| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the collection and refunding of certain fees and |
|
|
deposits by a county clerk or district clerk; increasing certain |
|
|
fees. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Article 17.02, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
|
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
|
Art. 17.02. DEFINITION OF "BAIL BOND". A "bail bond" is a |
|
|
written undertaking entered into by the defendant and the |
|
|
defendant's sureties for the appearance of the principal therein |
|
|
before a court or magistrate to answer a criminal accusation; |
|
|
provided, however, that the defendant on execution of the bail bond |
|
|
may deposit with the custodian of funds of the court in which the |
|
|
prosecution is pending current money of the United States in the |
|
|
amount of the bond in lieu of having sureties signing the same. Any |
|
|
cash funds deposited under this article shall be receipted for by |
|
|
the officer receiving the funds and, on order of the court, be |
|
|
refunded in the amount shown on the face of the receipt less the |
|
|
administrative fee authorized by Section 117.055, Local Government |
|
|
Code, after the defendant complies with the conditions of the |
|
|
defendant's bond, to: |
|
|
(1) any person in the name of whom a receipt was |
|
|
issued, [in the amount reflected on the face of the receipt,] |
|
|
including the defendant if a receipt was issued to the defendant; or |
|
|
(2) the defendant, if no other person is able to |
|
|
produce a receipt for the funds. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Article 102.004(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, |
|
|
is amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) A defendant convicted by a jury in a trial before a |
|
|
justice or municipal court shall pay a jury fee of $3. A defendant |
|
|
in a justice or municipal court who requests a trial by jury and who |
|
|
withdraws the request not earlier than 24 hours before the time of |
|
|
trial shall pay a jury fee of $3, if the defendant is convicted of |
|
|
the offense or final disposition of the defendant's case is |
|
|
deferred. A defendant convicted by a jury in a county court, a |
|
|
county court at law, or a district court shall pay a jury fee of $50 |
|
|
[$20]. |
|
|
SECTION 3. (a) Section 51.305(b), Government Code, is |
|
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(b) The commissioners court of a county may adopt a district |
|
|
court records archive fee of not more than $10 for the filing of a |
|
|
suit, including an appeal from an inferior court, or a |
|
|
cross-action, counterclaim, intervention, contempt action, motion |
|
|
for new trial, or third-party petition, in any [a district] court in |
|
|
the county for which the district clerk accepts filings as part of |
|
|
the county's annual budget. The fee must be set and itemized in the |
|
|
county's budget as part of the budget preparation process and must |
|
|
be approved in a public meeting. The fee is for preservation and |
|
|
restoration services performed in connection with maintaining a |
|
|
district court records archive. |
|
|
(b) Section 51.305(b), Government Code, as effective |
|
|
September 1, 2019, is amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(b) The commissioners court of a county may adopt a district |
|
|
court records archive fee of not more than $5 for the filing of a |
|
|
suit, including an appeal from an inferior court, or a |
|
|
cross-action, counterclaim, intervention, contempt action, motion |
|
|
for new trial, or third-party petition, in any [a district] court in |
|
|
the county for which the district clerk accepts filings as part of |
|
|
the county's annual budget. The fee must be set and itemized in the |
|
|
county's budget as part of the budget preparation process and must |
|
|
be approved in a public meeting. The fee is for preservation and |
|
|
restoration services performed in connection with maintaining a |
|
|
district court records archive. |
|
|
SECTION 4. Section 51.319, Government Code, is amended to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 51.319. OTHER FEES. The district clerk shall collect |
|
|
the following fees for services performed by the clerk: |
|
|
(1) for performing services related to the matter of |
|
|
the estate of a deceased person or a minor transacted in the |
|
|
district court, the same fees allowed the county clerk for those |
|
|
services; |
|
|
(2) for serving process by certified or registered |
|
|
mail, the same fee that sheriffs and constables are authorized to |
|
|
charge for the service under Section 118.131, Local Government |
|
|
Code; [and] |
|
|
(3) for performing any other service prescribed or |
|
|
authorized by law for which no fee is set by law, a reasonable fee; |
|
|
and |
|
|
(4) for performing services related to a matter filed |
|
|
in a statutory county court, the same fees allowed the district |
|
|
clerk for those services in the district court. |
|
|
SECTION 5. Section 51.604(a), Government Code, is amended |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) The district clerk shall collect a $50 [$30] jury fee |
|
|
for each civil case in which a person applies for a jury trial. The |
|
|
clerk of a county court or statutory county court shall collect a |
|
|
$50 [$22] jury fee for each civil case in which a person applies for |
|
|
a jury trial. The clerk shall note the payment of the fee on the |
|
|
court's docket. |
|
|
SECTION 6. Section 118.052, Local Government Code, is |
|
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 118.052. FEE SCHEDULE. Each clerk of a county court |
|
|
shall collect the following fees for services rendered to any |
|
|
person: |
|
|
(1) CIVIL COURT ACTIONS |
|
|
(A) Filing of Original Action (Sec. 118.053): |
|
|
(i) Garnishment after judgment . . . $15.00 |
|
|
(ii) All others . . . $40.00 |
|
|
(B) Filing of Action Other than Original (Sec. |
|
|
118.054) . . . $30.00 |
|
|
(C) Services Rendered After Judgment in Original |
|
|
Action (Sec. 118.0545): |
|
|
(i) Abstract of judgment . . . $ 5.00 |
|
|
(ii) Execution, order of sale, writ, or |
|
|
other process . . . $ 5.00 |
|
|
(2) PROBATE COURT ACTIONS |
|
|
(A) Probate Original Action (Sec. 118.055): |
|
|
(i) Probate of a will with independent |
|
|
executor, administration with will attached, administration of an |
|
|
estate, guardianship or receivership of an estate, or muniment of |
|
|
title . . . $40.00 |
|
|
(ii) Community survivors . . . $40.00 |
|
|
(iii) Small estates . . . $40.00 |
|
|
(iv) Declarations of heirship . . . $40.00 |
|
|
(v) Mental health or chemical dependency |
|
|
services . . . $40.00 |
|
|
(vi) Additional, special fee (Sec. 118.064) |
|
|
. . . $ 5.00 |
|
|
(B) Services in Pending Probate Action (Sec. |
|
|
118.056): |
|
|
(i) Filing an inventory and appraisement as |
|
|
provided by Section 118.056(d) . . . $25.00 |
|
|
(ii) Approving and recording bond . . . $ |
|
|
3.00 |
|
|
(iii) Administering oath . . . $ 2.00 |
|
|
(iv) Filing annual or final account of |
|
|
estate . . . $25.00 |
|
|
(v) Filing application for sale of real or |
|
|
personal property . . . $25.00 |
|
|
(vi) Filing annual or final report of |
|
|
guardian of a person . . . $10.00 |
|
|
(vii) Filing a document not listed under |
|
|
this paragraph after the filing of an order approving the inventory |
|
|
and appraisement or after the 120th day after the date of the |
|
|
initial filing of the action, whichever occurs first[, if more than
|
|
|
25 pages] . . . $25.00 |
|
|
(C) Adverse Probate Action (Sec. 118.057) . . . |
|
|
$40.00 |
|
|
(D) Claim Against Estate (Sec. 118.058) . . . |
|
|
$10.00 [$ 2.00] |
|
|
(E) Supplemental Court-Initiated Guardianship |
|
|
Fee in Probate Original Actions and Adverse Probate Actions (Sec. |
|
|
118.067) . . . $20.00 |
|
|
(F) Supplemental Public Probate Administrator |
|
|
Fee For Counties That Have Appointed a Public Probate Administrator |
|
|
(Sec. 118.068) . . . $10.00 |
|
|
(3) OTHER FEES |
|
|
(A) Issuing Document (Sec. 118.059): original |
|
|
document and one copy . . . $ 4.00 |
|
|
each additional set of an original and one copy . . . $ 4.00 |
|
|
(B) Certified Papers (Sec. 118.060): for the |
|
|
clerk's certificate . . . $ 5.00 |
|
|
plus a fee per page or part of a page of . . . $ 1.00 |
|
|
(C) Noncertified Papers (Sec. 118.0605): for |
|
|
each page or part of a page . . . $ 1.00 |
|
|
(D) Letters Testamentary, Letter of |
|
|
Guardianship, Letter of Administration, or Abstract of Judgment |
|
|
(Sec. 118.061) . . . $ 2.00 |
|
|
(E) Safekeeping of Wills (Sec. 118.062) . . . $ |
|
|
5.00 |
|
|
(F) Mail Service of Process (Sec. 118.063) . . . |
|
|
same as sheriff |
|
|
(G) Records Management and Preservation Fee |
|
|
. . . $ 5.00 |
|
|
SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
|
|
a fee that becomes payable on or after the effective date of this |
|
|
Act. A fee that becomes payable before that date is governed by the |
|
|
law in effect when the fee became payable, and the former law is |
|
|
continued in effect for that purpose. |
|
|
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |