C.S.H.B. 494 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 494 By: Jones, Jesse County Affairs Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In 1993, the 73rd Legislature created a fee not to exceed $5 for county courthouse security. This fee is collectable from defendants convicted of a felony or at the time of filing of each civil case filed in a county court, county court at law, or district court. This fee was created when the primary focus was courtroom security. It has been exceptionally effective in reducing deadly incidents in the courtrooms of Texas. Domestic and international threats have caused units of county government to add security deterrents for the safety of the entire courthouse complex(es). Increasing the ceiling for this locally set 10-yearold fee from $5 to $10 will provide additional funds needed for this necessary and new security objective. C.S.H.B. 494 would increase the fee for county courthouse security from $5 to $10. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS SECTION 1: Amends Section 291.008(a), Local Government Code, to increase from a limit of $5 to a limit of $10 that a county commissioner's court could charge at the time of filing of each civil case in county-level and district courts. SECTION 2: Amends Article 102.017(a) and (b), Code of Criminal Procedure, to increase from $5 to $10 the fee collected from a defendant convicted of a felony offense in a district court or a misdemeanor offense in a justice court, county court, county court at law, or district court. SECTION 3: Effective Date and Applicability. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2003 COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 494 amends Article 102.017 (b), Code of Criminal Procedure, to increase from $5 to $10 the fee collected from a defendant convicted of a misdemeanor offense in a justice court, county court, county court at law, or district court which the defendant is required to pay. HB 494 contained no such provision.