What can a Texas county spend pretrial intervention program fees on?

Plain-English summary

Pretrial intervention programs let some defendants avoid prosecution by completing supervision and conditions, and Texas funds those programs partly with a fee charged to the participating defendants. Atascosa County Attorney Lucinda Vickers asked the Attorney General how that fee money can be spent, specifically whether it could go toward refurbishing a courtroom, training new county court at law staff, or buying office supplies for the county court at law or the county attorney's office.

The AG walked through the statute, Code of Criminal Procedure article 102.0121. It lets a district attorney, criminal district attorney, or county attorney collect a fee, capped at $500, from any defendant who takes part in a pretrial intervention program administered in part by that office. The stated purpose of the fee is to reimburse the county for expenses, including expenses of the prosecutor's office, related to the defendant's participation in the program. Once collected, the fees must go into a special fund in the county treasury, to be used solely to administer the pretrial intervention program, and any spending from the fund has to follow a budget approved by the commissioners court.

Reading those limits together, the AG concluded that the fee money can be spent on something like refurbishing courthouse facilities, training staff, or buying office supplies only to the extent that the expenditure both reimburses the county for expenses related to a defendant's participation in the program and is used to administer the program. It cannot be used as a general fund for ordinary courthouse upkeep or office costs untethered from the program. The AG also drew the usual line about its own role: whether a particular expenditure actually meets that standard is a fact question for the commissioners court to decide in the first instance, subject to judicial review, not something the opinion could resolve. A commissioners court that spent the money illegally, unreasonably, or arbitrarily would be subject to a court's correction.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2014. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later Attorney General opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

What the opinion meant for those who asked

Atascosa County and its County Attorney (as the opinion described it): The opinion told the county that pretrial intervention fees could cover courtroom refurbishment, staff training, or office supplies only where those costs reimbursed the county for expenses tied to a defendant's program participation and served to administer the program, and that judging any specific expenditure was for the commissioners court, subject to court review.

Commissioners courts (as the opinion described it): The opinion described the commissioners court as the body that approves the budget governing spending from the fund and that decides in the first instance whether a given expenditure fits the statute, while remaining subject to judicial review if it acts illegally, unreasonably, or arbitrarily.

Prosecutors administering the programs (as the opinion described it): The opinion described the fee as one a district, criminal district, or county attorney collects, capped at $500, to reimburse the county for program-related expenses, including the office's own, with the proceeds confined to administering the program.

Common questions

Can pretrial intervention fees pay to fix up a courtroom or buy office supplies?
Only in a limited way, according to the AG. Those costs can be paid from the fund only to the extent they reimburse the county for expenses related to a defendant's participation in the program and are used to administer the program, not for general courthouse or office needs.

How much is the fee, and who pays it?
The AG described the fee as one charged to a defendant who participates in a pretrial intervention program, collected by the district, criminal district, or county attorney, and capped at $500.

Who decides whether a specific expense is allowed?
The AG said the commissioners court decides in the first instance, through the budget it approves, and that a court can review that decision. Whether a particular expenditure qualifies is a fact question the opinion would not resolve.

Where does the fee money go after it is collected?
The AG explained the fees must be deposited into a special fund in the county treasury, to be used solely to administer the pretrial intervention program, with spending only under a commissioners-court-approved budget.

Background and statutory framework

Code of Criminal Procedure article 102.0121 authorizes a district attorney, criminal district attorney, or county attorney to collect a fee from any defendant who participates in a pretrial intervention program administered in any part by the attorney's office (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 102.0121(b) (West Supp. 2013)). The fee may not exceed $500 and exists to reimburse a county for expenses, including the prosecutor's office's expenses, related to a defendant's participation in the program (id. art. 102.0121(a)). The fees must be deposited into a special fund in the county treasury, to be used solely to administer the program, and an expenditure may be made only under a budget approved by the commissioners court (id. art. 102.0121(c)), which prepares an annual budget under the Local Government Code (Tex. Loc. Gov't Code Ann. §§ 111.001-.014 (West 2008 & Supp. 2013)).

The AG concluded the statute permits no other use, so the listed expenditures qualify only if they reimburse the county for program-related expenses and administer the program. Whether a particular expenditure qualifies is for the commissioners court in the first instance, subject to judicial review (Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. GA-0118 (2003) at 7; Comm'rs Ct. of Titus Cnty. v. Agan, 940 S.W.2d 77, 80 (Tex. 1997)).

Citations

Statutory provisions:

• Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 102.0121(a) (West Supp. 2013) (purpose of the fee; reimbursement of program-related expenses; $500 cap)
• Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 102.0121(b) (West Supp. 2013) (authority to collect the fee)
• Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 102.0121(c) (West Supp. 2013) (special fund used solely to administer the program; commissioners-court budget)
• Tex. Loc. Gov't Code Ann. §§ 111.001-.014 (West 2008 & Supp. 2013) (commissioners court annual budget)

Cases:

• Comm'rs Ct. of Titus Cnty. v. Agan, 940 S.W.2d 77, 80 (Tex. 1997)

Other authority:

• Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. GA-0118 (2003) (whether a particular expenditure may be funded by certain fees is a fact question beyond an AG opinion)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/greg-abbott/ga-1039
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2014/ga1039.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from the official PDF. Minor extraction artifacts were corrected; the linked PDF is authoritative.

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
GREG ABBOTT

January 27, 2014

The Honorable Lucinda A. Vickers Opinion No. GA-1039
Atascosa County Attorney

1 Courthouse Circle Drive #3-B Re: The proper expenditure of pretrial intervention

Jourdanton, Texas 78026 program funds accumulated in accordance with
Code of Criminal Procedure article 102.0121
(RQ-1141-GA)

Dear Ms. Vickers:

You ask whether pretrial intervention program funds collected pursuant to Code of Criminal Procedure article 102.0121 may be used "to refurbish a courtroom, to train new county court at law staff, to purchase office supplies for the county court at law staff, and/or to purchase office supplies for the county attorney's office."[1] Article 102.0121 authorizes a district attorney, criminal district attorney, or county attorney to collect a fee "from any defendant who participates in a pretrial intervention program administered in any part by the attorney's office." TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 102.0121(b) (West Supp. 2013). The express purpose of the fee, which may not exceed $500, is "to reimburse a county for expenses, including expenses of the district attorney's, criminal district attorney's, or county attorney's office, related to a defendant's participation in a pretrial intervention program offered in that county." Id. art. 102.0121(a). Once collected, the fees must be deposited into a special fund in the county treasury, "to be used solely to administer the pretrial intervention program." Id. art. 102.0121(c). Lastly, "[a]n expenditure from the fund may be made only in accordance with a budget approved by the commissioners court." Id.

Pursuant to subsection (a), a fee may be used for a particular purpose only if that purpose constitutes an expense of the county or one of the listed attorney's offices, and only if it relates to a defendant's participation in a pretrial intervention program. Id. art. 102.0121(a). Furthermore, after a fee has been collected and deposited in the special fund of the county treasury as required by subsection (c), any subsequent use of the fund must be in accordance with a budget approved by the commissioners court. Id. art. 102.0121(c); see generally TEX. LOC. GOV'T CODE ANN. §§ 111.001-.014 (West 2008 & Supp. 2013) (providing that the commissioners court shall prepare an annual budget and establishing the procedures for doing so). The commissioners court is limited by subsection (c) to expend pretrial intervention program funds only to administer the county's pretrial intervention program. TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 102.0121(c) (West Supp. 2013). Article 102.0121 does not permit any other use. Therefore, pretrial intervention program funds may be used for refurbishing courthouse facilities, training staff, and purchasing office supplies only to the extent that such expenditures reimburse a county for expenses related to a defendant's participation in a pretrial intervention program and are used for the administration of the program. Id. art. 102.0121(a), (c). That determination is for the commissioners court to make in the first instance, subject to judicial review. Id.; see Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. GA-0118 (2003) at 7 (whether a particular expenditure may be funded by certain fees is a fact question beyond the scope of an attorney general opinion); Comm'rs Ct. of Titus Cnty. v. Agan, 940 S.W.2d 77, 80 (Tex. 1997) (holding that a commissioners court abuses its discretion by acting "illegally, unreasonably, or arbitrarily").

SUMMARY

Under Code of Criminal Procedure article 102.0121, pretrial intervention program funds may be used to refurbish courthouse facilities, train staff, and purchase office supplies only to the extent that such expenditures reimburse a county for expenses related to a defendant's participation in a pretrial intervention program and are used for the administration of the program.

Very truly yours,

GREG ABBOTT
Attorney General of Texas

DANIEL T. HODGE
First Assistant Attorney General

JAMES D. BLACKLOCK
Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel

VIRGINIA K. HOELSCHER
Chair, Opinion Committee

Stephen L. Tatum, Jr.
Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee

[1] Letter from Honorable Lucinda A. Vickers, Atascosa Cnty. Att'y, to Honorable Greg Abbott, Tex. Att'y Gen. at 1 (July 23, 2013), http://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opin ("Request Letter").