Commissioners defer decision on $50 juvenile diversion fee, judges to meet before county acts

Tarrant County Commissioners Court on Thursday deferred action on whether to set a $50 parental fee tied to a new Class C juvenile diversion program enacted by the Legislature, asking local justice-of-the-peace judges to meet and return a recommendation.

The presiding official said the proposed fee, if imposed by the county, could remove judicial discretion by requiring assessment unless a parent is found indigent. "It doesn't seem to give the courts any discretion," the presiding official said, urging that the county's five justice courts meet to provide direction before the commissioners act.

Judge McAuliffe, addressing the court, said the new law requires offering diversion programs (except traffic offenses) and that the statute's implementation timeline is January 1, 2025. He said judges will convene to decide whether to implement the $50 fee and how to treat indigency. "I'm going to meet with all 5 judges," McAuliffe said. "We're gonna get together ... to see if we even want to implement this $50 or if we want to leave it in a judge's discretion to do it."

County staff and commissioners raised practical concerns about how to collect a fee when the statute restricts entering diversion cases into the county's case-management and financial systems until a conviction occurs. Miss Joyner and another staff member warned that accepting cash payments unattached to a county case record is a logistical and audit concern. One staff member said the number of eligible county cases will be small — "maybe 3 a year" — because the provision targets Class C offenses outside city jurisdictions.

Commissioner Williams moved to take no action on the item and directed that the JPs meet and return a formal recommendation; the motion passed 5-0. The court will revisit the item after the JPs report back.