1-1     By:  Thompson (Senate Sponsor - West)                 H.B. No. 3498
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 2001;
 1-3     May 11, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Jurisprudence; May 11, 2001, reported favorably by the following
 1-5     vote:  Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 11, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to improving the collection of costs, fees, and fines in
 1-9     criminal cases.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1. Chapter 103, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
1-12     amended by adding Article 103.0032 to read as follows:
1-13           Art. 103.0032.  COLLECTION IMPROVEMENT PLANS. Not later than
1-14     January 1 of each even-numbered year, the Office of Court
1-15     Administration of the Texas Judicial System may award grants to
1-16     counties and municipalities to prepare a collection plan.  The
1-17     grants shall reimburse the county or municipality for the cost of
1-18     preparing the plan.  The plan shall provide methods to improve the
1-19     collection of court costs, fees, and fines imposed in criminal
1-20     cases.  The Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial
1-21     System may require that the county or municipality reimburse the
1-22     state from the additional collections as a condition of the grant.
1-23           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
1-24           SECTION 3. Each commissioners court and each governing body
1-25     of a municipality must file the first  collection improvement plan
1-26     required by Article 103.0032, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added
1-27     by this Act, not later than January 1, 2002.
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