TO: | Honorable Jeff Wentworth, Chair, Senate Committee on Jurisprudence |
FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
IN RE: | SB1754 by Wentworth (Relating to filing fees for civil actions or proceedings in a district, county, justice, or small claims court.), As Introduced |
Fiscal Year | Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds |
---|---|
2010 | $0 |
2011 | $0 |
2012 | $0 |
2013 | $0 |
2014 | $0 |
Fiscal Year | Probable Revenue Gain/(Loss) from Judicial Fund 573 |
Probable Revenue Gain/(Loss) from Counties |
---|---|---|
2010 | $1,037,819 | $51,891 |
2011 | $1,556,728 | $81,933 |
2012 | $1,556,728 | $81,933 |
2013 | $1,556,728 | $81,933 |
2014 | $1,556,728 | $81,933 |
The bill would amend numerous sections of the Local Government Code and the Government Code increasing the additional filing fees for the filing of any civil action or proceedings requiring a filing fee, including an appeal, and on the filing of any counterclaim, cross-action, intervention, interpleader, or third party action requiring a filing fee, to fund civil legal services for the indigent in a district, county, justice or small claims court.
A county may retain 5 percent of the money collected as a service fee on the basic civil legal service for indigents filing fee. This fee would increase from $5 to $10 for statutory and county courts. This fee would increase from $2 to $6 for justice courts.
The other portions of the bill would make conforming changes and would have no fiscal impact to the state or to units of local government.
The effective date of this bill is September 1, 2009.
The Office of Court Administration expects that the bill would result in an annual increase of $1,556,728 to the State’s basic civil legal services account. (In the first year of the increased filing fee, OCA anticipates 8/12 of the annual amount would be realized - $1,037,819).
The anticipated increase is the sum of $1,147,419 from the justice courts and $409,309 from the county-level courts.
The anticipated increase from the justice courts is determined as follows:
(1) 464,542 justice court cases filed in FY 2008 x $4 filing fee increase = $1,858,168
(2) x 65% collection rate = $1,207,809
(3) x 95% sent to State =
(4) $1,147,419.
The anticipated increase from the county-level courts is determined as follows:
(1) 215,426 county-level court cases filed in FY 2008 x $5 filing fee increase =
$1,077,130
(2) x 40% collection rate = $430,852
(3) x 95% sent to State =
(4) $409,309
Source Agencies: | 212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts
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LBB Staff: | JOB, MN, DB, SD
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