HBA-NMO S.B. 229 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 229 By: Ellis Judicial Affairs 5/19/1999 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law requires certain municipal and county courts to collect a $25 time payment fee from persons who do not pay certain fines immediately. Questions from courts have arisen regarding the application of the fee. S.B. 229 requires each district court, statutory county court, county court, justice court, and municipal court to collect a fee of $25 from a person who pays any part of a fine, court costs, or restitution on or after the 31st day after the date on which a judgment is entered assessing the fine, court costs, or restitution. 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 51.921, Government Code, by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (f), as follows: (a) Requires each district court, statutory county court, county court rather than county court at law, justice court, and municipal court to collect a fee of $25 from a person who pays any part of a fine, court costs, or restitution on or after the 31st day after the date on which a judgment is entered assessing the fine, court costs, or restitution; rather than a person who has been ordered to pay a fine, court costs, or restitution by the court, and seeks to pay it over a period of time instead of immediately. (f) Authorizes the comptroller of public accounts to audit the records of a county or municipality relating to fees collected under this section (Time Payment Fee). SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999, except as provided by SECTION 3. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 3. Provides that this Act has no effect if no specific appropriation is provided in H.B. 1, the General Appropriations Act. SECTION 4. Emergency clause.