79R5932 KCR-F
By: Estes S.B. No. 1603
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the recovery of certain costs associated with certain
civil suits by the Parks and Wildlife Department.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Parks and Wildlife
Code, is amended by adding Section 12.308 to read as follows:
Sec. 12.308. CERTAIN COSTS RECOVERABLE. (a) The actual
cost of investigation, reasonable attorney's fees, and reasonable
expert witness fees incurred by the department in a civil suit under
this subchapter may be recovered in addition to damages for the
value of any fish, shellfish, reptile, amphibian, bird, or animal
unlawfully killed, caught, taken, possessed, or injured.
(b) Any amounts recovered under this section shall be
credited to the same operating accounts from which the expenditures
occurred.
SECTION 2. Section 103.022, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 103.022. MISCELLANEOUS FEES AND COSTS. The following
fees and costs shall be paid or collected as follows:
(1) fee for use of an interpreter in civil cases (Sec.
21.051, Civil Practice and Remedies Code) . . . $3;
(2) fee for custodian of a record compelled by a court
to produce or certify the record (Sec. 22.004, Civil Practice and
Remedies Code) . . . $1;
(3) cost for use of certified copy of the record of
names of all trustees appointed by any state organization of a
religious congregation in this state (Sec. 126.012, Civil Practice
and Remedies Code) . . . $1.50;
(4) filing of a restitution lien (Art. 42.22, Code of
Criminal Procedure) . . . $5;
(5) issuance and service of a warrant of arrest for
certain offenses if prescribed by the municipality (Art. 45.203,
Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . not to exceed $25;
(6) filing a certified copy of a judicial finding of
fact and conclusion of law if charged by the secretary of state
(Sec. 51.905, Government Code) . . . $15;
(7) costs of determining and sending information
concerning the identity of the court with continuing, exclusive
jurisdiction if charged by the bureau of vital statistics (Sec.
108.006, Family Code) . . . reasonable fee;
(8) initial operations fee paid to domestic relations
office on filing of a suit affecting the parent-child relationship,
if authorized by the administering entity (Sec. 203.005, Family
Code) . . . not to exceed $15;
(9) initial child support service fee paid to domestic
relations office in certain counties on filing of a suit affecting
the parent-child relationship, if authorized by the administering
entity (Sec. 203.005, Family Code) . . . not to exceed $36;
(10) service fee for services of a domestic relations
office, if authorized by the administering entity (Sec. 203.005,
Family Code) . . . not to exceed $3 per month;
(11) fee from a Title IV-D agency for each item of
process to each individual on whom service is required, including
service by certified or registered mail (Sec. 231.202, Family Code)
. . . the amount that a sheriff or constable may charge for serving
process under Section 118.131, Local Government Code;
(12) a copy of records of spousal or child support and
fees administered in Dallas County if authorized by the local
administrative judge (Sec. 152.0634, Human Resources
Code) . . . not to exceed $2 per page;
(13) collecting, disbursing, or monitoring spousal or
child support payments in Dallas County (Sec. 152.0635, Human
Resources Code) . . . not to exceed $3 per month;
(14) fee for adoption, family, and home study
investigations in an adoption in Dallas County (Sec. 152.0635,
Human Resources Code) . . . not to exceed $250;
(15) certain transactions with respect to a suit for
spousal support or a suit affecting the parent-child relationship
in Harris County, if authorized by the county commissioners court
(Sec. 152.1074, Human Resources Code) . . . not to exceed $2 per
transaction;
(16) child support service fee in Nueces County, if
authorized by the county commissioners court (Sec. 152.1844, Human
Resources Code) . . . not to exceed $5 per month;
(17) services by the offices of the sheriff and
constables (Sec. 118.131, Local Government Code) . . . amount set
by county commissioners court;
(18) cost paid by each surety posting the bail bond for
an offense other than a misdemeanor punishable by fine only under
Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, for the felony prosecutor
supplement fund and the fair defense account (Sec. 41.258,
Government Code) . . . $15, provided the cost does not exceed $30
for all bail bonds posted at that time for an individual and the
cost is not required on the posting of a personal or cash bond;
(19) appraiser's fee as court costs for determining
the fair value of ownership interests of owners who have perfected
their rights (Sec. 10.365, Business Organizations Code) . . . a
reasonable fee; [and]
(20) to participate in a court proceeding in this
state, a nonresident attorney fee for civil legal services to the
indigent (Sec. 82.0361, Government Code) . . . $250 except as
waived or reduced under supreme court rules for representing an
indigent person; and
(21) costs of investigation, reasonable attorney's
fees, and reasonable expert witness fees in a civil suit or a
criminal prosecution for recovery of the value of any fish,
shellfish, reptile, amphibian, bird, or animal (Sec. 12.308, Parks
and Wildlife Code) . . . actual costs.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a civil suit under Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Parks and Wildlife
Code, that commences on or after the effective date of this Act. A
civil suit under Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Parks and Wildlife Code,
that commences before the effective date of this Act is governed by
the law in effect at the time the suit commenced, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.