HBA-JLV C.S.H.B. 950 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 950 By: Garcia Judicial Affairs 4/16/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law provides that the minimum reimbursement amount paid to jurors is $6 per day. Today, many counties in Texas continue to pay jurors this minimum level of compensation and as a result, many people may resist jury duty. C.S.H.B. 950 raises the minimum juror reimbursement to $40, provides the amount for other expenses to be determined by the commissioner's court for juror reimbursement, calls for a fee to be paid to the clerk of the court for each civil case filed, and requires that a defendant who is convicted of or who receives deferred adjudication for an offense in a district court, county court, county court at law, or justice court pay a court fee as well. 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. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 950 amends the Government Code to increase from $6 to $40 the minimum reimbursement amount entitled to jurors. The bill provides that the maximum reimbursement amount entitled to persons responding to the process of a court but who are excused from jury duty after their voir dire examination is an amount determined by the commissioners court of the county, rather than $50. This reimbursement is for travel and other expenses for each day or fraction of each day served in court. C.S.H.B. 950 amends the Government Code and Code of Criminal Procedure to require the clerk of each district court, county court, and county court at law to collect a fee of $10 for court costs in each civil case filed with the clerk or from a convicted defendant or a defendant who receives deferred adjudication. The bill requires the clerk of each justice court to collect a fee of $2 from a defendant who is convicted of or who receives deferred adjudication for an offense in a justice court as a cost of court in each civil case filed with the clerk. The clerk who collects such fees is required to collect the fee in the manner provided for other court costs and deliver the fee to the treasurer of the county in which the court sits. The county treasurer is required to deposit the fee received in the county general fund to be used only to provide reimbursement for expenses incurred by jurors and persons who attend court in response to jury summons in a district court, county court, county court at law, or justice court in the county. If a defendant who is required to pay a fee defaults in payment, the court is authorized to order the defendant to discharge the fee only if the court determines at a hearing that the defendant is unable to pay the fee. The bill amends the Government Code to require the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System (office) to review the reimbursement provided to jurors and persons who attend court in response to jury summons in a district court, county court, county court at law, and justice court and, not later than January 1 of every fourth year, report the results of the review to the legislature. The bill requires the office to submit the first report to the legislature no later than January 1, 2005. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 950 modifies the original by removing the proposed increase from $6 to $40 of the minimum reimbursement amount for a person who responds to the process of a court but is excused from petit jury service. The substitute instead provides that the maximum reimbursement amount for such a person is an amount determined by the commissioners court of the county, rather than no more than $50. The substitute requires the clerk of each justice court to collect a fee of $2 from a defendant who is convicted of or who receives deferred adjudication for an offense in a justice court as a cost of court and provides for discharge of fee. The substitute requires a defendant to pay a fee of $2 as a cost of the court in a justice court. The substitute no longer requires the clerk of a justice court to collect a fee of $10 as a cost of the court in each civil case filed with the clerk.