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House approves court-fee changes that sponsors say simplify fees and raise modest revenue
Summary
Senate Bill 197, which restructures certain court fees, eliminates some surcharges and raises others to net an estimated $276,000 to the general fund, passed the House 43–26 after debate about access for low-income filers and fee-waiver procedures.
The House debated and passed Senate Bill 197 (court fees) during the Feb. 26 session. Representative Valentine explained coordinated amendments (the 03:40/4:00 PM versions) designed to align fee changes with previously adopted measures and to limit net increases. Sponsors said the total increase across affected fees would be about $276,000; they framed the actions as simplifying a pocketful of small surcharges into clearer, consolidated filing fees.
Opponents warned that higher fees could burden litigants with limited means and that attorney fees could rise in tandem. Supporters responded that courts routinely allow waiver of filing fees through affidavits of impecuniosity and that the increases do not directly increase the judiciary’s overall budget appropriation; some fees previously below service cost are being adjusted to reduce general-fund subsidies elsewhere.
Representative Rose offered friendly amendments to make the bill compatible with House Bill 164; Representative Valentine accepted technical changes intended to coordinate fee language with earlier work. After amendment votes and debate, SB 197 as amended passed the House with 43 affirmative votes and 26 negatives.
Ending: SB 197 passed the House and will move to the Senate for further consideration; sponsors and critics both pointed to available fee-waiver procedures as the mechanism to protect low-income filers.
