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« Legislative News Treasury Notes: New Laws Affecting Fees and Funds
Though it seems the 81st session just ended, its laws have already gone into effect — and many will affect your budgeting for the new fiscal year. A few important changes involve fees and funds collected by counties, including
specifications for where funds may be deposited, for what fees may be used and how funds may be disbursed. To help you plan, we’ve included highlights of this legislation below.
By Aurora Flores-Ortiz
TAC Legislative Staff
NEW FEES COLLECTED
HB 3637 by Hughes: increases filing fees for civil actions to fund basic legal services
HB 3637 authorizes fees to be used for two important causes — the county and district court technology fund and funds for county records preservation.
County/district court technology fund
This bill authorizes a $4 county and district court technology fee as a cost of court for any defendant convicted of an offense in a county court, statutory county court or district court. The county clerks shall collect the costs and pay them to the county treasurer for deposit in a fund to be known as the county and district court technology fund.
The fund may be used to finance the cost of continuing education and training for county judges and clerks regarding technological enhancements for those courts, as well as the purchase and maintenance of technological enhancements for those courts. The commissioners court shall administer and direct the fund.
County records preservation fee
Also within this bill is an additional filing fee collected for civil cases by the clerk of a county, statutory county, or district court. This filing fee, not to exceed $10 in each civil case filed in the court, is to be used for court record preservation. The clerk shall send the fees collected to the county treasurer at least monthly. The treasurer shall deposit the fees in a court record preservation account in the country treasury and the money may be used only to digitize court records and preserve records from natural disasters.
CLARIFICATION OF DEPOSITS
SB 2197 by Williams: relates to fees paid to a constable for serving civil process
This bill amends the local government code to clarify that all civil process fees collected by a constable are presumed to be collected in the constable’s official capacity and requires that any fee received must be deposited with the county treasurer.
SB 1675 by Hinojosa: offers new jury service disbursement and donation options
Jurors currently have the option of donating jury service reimbursements to one of several causes. This legislation amends the government code to expand the types of allowable entities to include child protective services or a county child services board that serves abused and neglected children.
SB 397 by Carona: relates to payment methods for reimbursement of jury service expenses
The government code outlines the criteria for reimbursement of jury expenses but does not identify a method for reimbursement of jury service other than by a "check drawn on the jury fund." This bill authorizes the county treasurer to reimburse citizens for jury service on the same day of service by methods established by the commissioners court. The jurors may be reimbursed by electronic fund transfer; cash dispensing machine; debit card or stored value card; or another method determined by the county treasurer and commissioners court to be secure, accurate and cost-effective.
For more information, please contact Aurora Flores-Ortiz at (800) 456-5974 or aurorafo@county.org.
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