On May 29, Governor Rick Perry signed into law HB 915 and HB 1227. Both bills cover issues that the Children's Commission has studied in recent years. HB 915 monitors the prescription and usage of psychotropic medicine for foster children in Texas. The bill gives children in the foster care system the opportunity to provide an opinion on their medical care, allows foster care youth at the age of 16 and older to act as their own medical consenter, and requires attorneys and guardians to evaluate any medical care a youth in foster care receives. It also increases the youth and medical consenter's awareness of side-effects and alternatives to prescribed psychotropic medicine. HB 1227 gives court appointed special advocates, or CASA volunteers, better access to their appointed foster child's information. Currently, the CASA volunteer must stay inside the child protective services office to access any information on their foster child. This bill will lay the foundation to create an internet information system permitting the CASA volunteer to view and enter information on their foster child while still maintaining confidentiality.

The Office of Court Administration (OCA) operates the Collection Improvement Program (CIP). The purpose of the program is to assist cities and counties in collecting fines and court costs assessed against persons convicted of crimes. The program promotes the use of certain remedies that create incentives for defendants to pay their court-ordered fines and court costs. Such incentives are useful because many defendants do not make payments of their own volition.

 

One productive remedy is the county scofflaw statute. The law is codified as Section 502.010 of the Texas Transportation Code. The statute authorizes the county tax assessor-collector to refuse to register the motor vehicle of a person whose fines and costs are past due. Faced with the prospect of being unable to register his or her vehicle, a defendant will often choose to make the court-ordered payments.

 

As mentioned above, the tax assessor-collector may refuse to allow a person to register a motor vehicle. The statute also authorizes the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to do so. However, the DMV is involved only if the county has contractually agreed to provide the DMV with information regarding the defendant. The information provided to the DMV would include reports of a defendant's past due fines, court costs, and taxes. The information would also include reports of any instances in which the defendant failed to appear in a criminal case in the county.

 

The statute authorizes counties that have a contract with the DMV to impose an additional fee on the defendant.  In light of two separate bills amending this statutory fee provision during the 82nd Legislative Session, several questions arose in regard to the fee. On December 5, 2012, OCA requested an opinion from the Attorney General seeking answers to these questions. The Attorney General published an opinion answering these questions on May 28, 2013. Summaries of the questions and answers follow:

 

Question One: Is the amount of the fee $20 or an unspecified amount?

 

Answer One:  $20.

 

Question Two: When may the fee be assessed?

 

Answer Two:  At any time after a fine, fee, or tax is due.

 

Question Three: Who decides whether a county will impose the  fee?

 

Answer Three: The commissioners court.

 

Question Four: If the amount of the fee is unspecified, who sets the amount of the fee?

 

Answer Four:  The question is moot because the amount of the fee is $20. (See Question One and Answer One.)

 

Question Five:  Who assesses and collects the additional fee?

 

Answer Five: The commissioners court decides who should collect the fee.  This could be the relevant court, the tax assessor-collector, or someone else.

 

Question Six: Does the office charged with collecting the fee have any discretion to waive the fee?

 

Answer Six:  The commissioners court may determine whether the officer assessing and collecting the fee may waive the fee in particular circumstances.

 

Question Seven:  Can the additional fee be assessed if a defendant fails to appear for a criminal proceeding but has not been convicted?

 

Answer Seven:  Yes.

 

Please feel free to contact Ted Wood, Assistant General Counsel for OCA, if you have any questions about this opinion.

• GA-1006

Last month the Attorney General issued Opinion No. GA-1005 regarding the appointment and compensation of temporary justices of the peace (RQ-1099-GA).

• GA-1005

Judge Linda Ann Rodriguez appointed to the Texas Judicial Council

On May 30, Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson appointed Linda Ann Rodriguez to the Texas Judicial Council to fulfill the unexpired term of Judge Laura A. Weiser, who retired from the bench recently. Judge Rodriguez's term on the Judicial Council expires on February 1, 2017. 

 

Sharayah Stiggers appointed to the Children's Commission

On May 13, the Supreme Court of Texas appointed Sharayah Stiggers (San Antonio) to the Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families (Children's Commission) for a three-year term expiring on November 30, 2016. 

 

Governor appoints members to Texas Indigent Defense Commission

On May 20, Governor Rick Perry appointed Don Hase (Arlington) to the Texas Indigent Defense Commission for a term to expire February 1, 2015 and reappointed Anthony Odiorne to the Commission. The appointments are subject to Senate confirmation.

 

Governor appoints four to Judicial Compensation Commission

On May 30, Governor Rick Perry appointed four members to the Judicial Compensation Commission, created by the Texas Legislature in 2007 to recommend the salaries of state judges. The four appointed members are: William "Bill" Brod Jr. (Pasadena - term to expire Feb. 1, 2017), Conrith W. Davis (Sugar Land - term to expire Feb. 1, 2017), Pat Mizell (Houston - term to expire Feb. 1, 2019), and Linda Russell (League City - term to expire Feb. 1, 2019).

In May, Hilda Cuthbertson from Bryan Municipal Court graduated from

the ICM Fellows Program of the National Center for State Court's Institute for Court Management. 

 

David Slayton, Class of 2007 and Hilda Cuthbertson, Class of 2013

Award honors judicial excellence

Nominations are now being accepted for the William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence. NCSC presents this award annually to a state court judge who demonstrates the highest qualities of integrity, fairness, open-mindedness, knowledge of the law, professional ethics, and intellectual courage. The awards ceremony is hosted by Chief Justice of the United States, John G. Roberts, Jr., during a November ceremony at the U.S. Supreme Court. Last year's recipient was Hon. John F. Surbeck, Jr. of Indiana. Nominations must include a letter outlining up to five major accomplishments of the nominee, a résumé, and two letters of reference. Deadline for nominations is June 14.