S.B. 791 78(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


S.B. 791
By: West
Judicial Affairs
Committee Report (Unamended)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, there is no centralized database on court costs, fees and fines
collected by local and county entities and no routine monitoring mechanism
in place to determine whether statutory collection and reporting
requirements have been compiled.  As proposed, S.B. 791 requires the
comptroller of public accounts to develop and submit a proposal for a
monitoring program for the collection, remittance, and reporting of court
costs and fees to the comptroller by the court clerks. 

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.  (a)  Requires the comptroller of public accounts to develop
and submit a proposal for a monitoring program under which the comptroller
will periodically monitor the collection, remittance, and reporting of
court costs and fees required to be collected from a party to a civil case
or a defendant in a criminal case and remitted to the comptroller by the
clerks of the district, county, statutory county, municipal, and justice
courts.  Requires the monitoring program to be designed to assess whether: 
  
(1)  the comptroller is receiving complete information on the sources of
the costs and fees collected; 
  
  (2)  each court clerk is reporting the costs and fees collected as
required by law;  and 
  
(3)  the comptroller is crediting the costs and fees remitted to the
appropriate fund or account. 
 
(b)  Requires the comptroller to submit a cost estimate for implementing
and operating the monitoring program proposed under Subsection (a) of this
section. 
 
(c)  Requires the comptroller to submit the proposal and cost estimate
required by this section to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the
speaker of the house of representatives not later than September 1, 2004. 

SECTION 2.  Effective date:  September 1, 2003.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2003.