Art. 45.312.  LOCAL YOUTH DIVERSION ADMINISTRATIVE FEE.  (a)  The clerk of a justice or municipal court may collect from a child's parent a $50 administrative fee to defray the costs of the diversion of the child's case under this subchapter.
(b)  The fee under this article may not be collected unless specified as a term of the diversion agreement accepted by the child's parent. If the fee is not paid after giving the child's parent an opportunity to be heard, the court shall order the parent, if financially able, to pay the fee to the clerk of the court.
(c)  A court shall waive the fee if the child's parent is indigent or does not have sufficient resources or income to pay the fee.
(d)  A court may adopt rules for the waiver of a fee for financial hardship under this article.
(e)  An order under Subsection (b) is enforceable against the parent by contempt.
(f)  The clerk of the court shall keep a record of the fees collected under this article and shall forward the funds to the county treasurer, municipal treasurer, or person fulfilling the role of a county treasurer or municipal treasurer, as appropriate.
(g)  The fee collected under this article shall be deposited in a special account that can be used only to offset the cost of the operations of youth diversion programs under this subchapter.
(h)  Except for the fee authorized under Subsection (a), a fee may not be assessed for a child diverted under this subchapter.
(i)  The diversion of a child may not be contingent on payment of a fee under this article.
Added by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 525 (H.B. 3186), Sec. 2, eff. January 1, 2024.