(A) A defendant convicted of a fine-only misdemeanor offense in Municipal Court shall pay a fee, not to exceed $5, as a court cost. For purposes of this section, a person is considered to be convicted if:
(1) A sentence or judgement or both are imposed on the defendant by the court;
(2) The defendant received deferred disposition from the court, including deferred proceedings under Art. 45.051 or 45.052, Tex. Code of Criminal Procedure; or
(3) The court defers final disposition or imposition of the judgement and sentence.
(B) The Municipal Court Judge is authorized to waive the Juvenile Case Manager Fee in cases of demonstrated financial hardship on the part of a convicted defendant, if the defendant is: indigent, has insufficient resources or income to pay the fee, or is otherwise unable to pay all or part of the underlying fine or costs.
(C) The Municipal Court Clerks shall collect the fee and it shall be deposited in a separate fund known as the Juvenile Case Manager Fund, as established under this section.
(D) The fund may be used to finance the salary, benefits, training, travel expenses, office supply expenses and other related expenses of a Juvenile Case Manager that is employed by the Municipal Court under Tex. Code of Criminal Procedure, Art. 45.056, and may not be used to supplement the income of an employee whose primary role is not that of a juvenile case manager.
(E) The fund may also be utilized, after financing the costs of the juvenile case manager, and on approval by the employing court, a juvenile case manager may direct the remaining money to be used to implement programs directly related to the duties of the juvenile case manager, including juvenile alcohol and substance abuse programs, educational and leadership programs, and any other projects designed to prevent or reduce the number of juvenile referrals to the court.
(F) Upon approval of the City Council, the Municipal Court is authorized to employ one or more full-time or part-time juvenile case managers, to provide services in cases involving juvenile offenders before the court, and in supervising court orders in juvenile cases.
(G) Any person, firm, or corporation who violates, disobeys, omits, neglects, or refuses to comply with or who resists the enforcement of any of the provisions of this section shall be fined not more than $2,000 for each offense.
(Ord. 10-2015-70, passed 10-13-15)