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Senate rejects bill raising justice-court limit to $5,000 after dispute over clerks' fees
Summary
A proposal to raise the civil jurisdictional limit for justice courts from $3,500 to $5,000 and to adjust related filing fees failed after hours of debate about how fee revenue would be distributed to circuit and justice court clerks.
The Senate voted down legislation that would have raised the civil jurisdictional limit for justice courts from $3,500 to $5,000 and adjusted court filing fees, with the measure failing after a roll-call tally produced 28 "no" votes.
Sponsor Senator Wiggins, who led the amendment effort, said the amendment would allow justice court clerks to assess an additional $30 fee on cases over $3,500 and would preserve existing fee streams for circuit clerks. "It will make them whole," Wiggins said, describing the change as a way to address clerks' revenue concerns.
The dispute centered on how fee revenue would be allocated between circuit clerks and justice court clerks and whether the change…
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