Bill: HB 1516, 84(R) - 2015

Committee

House Criminal Jurisprudence

Vote Recommendation

Vote Recommendation Economic Freedom Property Rights Personal Responsibility Limited Government Individual Liberty
Yes Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Positive

Author(s)

Armando Walle

Bill Caption

Relating to the bill of costs provided to a defendant before the costs are payable.

Fiscal Notes

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure relating to the procedure of providing a bill of costs to a defendant by an officer. Under the provisions of the bill, a cost is not payable until the written bill is provided to the person charged with the cost.

The Office of Court Administration reports no significant fiscal impact to the state court is anticipated. 

Bill Analysis

Defendants convicted of crimes are often required to pay certain court costs in addition to the actual statutory penalty associated with the crime for which they were convicted. Under current law a defense attorney may ask for a bill of costs but that information is not required to be provided without first requesting it. 

HB 1516 would establish that a person convicted of a crime would not be liable for any of the associated financial costs until such time as they are provided with a written bill containing the items of cost. This would essentially standardize the practice of giving a convicted person an itemized list of costs they are required to pay without them first having to ask for it first. 

Vote Recommendation Notes

While this bill is mostly procedural, it does benefit the individual liberty of a convicted person to know exactly what costs they are required to pay as a consequence of their conviction. This certainly places no extraordinary burden on the government and clearly benefits the defendant. For these reasons we support HB 1516 on the principle of individual liberty.

Source URL (retrieved on 03/28/2024 01:03 PM): http://reports.texasaction.com/bill/84r/hb1516?print_view=true