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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to a prohibition on the imposition of court costs and |
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filing, reimbursement, or other fees on certain indigent defendants |
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and plaintiffs. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subtitle I, Title 2, Government Code, is amended |
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by adding Chapter 104 to read as follows: |
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CHAPTER 104. COURT COSTS AND FILING, REIMBURSEMENT, AND OTHER FEES |
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IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE INDIGENT |
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Sec. 104.001. APPLICABILITY. This chapter does not apply |
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to a proceeding filed by the state's Title IV-D agency for an |
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individual to whom the agency is providing services authorized |
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under Chapter 231, Family Code. |
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Sec. 104.002. INDIGENCY DETERMINATION. For purposes of |
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this chapter, an individual is indigent if: |
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(1) the individual's household income is at or below |
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200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines as determined by the |
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United States Department of Health and Human Services; |
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(2) the individual or the individual's dependent is |
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determined to be financially eligible to receive legal services |
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from a nonprofit organization funded partly by the Texas Access to |
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Justice Foundation or the Legal Services Corporation; |
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(3) the individual or the individual's dependent is |
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eligible based on the individual's financial means to receive a |
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benefit from a government program, including: |
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(A) the supplemental nutrition assistance |
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program under Chapter 33, Human Resources Code; |
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(B) the national school lunch program of free or |
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reduced-price meals; |
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(C) the federal special supplemental nutrition |
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program for women, infants, and children authorized by 42 U.S.C. |
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Section 1786; |
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(D) the Medicaid program under Chapter 32, Human |
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Resources Code; |
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(E) the child health plan program operated under |
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Chapter 62, Health and Safety Code; |
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(F) the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families |
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program under Chapter 31, Human Resources Code; |
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(G) Supplemental Security Income benefits under |
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42 U.S.C. Section 1381 et seq.; |
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(H) publicly financed or subsidized housing; |
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(I) subsidized child-care services; |
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(J) the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance |
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Program; or |
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(K) the federal earned income tax credit; or |
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(4) the individual filed a statement of inability to |
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afford payment of court costs in a civil matter in accordance with |
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the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and was not ordered to pay court |
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costs based on a finding that the individual cannot afford to pay |
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the court costs. |
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Sec. 104.003. WAIVER OF COURT COSTS AND OTHER FEES FOR |
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INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE INDIGENT. Notwithstanding Section 101.001, |
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102.001, 103.001, or any other law, a judge or justice of the |
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supreme court, the court of criminal appeals, a court of appeals, a |
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district court, a criminal district court, a constitutional county |
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court, a statutory county court, a justice court, or a municipal |
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court, in a civil or criminal proceeding before the court, who finds |
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that the defendant or plaintiff in the proceeding is an individual |
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who is indigent shall waive all court costs, including costs on |
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conviction, and all filing fees, reimbursement fees, and other fees |
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imposed by law on the individual. |
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SECTION 2. Chapter 104, Government Code, as added by this |
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Act, applies only to court costs and filing, reimbursement, and |
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other fees imposed in a civil or criminal proceeding commenced on or |
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after the effective date of this Act. Court costs and filing, |
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reimbursement, and other fees imposed in a civil or criminal |
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proceeding commenced before the effective date of this Act are |
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governed by the law in effect on the date the proceeding was |
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commenced, and the former law is continued in effect for that |
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purpose. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |