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H.B. No. 3531
AN ACT
relating to the Dallas County district and county courts
administration and court services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 152.0633, Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 152.0633. DALLAS COUNTY DISTRICT AND COUNTY COURTS
ADMINISTRATOR AND COURT SERVICES DEPARTMENT. (a) The district and
county courts administrator is the chief administrative officer of
the court services department of Dallas County.
(b) The local administrative district judge and the judges
of the district courts in Dallas County that give preference to
civil, criminal, family law, or juvenile matters shall, on a
majority vote, appoint and set the salary of the district and county
courts administrator. The administrator serves at the will of
those judges [local administrative judge shall appoint and set the
salary of the administrator. The administrator serves at the
pleasure of the local administrative judge.
[(c) The administrator shall supervise the court services
department and shall perform the duties and functions assigned by
the local administrative judge.
[(d) The administrator shall hire the employees of the court
services department subject to the approval of the local
administrative judge. The administrator may remove an employee at
any time subject to the approval of the local administrative
judge].
(c) [(e)] The commissioners court shall pay the salaries
and expenses of the court services department employees as
determined by the department budget submitted by the local
administrative judge and approved by the commissioners court.
(d) A judge may not be subjected to a suit for, and is immune
from liability for damages arising from, an act or omission
committed while performing a duty under this section unless the act
or omission is:
(1) committed intentionally, wilfully, or wantonly;
or
(2) committed with:
(A) gross negligence; or
(B) conscious indifference or reckless disregard
for the safety of others.
[(f) On the request of the judge of a district court in
Dallas County, the department shall conduct case studies and report
the findings and recommendations to the court.
[(g) The department has the duties assigned by the
administrator or the local administrative judge and prescribed by
this section and Section 152.0634, including the duty to:
[(1) collect, receive, disburse, and monitor support
payments that are required by court order to be made to the
department; and
[(2) collect, receive, and deposit the fees authorized
under Section 152.0634 or 152.0635.
[(h) The department may initiate a contempt action or other
action to establish or enforce a court order for child support or to
collect a fee authorized under Section 152.0634 or 152.0635,
including attorney's fees and court costs. This subsection does
not affect the authority of another person to initiate a contempt
action or other action to establish or enforce a court order for
child support or to collect a fee provided by general law.]
SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 152, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Sections 152.06331 and 152.06332 to read as
follows:
Sec. 152.06331. DALLAS COUNTY DOMESTIC RELATIONS OFFICE.
(a) The domestic relations office of Dallas County is established.
Except to the extent of a conflict with this section, Chapter 203,
Family Code, applies to the office, and the office has the powers
and duties of a domestic relations office provided by that chapter.
(b) The judges of the district courts in Dallas County that
give preference to family law matters shall, on a majority vote,
appoint the director of the domestic relations office. The
director serves at the will of those judges, except that those
judges may delegate the decision to terminate the director's
appointment to the presiding judge of those judges' courts.
(c) The judges of the district courts in Dallas County that
give preference to family law matters shall, by majority vote,
supervise the activities of the director and the domestic relations
office, including the office's structure and budget, or those
judges may delegate the supervisory duties to the presiding judge
of those judges' courts.
(d) The domestic relations office shall report to the Dallas
County district and county courts administrator, and the
administrator shall report to the judges of the district courts in
Dallas County that give preference to family law matters,
regarding:
(1) the domestic relations office's performance of all
matters relating to family court services or successor services and
child support collection and administration; and
(2) all other functions performed by the office.
(e) The judges of the district courts in Dallas County that
give preference to family law matters have final authority over
decisions regarding the administration of the functions and duties
of the domestic relations office and have the right to direct the
district and county courts administrator to adopt and adhere to the
policies adopted by the judges with regard to the domestic
relations office.
(f) Fees for the preparation of a court-ordered social study
or any other services provided by the domestic relations office,
other than services related to the collection of child support,
must be reasonable and imposed on a sliding scale according to the
financial resources of the parties using the services.
(g) A judge may not be subjected to a suit for, and is immune
from liability for damages arising from, an act or omission
committed while performing a duty under this section unless the act
or omission is:
(1) committed intentionally, wilfully, or wantonly;
or
(2) committed with:
(A) gross negligence; or
(B) conscious indifference or reckless disregard
for the safety of others.
Sec. 152.06332. DALLAS COUNTY CRIMINAL DISTRICT COURTS
ADMINISTRATOR. (a) The criminal district courts administrator is
the chief administrative officer of the criminal district courts in
Dallas County.
(b) The judges of the district courts in Dallas County that
give preference to criminal law matters shall, on a majority vote,
appoint the criminal district courts administrator. The
administrator serves at the will of a majority of those judges,
except that those judges may delegate the decision to terminate the
administrator's appointment to the presiding judge of those judges'
courts.
(c) The judges of the district courts in Dallas County that
give preference to criminal law matters shall, by majority vote,
supervise the activities of the criminal district courts
administrator, including the structure of the administrator's
office and budget for that office, or those judges may delegate the
supervisory duties to the presiding judge of those courts.
(d) The criminal district courts administrator shall report
to the Dallas County district and county courts administrator, and
the district and county courts administrator shall report to the
judges of the criminal district courts in Dallas County, regarding
all issues related to the criminal district courts.
(e) The judges of the district courts that give preference
to criminal law matters in Dallas County have the final authority
over decisions regarding the administration of the areas related to
the criminal district courts in Dallas County and have the right to
direct the district and county courts administrator to adopt and
adhere to the policies adopted by the judges with regard to the
criminal district courts in Dallas County.
(f) A judge may not be subjected to a suit for, and is immune
from liability for damages arising from, an act or omission
committed while performing a duty under this section unless the act
or omission is:
(1) committed intentionally, wilfully, or wantonly;
or
(2) committed with:
(A) gross negligence; or
(B) conscious indifference or reckless disregard
for the safety of others.
SECTION 3. Section 105.009, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (m) to read as follows:
(m) A course under this section in a suit filed in a county
with a population of more than two million that is adjacent to a
county with a population of more than one million must be available
in both English and Spanish.
SECTION 4. Section 103.022, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 103.022. MISCELLANEOUS FEES AND COSTS. The following
fees and costs shall be paid or collected as follows:
(1) fee for use of an interpreter in civil cases (Sec.
21.051, Civil Practice and Remedies Code) . . . $3;
(2) fee for custodian of a record compelled by a court
to produce or certify the record (Sec. 22.004, Civil Practice and
Remedies Code) . . . $1;
(3) cost for use of certified copy of the record of
names of all trustees appointed by any state organization of a
religious congregation in this state (Sec. 126.012, Civil Practice
and Remedies Code) . . . $1.50;
(4) filing of a restitution lien (Art. 42.22, Code of
Criminal Procedure) . . . $5;
(5) issuance and service of a warrant of arrest for
certain offenses if prescribed by the municipality (Art. 45.203,
Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . not to exceed $25;
(6) filing a certified copy of a judicial finding of
fact and conclusion of law if charged by the secretary of state
(Sec. 51.905, Government Code) . . . $15;
(7) costs of determining and sending information
concerning the identity of the court with continuing, exclusive
jurisdiction if charged by the bureau of vital statistics (Sec.
108.006, Family Code) . . . reasonable fee;
(8) initial operations fee paid to domestic relations
office on filing of a suit affecting the parent-child relationship,
if authorized by the administering entity (Sec. 203.005, Family
Code) . . . not to exceed $15;
(9) initial child support service fee paid to domestic
relations office in certain counties on filing of a suit affecting
the parent-child relationship, if authorized by the administering
entity (Sec. 203.005, Family Code) . . . not to exceed $36;
(10) service fee for services of a domestic relations
office, if authorized by the administering entity (Sec. 203.005,
Family Code) . . . not to exceed $3 per month;
(11) fee from a Title IV-D agency for each item of
process to each individual on whom service is required, including
service by certified or registered mail (Sec. 231.202, Family Code)
. . . the amount that a sheriff or constable may charge for serving
process under Section 118.131, Local Government Code;
(12) [a copy of records of spousal or child support and
fees administered in Dallas County if authorized by the local
administrative judge (Sec. 152.0634, Human Resources Code) . . .
not to exceed $2 per page;
[(13) collecting, disbursing, or monitoring spousal
or child support payments in Dallas County (Sec. 152.0635, Human
Resources Code) . . . not to exceed $3 per month;
[(14) fee for adoption, family, and home study
investigations in an adoption in Dallas County (Sec. 152.0635,
Human Resources Code) . . . not to exceed $250;
[(15)] certain transactions with respect to a suit for
spousal support or a suit affecting the parent-child relationship
in Harris County, if authorized by the county commissioners court
(Sec. 152.1074, Human Resources Code) . . . not to exceed $2 per
transaction;
(13) [(16)] child support service fee in Nueces
County, if authorized by the county commissioners court (Sec.
152.1844, Human Resources Code) . . . not to exceed $5 per month;
(14) [(17)] services by the offices of the sheriff and
constables (Sec. 118.131, Local Government Code) . . . amount set
by county commissioners court;
(15) [(18)] cost paid by each surety posting the bail
bond for an offense other than a misdemeanor punishable by fine only
under Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, for the felony
prosecutor supplement fund and the fair defense account (Sec.
41.258, Government Code) . . . $15, provided the cost does not
exceed $30 for all bail bonds posted at that time for an individual
and the cost is not required on the posting of a personal or cash
bond;
(16) [(19)] appraiser's fee as court costs for
determining the fair value of ownership interests of owners who
have perfected their rights (Sec. 10.365, Business Organizations
Code) . . . a reasonable fee; and
(17) [(20)] to participate in a court proceeding in
this state, a nonresident attorney fee for civil legal services to
the indigent (Sec. 82.0361, Government Code) . . . $250 except as
waived or reduced under supreme court rules for representing an
indigent person.
SECTION 5. Sections 152.0634 and 152.0635, Human Resources
Code, are repealed.
SECTION 6. On October 1, 2005, the Dallas County domestic
relations office is established and the Dallas County child support
office and family court services department are abolished.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect October 1, 2005.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3531 was passed by the House on May
20, 2005, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3531 was passed by the Senate on May
25, 2005, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor