HBA-DMD C.S.H.B. 928 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 928 By: Junell Judicial Affairs 4/15/1999 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The county court system in Texas collects and sends to the state portions of fines and fees levied for use by the state in financing the court system and the state. Currently, county judge's salaries are set by local counties and are supplemented $5,000 by signing an affidavit affirming that 40 percent of the judge's functions are judicial in nature. With this supplement, a county judge's salary is still lower than that of a district judge, even though the workload is comparable to that of a district judge. C.S.H.B. 928 entitles a county judge to a $10,000 annual salary supplement from the state if at least 40 percent of the functions that a county judge performs are judicial. This bill requires the state to compensate annually each county that collects the additional fees and costs in the amount of $5,000, provided that the county judge is entitled to a $10,000 annual salary supplement. It also requires the comptroller to determine the amount paid to the counties and the amount deposited in the judicial fund from the additional fees and costs that counties collect. This bill requires the state, if the total amount of additional fees and costs collected exceeds the amount of money that was paid to the counties, to remit the excess monies to the counties proportionately based on the percentage of the total paid by each county. C.S.H.B. 928 requires the clerk of a county court with a judge who is entitled to an annual salary supplement, to collect a $40 filing fee, in addition to all other fees authorized or required by law, in each civil case filed in the court to be used for court-related purposes for the support of the judiciary. This bill also requires a person to pay a $15 court cost upon conviction of any criminal offense in a county court. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 26.006(a), Government Code, to entitle a county judge to an annual salary supplement from the state of $10,000, rather than $5,000, if at least 40 percent of the functions that a county judge performs are judicial functions. SECTION 2. Amends Subchapter A, Chapter 26, Government Code, by adding Sections 26.007 and 26.008, as follows: Sec. 26.007. STATE CONTRIBUTION. (a) Requires the state to compensate annually, beginning on the first day of the state fiscal year, each county that collects the additional fees and costs under Section 51.703 in the amount of $5,000, provided that the county judge is entitled to a $10,000 annual salary supplement. Requires the amount be paid to the county's salary fund in equal monthly installments from funds appropriated from the judicial fund. Sec. 26.008. EXCESS CONTRIBUTIONS. (a) Requires the comptroller, at the end of each state fiscal year, to determine the amount paid to the counties under Section 26.007 and the amount deposited in the judicial fund from the additional fees and costs that counties collect. Requires the state, if the total amount of additional fees and costs collected exceeds the amount of money that was paid to the counties, to remit the excess monies to the counties that collect fees and costs under Section 51.703, proportionately based on the percentage of the total paid by each county. (b) Requires the amount that the state remits to the county be placed in the county's general fund to be used exclusively for court-related purposes for the support of the judiciary as provided by Section 21.006 (Judicial Fund), Government Code. SECTION 3. Amends the heading to Section 51.702, Government Code, as follows: Sec. 51.702. New Title: ADDITIONAL FEES AND COSTS IN CERTAIN STATUTORY COUNTY COURTS. Adds "statutory" to existing title. SECTION 4. Amends Subchapter H, Chapter 51, Government Code, by adding Section 51.703, as follows: Sec. 51.703. ADDITIONAL FEES AND COSTS IN CERTAIN COUNTY COURTS. Requires the clerk of a county court with a judge who is entitled to an annual salary supplement from the state under Section 26.006, to collect a $40 filing fee, in addition to all other fees authorized or required by law, in each civil case filed in the court to be used for court-related purposes for the support of the judiciary. (b) Requires a person to pay a $15 court cost upon conviction of any criminal offense in a county court, including cases in which probation or deferred adjudication is granted, in addition to other court costs, and for a conviction under Chapter 521 (Driver's Licenses and Certificates), Transportation Code, or a conviction under Subtitle C (Rules of the Road), Title 7 (Vehicles and Traffic), Transportation Code, but does not include a conviction under any law that regulates pedestrians or the parking of motor vehicles. (c) Requires court costs and fees due under this section to be collected in the same manner as other fees, fines, or costs are collected in the case. (d) Requires the clerk to send the fees and costs collected at least monthly to the comptroller, who is required to deposit the fees in the judicial fund. (e) Sets forth that Section 51.320 (Bill for Services) applies to a fee or cost collected under this section. SECTION 5.Makes application of Section 51.703, Government Code, of this Act prospective. SECTION 6.Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE This substitute differs from the original bill in SECTION 1 (Section 26.006(a), Government Code), by entitling a county judge to a $10,000 annual salary supplement. In addition, this substitute deletes the condition that the county must collect additional fees and costs in order for a county judge to collect the $10,000 annual salary supplement and also deletes the provision that the supplements is $5,000 if those fees are not collected. This substitute differs from the original bill in SECTION 2 (proposed Section 26.008, Government Code), to specify that counties that collect fees and costs under Section 51.703, Government Code, as added by this Act, are the counties eligible for proportionate reimbursement. This substitute also deletes proposed Subsection (c), which requires the comptroller, when determining the amount deposited in the judicial fund under Section 51.703 for a county that collects fees and costs as provided by that section, to credit $40 of each fee deposited in the judicial fund under Section 51.701 by that county for cases assigned to a county court as fees deposited under Section 51.703. This substitute differs from the original bill in SECTION 4 (proposed Section 51.703, Government Code), by deleting an exception to the requirement that the clerk of a county court collect a $40 filing fee, in addition to all other fees authorized or required by law, in each civil case filed in the court to be used for court-related purposes for the support of the judiciary. This substitute also specifies that this section applies only to a clerk of a county with a judge who is entitled to an annual salary supplement. This substitute also deletes proposed Subsections (f)-(j), relating to the time period for the collection of fees and costs in counties in which the commissioners court adopts a resolution allowing the fees and costs to be collected, the ability of the commissioners court to rescind such a resolution, the ability of a county to participate in the collection of fees and costs if that county was not eligible to begin participating on the required date but is eligible to participate later in the year, and the prohibition against a clerk from collecting a fee under this section and Section 51.701.