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Senate committee advances bill raising court fees and temporarily freezing some raises
Summary
The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced House Bill 1752, which raises court fees to shore up the judicial operations fund, tightens legislative approval of pay increases, and adopted an amendment freezing certain related raises through Dec. 31, 2027.
The Senate Appropriations Committee on an introduced strike‑all approved House Bill 1752, a measure that revises judicial code sections and increases fee assessments to support judicial salaries and the judicial operations fund.
Senator Wiggins, explaining the measure, said the change responds to a shortfall in fees that pay for court operations: “we've had to raise fees… [a] 50% raise for two years,” and the committee incorporated language to require legislative sign‑off on future raises and periodic reporting by SPB so lawmakers can evaluate salary changes.
Lawmakers described the measure as addressing a structural gap caused by past raises for judges, district attorneys and related staff that outpaced fee revenue. The bill sets a schedule of fee increases and tighter controls on automatic raises; it also references legacy county‑court pay formulas tied to historical census bands and a $30,000 salary threshold that affects full‑time classification.
During floor discussion, senators debated administration of the fee changes and whether fee revenue should flow to a dedicated judicial operations fund or the general fund. Senator McClendon asked whether fees are collected by clerks and remitted to the Administrative Office of Courts; committee discussion clarified that fees are user fees added at filing and collected locally before remittance to AOC. The chair said the committee had earlier amended language so some fee receipts currently would flow to the general fund unless a separate operations fund is later established.
The committee adopted an amendment offered during the session that freezes certain raises through Dec. 31, 2027 and phases further adjustments beginning February 1, 2028; senators voted to adopt the amendment and later passed the strike‑all as amended. The bill will return to Judiciary A for further consideration.
The committee recorded motions and voice votes on the amendment and final passage; formal tallies were not stated on the record.
Next steps: HB1752 will proceed back to Judiciary A for conference or further floor action as required.
