1-1 By: Hartnett (Senate Sponsor - West) H.B. No. 1220
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 23, 2001;
1-3 April 24, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
1-4 Jurisprudence; May 8, 2001, reported favorably by the following
1-5 vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 8, 2001, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to payments made to certain counties from the judicial
1-9 fund and to the creation and use of a contributions fund in each of
1-10 those counties.
1-11 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12 SECTION 1. Section 25.00211(b), Government Code, is amended
1-13 to read as follows:
1-14 (b) The amount shall be paid to the county treasury for
1-15 deposit in the contributions fund created under Section 25.00213
1-16 [county's salary fund] in equal monthly installments from funds
1-17 appropriated from the judicial fund.
1-18 SECTION 2. Section 25.00212, Government Code, is amended to
1-19 read as follows:
1-20 Sec. 25.00212. EXCESS CONTRIBUTIONS. (a) At the end of each
1-21 state fiscal year the comptroller shall determine the amounts
1-22 deposited in the judicial fund under Section 51.704 [51.703] and
1-23 the amounts paid to the counties under Section 25.00211. If the
1-24 total amount paid under Section 51.704 by all counties exceeds the
1-25 total amount paid to counties under Section 25.00211, the state
1-26 shall remit the excess to the counties proportionately based on the
1-27 percentage of the total paid by each county.
1-28 (b) The amounts remitted under Subsection (a) shall be paid
1-29 to the county treasury for deposit in the contributions fund
1-30 created under Section 25.00213 [county's general fund to be used
1-31 only for court-related purposes for the support of the judiciary as
1-32 provided by Section 21.006].
1-33 SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 25, Government Code, is
1-34 amended by adding Section 25.00213 to read as follows:
1-35 Sec. 25.00213. CONTRIBUTIONS FUND. (a) A contributions fund
1-36 is created in the county treasury of each county that collects the
1-37 additional fees under Section 51.704.
1-38 (b) Money in a contributions fund created under this section
1-39 may be used only for court-related purposes for the support of the
1-40 statutory probate courts in the county.
1-41 (c) A county may not reduce the amount of funds provided for
1-42 the support of the statutory probate courts in the county because
1-43 of the availability of funds from the county's contributions fund.
1-44 SECTION 4. Any amount that was paid to a county's salary
1-45 fund under Section 25.00211, Government Code, or to a county's
1-46 general fund under Section 25.00212, Government Code, on or after
1-47 October 1, 1999, and before the effective date of this Act and that
1-48 is on deposit in the respective fund on the effective date of this
1-49 Act shall be transferred to the county's contributions fund created
1-50 under Section 25.00213, Government Code, as added by this Act.
1-51 SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
1-52 a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
1-53 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
1-54 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
1-55 Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
1-56 * * * * *