the fund.
1-11           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12           SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 102, Code of Criminal
1-13     Procedure, is amended by adding Article 102.0173 to read as
1-14     follows:
1-15           Art. 102.0173.  COURT COSTS; JUSTICE COURT TECHNOLOGY FUND.
1-16     (a)  The commissioners court of a county by order may create a
1-17     justice  court technology fund and may require a defendant
1-18     convicted of a misdemeanor offense in a justice court to pay a
1-19     technology fee not to exceed $4 as a cost of court.
1-20           (b)  In this article, a person is considered convicted if:
1-21                 (1)  a sentence is imposed on the person; or
1-22                 (2)  the court defers final disposition of the person's
1-23     case.
1-24           (c)  The justice court clerk  shall collect the costs and pay
1-25     the funds to the county treasurer, or to any other official who
1-26     discharges the duties commonly delegated to the county  treasurer,
1-27     for deposit in a fund to be known as the justice  court technology
1-28     fund.
1-29           (d)  A fund designated by this article may be used only to
1-30     finance the purchase of technological enhancements for a justice
1-31     court, including:
1-32                 (1)  computer systems;
1-33                 (2)  computer networks;
1-34                 (3)  computer hardware;
1-35                 (4)  computer software;
1-36                 (5)  imaging systems;
1-37                 (6)  electronic kiosks;
1-38                 (7)  electronic ticket writers; and
1-39                 (8)  docket management systems.
1-40           (e)  The justice court technology fund shall be administered
1-41     by or under the direction of the commissioners court of the county.
1-42           (f)  This article expires September 1, 2005.
1-43           SECTION 2. (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
1-44     applies only to a cost on conviction for an offense committed on or
1-45     after that date and before September 1, 2005.  A cost on conviction
1-46     for an offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
1-47     covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and
1-48     the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. A cost on
1-49     conviction for an offense committed before September 1, 2005, in
1-50     which the conviction is not entered until September 1, 2005, or
1-51     later is imposed in the same manner as if the conviction had been
1-52     entered before September 1, 2005, and notwithstanding Article
1-53     102.0173(f), Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act, the
1-54     law is continued in effect for that purpose.
1-55           (b)  For purposes of this section, an offense was committed
1-56     before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
1-57     occurred before that date, and an offense is committed on or after
1-58     September 1, 2005, if any element of the offense occurs on or after
1-59     that date.
1-60                                  * * * * *