By Thompson                                           H.B. No. 1884
         77R4546 KLA-F                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to filing fees for certain types of actions.
 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-4           SECTION 1. Section 51.317, Government Code, is amended to
 1-5     read as follows:
 1-6           Sec. 51.317.  FEES DUE AT FILING. (a)  The district clerk
 1-7     shall collect at the time the suit or action is filed the fees
 1-8     provided by Subsections [Subsection] (b) and (c) [of this section]
 1-9     for services performed by the clerk.
1-10           (b)  The fees are:
1-11                 (1)  except as provided by Subsection (c), for filing a
1-12                        suit, including an appeal from an inferior court
1-13                        [and for filing a petition for preconviction
1-14                        writ of habeas corpus] ............... $60 [$45]
1-15                 (2)  for filing a cross-action, counterclaim,
1-16                        intervention, contempt action, motion for new
1-17                        trial, or third-party petition ............. $15
1-18                 (3)  for issuing a citation or other writ or process
1-19                        not otherwise provided for, including one copy,
1-20                        when requested at the time a suit or action is
1-21                        filed ....................................... $8
1-22                 (4)  for  the  records  management  and preservation
1-23                        fund ....................................... $5.
1-24           (c)  The fees for filing a suit, including an appeal from an
 2-1     inferior court, are:
 2-2                 (1)  $75, for a suit with at least 11 but not more than
 2-3     25 plaintiffs;
 2-4                 (2)  $100, for a suit with at least 26 but not more
 2-5     than 100 plaintiffs;
 2-6                 (3)  $125, for a suit with at least 101 but not more
 2-7     than 500 plaintiffs;
 2-8                 (4)  $150, for a suit with at least 501 but not more
 2-9     than 1,000 plaintiffs; and
2-10                 (5)  $175, for a suit with more than 1,000 plaintiffs.
2-11           (d)  The district clerk, after collecting a fee under
2-12     Subsection (b)(4), shall pay the fee to the county treasurer, or to
2-13     an official who discharges the duties commonly delegated to the
2-14     county treasurer, for deposit in the records management and
2-15     preservation fund.
2-16           SECTION 2. Article 102.005(f), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
2-17     amended to read as follows:
2-18           (f)  A defendant convicted of an offense in a county court, a
2-19     county court at law, or a district court shall pay a fee of $20 for
2-20     records management and preservation services performed by the
2-21     county as required by Chapter 203, Local Government Code.  The fee
2-22     shall be collected and distributed by the clerk of the court in the
2-23     same manner as fees are collected and distributed under Section
2-24     51.317(d) [51.317(c)], Government Code.  The fee received by a
2-25     county shall be placed in a special fund to be called the records
2-26     management and preservation fund.  The fee shall be used only for
2-27     records management and preservation purposes in the county as
 3-1     required by Chapter 203, Local Government Code.  No expenditures
 3-2     may be made from this fund without prior approval of the
 3-3     commissioners court.
 3-4           SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.  Sections
 3-5     51.317(b) and (c), Government Code, as amended by this Act, apply
 3-6     only to a fee that becomes due on or after September 1, 2001.