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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the program for improvement of collection of court |
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costs, fees, and fines imposed in criminal cases. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Article 103.0033, Code of |
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Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Subdivision (3) to read as |
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follows: |
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(3) "Participating county or municipality" means a |
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county or municipality that chooses to develop and implement a |
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program under Subsection (b). |
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SECTION 2. Article 103.0033, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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amended by amending Subsections (b), (d), and (g) through (j) and |
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adding Subsections (k) and (l) to read as follows: |
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(b) A [This article applies only to:
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[(1) a] county [with a population of 50,000] or |
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[greater; and
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[(2) a] municipality may choose to develop and |
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implement a program under this article [with a population of
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100,000 or greater]. |
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(d) The program must consist of: |
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(1) a component that conforms with the [a] model |
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developed by the office and designed to improve in-house |
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collections through application of best practices; and |
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(2) a component designed to improve collection of |
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balances more than 60 days past due, which may be implemented by |
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entering into a contract with a private attorney or public or |
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private vendor in accordance with Article 103.0031. |
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(g) The office shall: |
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(1) make available on the office's Internet website |
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the requirements for a program; and |
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(2) assist counties and municipalities in |
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implementing a program by providing training and consultation, |
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except that the office may not provide employees for implementation |
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of a program. |
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(h) The comptroller [office], using the methodology |
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developed in cooperation [consultation] with the office before |
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September 1, 2007 [comptroller], may determine the collection rate |
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of a participating county or municipality: |
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(1) before the county or municipality implements the |
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program [use case dispositions, population, revenue data, or other
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appropriate measures to develop a prioritized implementation
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schedule for programs]; and |
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(2) after the first anniversary of the date that the |
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county or municipality implements the program [determine whether it
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is not cost-effective to implement a program in a county or
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municipality and grant a waiver to the county or municipality]. |
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(i) Each participating county or [and] municipality and |
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each county or municipality described by Subsection (l) shall [at
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least annually] submit monthly to the office and the comptroller a |
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[written] report on collection activity in a form [that includes
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updated information regarding the program, as] determined by the |
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office in cooperation with the comptroller. The report must be |
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submitted to [in a form approved by] the office not later than the |
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20th day after the last day of the month covered by the report [in
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cooperation with the comptroller]. |
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(j) The comptroller shall periodically audit participating |
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counties and municipalities to verify the information reported |
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under Subsection (i) [and confirm that the county or municipality
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is conforming with requirements relating to the program]. The |
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comptroller shall consult with the office in determining how |
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frequently to conduct audits under this section. |
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(k) The office shall conduct an annual review to determine |
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whether a participating county or municipality is complying with |
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the program requirements. If the office determines that a |
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participating county or municipality is not complying with the |
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program requirements, the county or municipality may request that |
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the comptroller conduct a compliance audit. The comptroller shall |
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conduct a compliance audit requested under this subsection. The |
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comptroller's determination of the county or municipality's |
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compliance with the program requirements is final. |
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(l) Each county with a population of 50,000 or more and each |
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municipality with a population of 100,000 or more shall submit |
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monthly to the office a report on collection activity as described |
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in Subsection (i), regardless of whether the county or municipality |
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is a participating county or municipality. |
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SECTION 3. Subsection (e), Section 54.0411, Family Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(e) The custodian of the county treasury may deposit the |
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funds collected under this section in interest-bearing accounts. |
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The custodian shall keep records of the amount of funds on deposit |
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collected under this section and not later than the last day of the |
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month following each calendar quarter shall send to the comptroller |
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of public accounts the funds collected under this section during |
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the preceding quarter. A county may retain 10 percent of the funds |
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as a service fee and may retain the interest accrued on the funds if |
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the custodian of a county treasury keeps records of the amount of |
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funds on deposit collected under this section and remits the funds |
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to the comptroller within the period prescribed under this |
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subsection. A county may retain an additional three percent of the |
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funds as a service fee in accordance with Section 133.058(e), Local |
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Government Code. |
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SECTION 4. The heading to Section 133.058, Local Government |
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Code, is amended to read as follows: |
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Sec. 133.058. PORTION OF FEE AND OF CERTAIN COSTS RETAINED. |
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SECTION 5. Section 133.058, Local Government Code, is |
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amended by amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsections (f), (g), |
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and (h) to read as follows: |
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(e) For each quarter of a year, a municipality or county |
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that is a participating county or municipality for the purposes of |
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Article 103.0033, Code of Criminal Procedure, may retain, as a |
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service fee, three percent of the money collected for each of the |
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fees and costs listed in Subsection (f) if the municipality or |
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county: |
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(1) was found to be in compliance with the program |
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during the most recent review of the program under Article |
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103.0033(k), Code of Criminal Procedure; and |
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(2) has collected an amount due to the state from each |
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fee and cost listed in Subsection (g) that is equal to or greater |
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than 105.55 percent of the amount due to the state collected from |
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each fee and cost listed in Subsection (g) during the same quarter |
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of a baseline year, where the baseline year is: |
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(A) the immediately preceding year, if the |
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municipality or county implements a program under Article 103.0033, |
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Code of Criminal Procedure, after September 1, 2007; |
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(B) a year chosen by the municipality or county |
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that is either the immediately preceding year or the year |
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immediately preceding the fiscal year the municipality or county |
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was first required to implement a program, if the municipality or |
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county was required to implement a program under Article 103.0033, |
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Code of Criminal Procedure, before September 1, 2007, and timely |
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implemented a program; |
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(C) the year 2005, if the municipality or county |
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was not required to implement a program under Article 103.0033, |
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Code of Criminal Procedure, before September 1, 2007, and |
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implemented a program prior to January 1, 2007; or |
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(D) the year immediately preceding the year the |
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municipality or county implemented a program under Article |
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103.0033, Code of Criminal Procedure, if the municipality or county |
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was required to implement a program before September 1, 2007, and |
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the municipality implemented a program after the required deadline |
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[A municipality or county may not retain a service fee if, during an
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audit under Section 133.059 of this code or Article 103.0033(j),
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Code of Criminal Procedure, the comptroller determines that the
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municipality or county is not in compliance with Article 103.0033,
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Code of Criminal Procedure. The municipality or county may
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continue to retain a service fee under this section on receipt of a
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written confirmation from the comptroller that the municipality or
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county is in compliance with Article 103.0033, Code of Criminal
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Procedure]. |
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(f) For the purposes of Subsection (e), the fees and costs |
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of which a municipality or county may retain three percent are: |
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(1) the fee for jury reimbursement to counties under |
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Article 102.0045, Code of Criminal Procedure; |
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(2) the additional costs attendant to intoxication |
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convictions under Article 102.0185, Code of Criminal Procedure; |
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(3) the costs on conviction for offenses requiring DNA |
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testing under Article 102.020, Code of Criminal Procedure; |
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(4) the juvenile probation diversion fee under Section |
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54.0411, Family Code; |
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(5) the fee described by Section 41.258(b), Government |
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Code; and |
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(6) the fees on conviction described by Section |
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133.102(a). |
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(g) For the purposes of Subsection (e)(2), except as |
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provided by Subsection (h), the fees and costs to be considered are: |
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(1) the fees and costs listed in Subsection (f); |
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(2) the fee described by Article 45.0511(c-1), Code of |
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Criminal Procedure; |
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(3) the court cost for conviction of an offense in a |
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statutory county court under Section 51.702(b), Government Code; |
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(4) the court cost for conviction of an offense in a |
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county court specified in Section 51.703, Government Code; |
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(5) the time payment fee under Section 133.103; |
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(6) any fee for the services of a peace officer under |
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Section 133.104 or Article 102.011, Code of Criminal Procedure; |
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(7) the fee for support of court-related purposes |
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under Section 133.105; |
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(8) the state traffic fine under Section 542.4031, |
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Transportation Code; |
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(9) the overweight vehicle fine under Section 621.506, |
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Transportation Code; and |
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(10) the administrative fee for failure to appear |
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described by Section 706.006(a), Transportation Code. |
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(h) A cost, fee, or fine listed in Subsection (g) is not |
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available for retention under Subsection (e) if the cost, fee, or |
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fine did not exist during the relevant quarter of the applicable |
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baseline year. |
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SECTION 6. Subsections (c), (e), and (f), Article 103.0033, |
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Code of Criminal Procedure, are repealed. |
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SECTION 7. Not later than December 31, 2007, the Office of |
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Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall develop and |
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make available on the office's Internet website a program, in |
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accordance with Subsection (g), Article 103.0033, Code of Criminal |
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Procedure, as amended by this Act. |
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SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007. |
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* * * * * |