80R3543 JPL-F
 
  By: Turner H.B. No. 1550
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the program for improvement of collection of court
costs, fees, and fines imposed in criminal cases.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  Article 103.0033, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by amending Subsections (a), (c), (d), (g), and (h) and
adding Subsections (k) through (n) to read as follows:
       (a)  In this article:
             (1)  "Office" means the Office of Court Administration
of the Texas Judicial System.
             (2)  "Program" means activities designed [the program]
to improve the collection of court costs, fees, and fines imposed in
criminal cases, as developed and implemented under this article.
             (3)  "Good faith" means honesty in fact and intention
and the observance of reasonable professional standards.
       (c)  Unless granted a waiver under Subsection (h), each
county and municipality shall develop and implement a program that
complies with the [prioritized] implementation schedule under
Subsection (h). A county program must include district, county,
and justice courts.
       (d)  The program must consist of:
             (1)  a component [that conforms with a model developed
by the office and] designed to improve in-house collections through
application of best practices; and
             (2)  a component designed to improve collection of
balances more than 60 days past due, which may be implemented by
entering into a contract with a private attorney or public or
private vendor in accordance with Article 103.0031.
       (g)  The office shall:
             (1)  develop and make available on the office's
Internet website a model [requirements] for a program; and
             (2)  assist counties and municipalities in
implementing a program by providing training and consultation,
except that the office may not provide employees for implementation
of a program.
       (h)  The comptroller [office], in consultation with the
office [comptroller], and, in the case of a county, the regional
presiding judge and a local administrative judge, and in the case of
a municipality, the presiding municipal judge [may]:
             (1)  may use case dispositions, population, revenue
data, or other appropriate measures to develop an [a prioritized]
implementation schedule for programs; [and]
             (2)  may determine whether it is not cost-effective to
implement a program in a county or municipality and, if it is not
cost-effective, grant a waiver to the county or municipality; and
             (3)  when developing an implementation schedule under
Subdivision (1) and evaluating cost-effectiveness under
Subdivision (2), shall take into consideration the good faith
efforts of a county or municipality to implement a program.
       (k)  This article does not apply to a court cost, fine, or fee
ordered to be paid or paid as a condition of community supervision
under Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure.
       (l)  This article does not limit the discretion of the judge
under Article 42.15 or 45.041, Code of Criminal Procedure, to
direct a defendant to pay a fine or make restitution at a certain
time or in a certain manner.
       (m)  This article does not require a commissioners court or
the governing body of a municipality to expend funds from the county
or municipal treasury to implement a program.
       (n)  A county or municipality may not be assessed a penalty
for failure to implement a collection improvement program before
the date by which the office has determined the county or
municipality is able to implement a program.
       SECTION 2.  (a) Notwithstanding Subsection (e), Article
103.0033, Code of Criminal Procedure, not later than September 1,
2007, the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial
System shall identify those counties and municipalities that are
able to implement a collection improvement program under Article
103.0033, Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act,
before April 1, 2008. Beginning June 1, 2008, the Office of Court
Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall resume evaluating
counties and municipalities under Subsection (e), Article
103.0033, Code of Criminal Procedure.
       (b)  Not later than December 31, 2007, the Office of Court
Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall develop and make
available on the office's Internet website a model program, in
accordance with Subsection (g), Article 103.0033, Code of Criminal
Procedure, as amended by this Act.
       SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2007.