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S.B. No. 1704
AN ACT
relating to jury service.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Section 61.001, Government Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) Each grand juror or petit juror in a civil or criminal
case in a district court, criminal district court, county court,
county court at law, or justice court is entitled to receive as
reimbursement for travel and other expenses an amount:
(1) not less than $6 for the first day or fraction of
the first day served as a juror; and
(2) not less than $40 [nor more than $50] for each day
or fraction of each day served as a juror after the first day.
SECTION 2. Chapter 61, Government Code, is amended by
adding Section 61.0015 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.0015. REIMBURSEMENT TO COUNTY. (a) The state
shall reimburse a county $34 a day for the reimbursement paid to a
grand juror or petit juror under Section 61.001 for each day or
fraction of each day served as a juror after the first day.
(b) The commissioners court of a county entitled to
reimbursement under this section may file a claim for reimbursement
with the comptroller.
(c) The comptroller shall pay claims for reimbursement
under this section quarterly to the county treasury of each county
that filed a claim from money collected under Article 102.0045,
Code of Criminal Procedure, and deposited in the jury service fund.
(d) If sufficient money described by Subsection (c) is not
available to satisfy the claims for reimbursement filed by the
counties under this section, the comptroller shall apportion the
available money among the counties by reducing the amount payable
to each county on an equal percentage basis.
(e) If a payment on a county's claim for reimbursement is
reduced under Subsection (d), or if a county fails to file the claim
for reimbursement in a timely manner, the comptroller shall:
(1) pay the balance owed to the county when sufficient
money described by Subsection (c) is available; or
(2) carry forward the balance owed to the county and
pay the balance to the county when the next payment is required.
SECTION 3. Section 62.0141, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 62.0141. FAILURE TO ANSWER JURY SUMMONS. In addition
to any criminal penalty prescribed by law, a person summoned for
jury service who does not comply with the summons as required by law
or who knowingly provides false information in a request for an
exemption or to be excused from jury service is subject to a
contempt action punishable by a fine of not less than $100 nor more
than $1,000.
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 62, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 62.0142 to read as follows:
Sec. 62.0142. POSTPONEMENT OF JURY SERVICE. (a) A person
summoned for jury service may request a postponement of the
person's initial appearance for jury service. The person may
request the postponement by contacting the clerk of the court in
person, in writing, or by telephone before the date on which the
person is summoned to appear.
(b) On receipt of a request under Subsection (a), the clerk
of the court shall grant the person a postponement if:
(1) the person has not been granted a postponement in
that county during the one-year period preceding the date on which
the person is summoned to appear; and
(2) the person and the clerk determine a substitute
date on which the person will appear for jury service that is not
later than six months after the date on which the person was
originally summoned to appear.
(c) A person who receives a postponement under Subsection
(b) may request a subsequent postponement in the manner described
by Subsection (a). The clerk of the court may approve the
subsequent postponement only because of an extreme emergency that
could not have been anticipated, such as a death in the person's
family, sudden serious illness suffered by the person, or a natural
disaster or national emergency in which the person is personally
involved. Before the clerk may grant the subsequent postponement,
the person and the clerk must determine a substitute date on which
the person will appear for jury service that is not later than six
months after the date on which the person was to appear after the
postponement under Subsection (b).
SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 102, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended by adding Article 102.0045 to read as
follows:
Art. 102.0045. FEE FOR JURY REIMBURSEMENT TO COUNTIES.
(a) A person convicted of any offense, other than an offense
relating to a pedestrian or the parking of a motor vehicle, shall
pay as a court cost, in addition to all other costs, a fee of $4 to
be used to reimburse counties for the cost of juror services as
provided by Section 61.0015, Government Code.
(b) The clerk of the court shall remit the fees collected
under this article to the comptroller in the manner provided by
Subchapter B, Chapter 133, Local Government Code. The comptroller
shall deposit the fees in the jury service fund.
(c) The jury service fund is created in the state treasury.
If, at any time, the unexpended balance of the jury service fund
exceeds $10 million, the comptroller shall transfer the amount in
excess of $10 million to the fair defense account.
(d) Fees deposited in the jury service fund under this
section are exempt from the application of Section 403.095,
Government Code.
SECTION 6. Section 102.021, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 102.021. COURT COSTS ON CONVICTION. A person
convicted of an offense shall pay, in addition to all other costs:
(1) court costs on conviction of a felony (Sec.
133.102, Local Government Code) . . . $133;
(2) court costs on conviction of a Class A or Class B
misdemeanor (Sec. 133.102, Local Government Code) . . . $83;
(3) court costs on conviction of a nonjailable
misdemeanor offense, including a criminal violation of a municipal
ordinance, other than a conviction of an offense relating to a
pedestrian or the parking of a motor vehicle (Sec. 133.102, Local
Government Code) . . . $40;
(4) court costs on certain convictions in statutory
county courts (Sec. 51.702, Government Code) . . . $15;
(5) court costs on certain convictions in certain
county courts (Sec. 51.703, Government Code) . . . $15;
(6) a time payment fee if convicted of a felony or
misdemeanor for paying 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
(Sec. 133.103, Local Government Code) . . . $25;
(7) a fee for services of prosecutor (Art. 102.008,
Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . $25;
(8) fees for services of peace officer:
(A) issuing a written notice to appear in court
for certain violations (Art. 102.011, Code of Criminal
Procedure) . . . $5;
(B) executing or processing an issued arrest
warrant or capias (Art. 102.011, Code of Criminal
Procedure) . . . $50;
(C) summoning a witness (Art. 102.011, Code of
Criminal Procedure) . . . $5;
(D) serving a writ not otherwise listed (Art.
102.011, Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . $35;
(E) taking and approving a bond and, if
necessary, returning the bond to courthouse (Art. 102.011, Code of
Criminal Procedure) . . . $10;
(F) commitment or release (Art. 102.011, Code of
Criminal Procedure) . . . $5;
(G) summoning a jury (Art. 102.011, Code of
Criminal Procedure) . . . $5;
(H) attendance of a prisoner in habeas corpus
case if prisoner has been remanded to custody or held to bail (Art.
102.011, Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . $8 each day;
(I) mileage for certain services performed (Art.
102.011, Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . $0.29 per mile; and
(J) services of a sheriff or constable who serves
process and attends examining trial in certain cases (Art. 102.011,
Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . not to exceed $5;
(9) services of a peace officer in conveying a witness
outside the county (Art. 102.011, Code of Criminal
Procedure) . . . $10 per day or part of a day, plus actual
necessary travel expenses;
(10) overtime of peace officer for time spent
testifying in the trial or traveling to or from testifying in the
trial (Art. 102.011, Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . actual
cost;
(11) court costs on an offense relating to rules of the
road, when offense occurs within a school crossing zone (Art.
102.014, Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . $25;
(12) court costs on an offense of passing a school bus
(Art. 102.014, Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . $25;
(13) court costs on an offense of truancy or
contributing to truancy (Art. 102.014, Code of Criminal
Procedure) . . . $20;
(14) cost for visual recording of intoxication arrest
before conviction (Art. 102.018, Code of Criminal
Procedure) . . . $15;
(15) cost of certain evaluations (Art. 102.018, Code
of Criminal Procedure) . . . actual cost;
(16) additional costs attendant to certain
intoxication convictions under Chapter 49, Penal Code, for
emergency medical services, trauma facilities, and trauma care
systems (Art. 102.0185, Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . $100;
(17) cost for DNA testing for certain felonies (Art.
102.020, Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . $250;
(18) court cost on an offense of public lewdness or
indecent exposure (Art. 102.020, Code of Criminal
Procedure) . . . $50;
(19) court cost on conviction of a misdemeanor under
Subtitle C, Title 7, Transportation Code (Sec. 542.403,
Transportation Code) . . . $3;
(20) cost for impoundment of vehicle (Sec. 601.263,
Transportation Code) . . . $15 per day; [and]
(21) a civil and criminal enforcement cost on
conviction of an offense of, or related to, the nonpayment of a toll
in certain counties (Sec. 284.2031, Transportation Code) . . . $1;
and
(22) court cost on conviction of any offense, other
than a conviction of an offense relating to a pedestrian or the
parking of a motor vehicle (Art. 102.0045, Code of Criminal
Procedure) . . . $4.
SECTION 7. Section 133.003, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 133.003. CRIMINAL FEES. This chapter applies to the
following criminal fees:
(1) the consolidated fee imposed under Section
133.102;
(2) the time payment fee imposed under Section
133.103;
(3) fees for services of peace officers employed by
the state imposed under Article 102.011, Code of Criminal
Procedure, and forwarded to the comptroller as provided by Section
133.104;
(4) costs on conviction imposed in certain statutory
county courts under Section 51.702, Government Code, and deposited
in the judicial fund;
(5) costs on conviction imposed in certain county
courts under Section 51.703, Government Code, and deposited in the
judicial fund;
(6) the administrative fee for failure to appear or
failure to pay or satisfy a judgment imposed under Section 706.006,
Transportation Code; [and]
(7) fines on conviction imposed under Section
621.506(g), Transportation Code; and
(8) the fee imposed under Article 102.0045, Code of
Criminal Procedure.
SECTION 8. Section 51.607, Government Code, does not apply
to court costs or fees imposed under this Act.
SECTION 9. (a) The changes in law made by Sections 3 and 4
of this Act apply only to a person summoned to appear for jury
service who is required to appear on or after September 1, 2005. A
person summoned to appear for jury service who is required to appear
before September 1, 2005, is governed by the law in effect on the
date the person is required to appear, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) Article 102.0045, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added
by this Act, applies only to a defendant convicted of a criminal
offense that is committed on or after September 1, 2005. A
defendant convicted of a criminal offense that is committed before
September 1, 2005, is governed by the law in effect at the time the
offense was committed, and that law is continued in effect for that
purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed
before September 1, 2005, if any element of the offense occurs
before that date.
SECTION 10. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
(b) Sections 1 and 2 of this Act take effect January 1, 2006.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1704 passed the Senate on
May 16, 2005, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 1; and that the
Senate concurred in House amendment on May 27, 2005, by the
following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1704 passed the House, with
amendment, on May 25, 2005, by the following vote: Yeas 137,
Nays 2, four present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor