BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1215

By: Farias

Criminal Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

S.B. 1863, enacted by the 79th Legislature, Regular Session, 2005, required counties with a population of 50,000 or more to implement a collection improvement program in accordance with the model program developed by the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System.

The Bexar County Commissioners Court established the program in 2005 and opted to place the program with the Planning and Resource Management Department, which reports directly to the commissioners court. The current law does not name the commissioners court as an entity authorized to collect certain court costs, fines, and fees associated with the program, therefore any employee that handles the collected money must be an employee of an entity allowed to collect money under the collection improvement program. These statutory requirements can cause administrative problems.

H.B. 1215 allows the commissioners court to collect applicable court costs, fines, and fees in a county in which the collection improvement program has been implemented.

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

H.B. 1215 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to authorize the commissioners court of a county that has implemented a collection improvement program to improve the collection of court costs, fees, and fines imposed in criminal cases to collect court costs, fees, and fines payable under provisions relating to payment, collection, and record keeping of such money and as otherwise provided by law.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the act does not receive the necessary vote, the act takes effect September 1, 2009.