Texas Judicial Council Amended Collection Improvement ... · OFFICE of COURT ADMINISTRATION Texas Judicial Council Amended Collection Improvement Program Rules Effective January 1,

OFFICE of COURT ADMINISTRATION

Texas Judicial Council Amended

Collection Improvement Program RulesEffective January 1, 2017

Cynthia MontesOffice of Court Administration

Governmental Collectors Association of TexasMay 10, 2017


OCA Mission

• Texas Government Code Chapter 72 • OCA is a state agency that operates under the direction

and supervision of the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice.

• OCA’s mission is to “provide resources and information for the efficient administration of the Judicial Branch of Texas.”


Research and Court Services Division

Provide technical assistance, training, research, and support on issues related to:

• court management• collection and use of court statistics• language access services• defendant compliance with legal financial obligations• domestic violence• Judicial Council committee activities


The Collection Improvement Program (CIP)

•Created by the Legislature in 2005•Authorized in the Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 103.0033•Requires certain counties and cities to “develop and implement a

program”• must consist of a component that conforms with a model developed by OCA and

designed to improve in-house collections through application of best practices and a component designed to improve the collection of balances for eligible cases more than 60 days past due

•Program operationalized through rules promulgated by the Texas Judicial Council, in the Texas Administrative Code Ch. 175


Why the Changes?

•Chief Justice Nathan Hecht charged OCA with reviewing the rules

•Lawsuits alleging unconstitutional practices filed in Texas (and elsewhere)

•Low reported use of alternatives and waiver, high reported use of jail credits to satisfy legal financial obligations in Texas

•Work of the CCJ/COSCA Joint Task Force on Fines, Fees and Bail Practices


Orientation of Rule Changes

“The primary goal of the amendments is to provide procedures that will help defendants comply with court ordered costs, fines and fees without imposing undue hardship on defendants and their dependents.”

- OCA’s Annual Report of the Judicial Support Agencies, Boards and Commissions (2016)

“The proposed rules were drafted to ensure the enforcement of a defendant’s compliance with the payment of court costs, fees, and fines while simultaneously ensuring that local programs engage the judiciary in situations in which a defendant may not have the ability to pay the assessed court costs, fees, and fines without undue hardship.”

- Preamble to the New Rules (2016)


Presentation Roadmap

Scope of CIPDefinitionsApplication & Contact InformationPayment PlansScenariosPhone Contact & Written NoticesReporting





Collection Improvement Program Scope

Applies to criminal cases in which the defendant is ordered to pay costs, fees, and fines under a payment plan.

Payment plan means a schedule of one or more payment(s) to be made at designated interval(s) by the defendant who does not pay all costs, fees, and fines at the time they are assessed and payment is requested.

No change


Does not apply to cases in which:

•the court has waived all court costs, fees, and fines; •the court authorizes discharge of the costs, fees, and fines through non-monetary compliance options;

•the defendant has been placed on deferred disposition or has elected to take a driving safety course; or

•the defendant is incarcerated, unless the defendant is released and payment is requested.

No change


Does not alter a judge's legal authority or discretion:

•to design payment plans of any amount or length of time; •to convert costs, fees, and fines into community service or other non-monetary compliance options as prescribed by law;

•to waive costs, fees, and fines;•to reduce the total amount a defendant owes at any time; or•to adjudicate a case for non-compliance at any time.

No change





Definition: Judge-Set Payment Plan

For purposes of the Collection Improvement Program rules, a payment plan set by a judge, commonly referred to as a “judge set” plan, is one that is ordered or approved by a judge after the judge has considered a defendant’s individual case.


Judge-Set Payment Plan (continued)

The judge’s review can be done either when a defendant appears before the judge or when local program or court staff provide the judge information regarding a specific defendant prior to setting up a payment plan for the defendant.


Definition: Standard Payment Plan

For purposes of the Collection Improvement Program rules, a “standard payment plan” is one that is adopted by a judge that has pre-established payment amounts or ranges of amounts, and a pre-established number of payments or a range of number of payments that can be offered by local program or court staff to defendants who are offered a payment plan.


Standard Payment Plan (continued)

This plan is not considered a “judge set” plan because the pre-established payment amount(s) and term(s), although adopted by a judge, are notadopted for an individualdefendant.


Other DefinitionsPayment ability information means the defendant's household income, expenses, account balances in financial institutions, debt balances and payment amounts, number of dependents, and any other information local program staff require to establish a payment plan that the defendant can successfully make without undue hardship to the defendant or the defendant's dependents.

Household income means the defendant's income and the defendant's spouse's income that is available to the defendant.

Spouse means the person to whom the defendant is married, including a person who is a party to an informal marriage.





Application Essentials — Contact Information

•Name•Home address•Home phone number or primary contact phone number•Email address•Two personal contact names with phone number/mailing address/email)

•Signature/Acknowledgement & Date


Application Essentials — Payment Ability Information

• Attending High School• Receiving Public Assistance (list

6A types)• SNAP(food stamps)• TANF• WIC• Medicaid• Child Health Plan

• Number of Dependents

• Household (Defendant & Spouse) Income

• Salary• Other Income

• Expenses• Account balances in financial

institutions• Checking• Savings

• Debt balances and payment amounts


Application & Contact Information

If payment plan is set by the judge, only contact information is required and must be documented. Programs may use a single form for both the application and contact information. The required information must be obtained within one month of the assessment date.New: Cases in which the defendant has agreed to a standardpayment plan (under new Sec. 175.3(a)(7)(A)) only provide contact information like those with payment plans set by the judge.

Sec. 175.3(a)(3)


Exceptions to Defendant Communications Rules

Revised: An attempt to obtain an application or contact information described in §175.3(a)(3) is made by taking one of the following actions within one week of the assessment date: (1) mailing a notice requesting the defendant contact local

program staff to make arrangements to complete an application and provide contact information;

(2) mailing an application or contact information form; or(3) obtaining the information via telephone.


Exceptions to Defendant Communications Rules (continued)Should the defendant fail to contact local program or return a completed application or contact information form and the post office not return the application or contact information form as undeliverable, the local program must make a second attempt to contact the defendant with any existing available information within one month of the first attempt.

No changeSec. 175.3(b)(1)


Verification of Contact Information

Both the home or contact phone number, if applicable, are required to be verified within five days of receiving the required information. Verifications must be documented indicating the person conducting it and the date of verification.

Deleted Requirement: No longer required to collect and verify employer or source of support information.

Sec. 175.3(a)(4)


Defendant Interview

An in-person or telephone interview with the defendant either to review the application and determine an appropriate payment plan or to review the terms of the judge-imposed payment plan must be conducted within 14 days of receiving the required information.

Interviews must be documented indicating the name of the interviewer and the date of the interview.


Defendant Interview (continued)

New: In-person or telephone interview with defendants who have agreed to the standard payment plan (Sec. 175.3(a)(7)(A)) will be like those for defendants with judge-set plans – only terms of payment plan will be reviewed.

Sec. 175.3(a)(5)





Payment PlansPayment plans should include the payment amount, the designated interval, and the number of payments that the defendant will make to pay the defendant’s court-ordered costs, fees, and fines.

No change

Sec. 175.3(a)(7)(C)


Time Requirements

Deleted: The time requirements for payment plans have been eliminated.

• municipal and justice court cases-4 months to collect in full.

• county and district court cases involving community supervision-2 months prior to term expiring.

• county and district court cases not involving community supervision-6 months to collect in full.


Payment Plans

Payment plans set by a judge are discretionary and unrestricted.

Sec. 175.3(a)(6)(D)


Standard Payment Plan

New: A judge may adopt standard payment plans that include payment and time ranges based on amounts owed that can be made available to defendants when they are referred to the local program staff or court staff.

Sec. 175.3(a)(7)(A)



In order to accept a standard payment plan, the new rules require that the defendant agree in writing that he/she: 1. understands the terms, 2. has the ability to successfully make the payments, and 3. declines the opportunity for local program/court staff to

consider lower monthly payments or a longer term.

Sec. 175.3(a)(7)(A)


Payment Plans

If a defendant does not accept a standard payment plan (or the jurisdiction does not use standard plans), local program/court staff must review payment ability information [application] and establish appropriate payment terms based on the defendant’s ability to pay that will not cause undue hardship to the defendant or the defendant’s dependents.

Sec. 175.3(a)(3)(B)


Court Review of Defendant’s Ability to Pay Information

New: Local program/court staff must provide the court the defendant’s payment ability information for the court’s review when the defendant meets at least one of the following criteria:1. attends high school; 2. household income does not exceed 125% of the federal

poverty guideline; or3. defendant receives certain public assistance (food stamps,

TANF, WIC, Medicaid, CHIP).

Sec. 175.3(a)(6)(A)

Federal Poverty Guidelines

https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines

Annual 2017 Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States

Household/Family Size 25% 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200%

1 3,015 6,030 9,045 12,060 15,075 18,090 21,105 24,120 2 4,060 8,120 12,180 16,240 20,300 24,360 28,420 32,480 3 5,105 10,210 15,315 20,420 25,525 30,630 35,735 40,840 4 6,150 12,300 18,450 24,600 30,750 36,900 43,050 49,200 5 7,195 14,390 21,585 28,780 35,975 43,170 50,365 57,560 6 8,240 16,480 24,720 32,960 41,200 49,440 57,680 65,920 7 9,285 18,570 27,855 37,140 46,425 55,710 64,995 74,280 8 10,330 20,660 30,990 41,320 51,650 61,980 72,310 82,640 9 11,375 22,750 34,125 45,500 56,875 68,250 79,625 91,000 10 12,420 24,840 37,260 49,680 62,100 74,520 86,940 99,360 11 13,465 26,930 40,395 53,860 67,325 80,790 94,255 107,720 12 14,510 29,020 43,530 58,040 72,550 87,060 101,570 116,080 13 15,555 31,110 46,665 62,220 77,775 93,330 108,885 124,440 14 16,600 33,200 49,800 66,400 83,000 99,600 116,200 132,800


Federal Poverty Guidelines Example

Household Size = 3Defendant’s household income = $21,000

Because household income is less than $25,525, local program/court staff must provide the court the defendant’s payment ability information for the court’s review.

Annual 2017 Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States

Household/Family Size 25% 50% 75% 100% 125% 150%

1 3,015 6,030 9,045 12,060 15,075 18,090 2 4,060 8,120 12,180 16,240 20,300 24,360 3 5,105 10,210 15,315 20,420 25,525 30,630 4 6,150 12,300 18,450 24,600 30,750 36,900 5 7,195 14,390 21,585 28,780 35,975 43,170 6 8,240 16,480 24,720 32,960 41,200 49,440 7 9,285 18,570 27,855 37,140 46,425 55,710


Non-Monetary Compliance Options

New: When local program/court staff refer the information to the court, they should provide information regarding non-monetary compliance options, if any are available.

Sec. 175.3(a)(6)(C)





Scenarios

Judge-Set Plan


Court Review of Ability to Pay


Scenario #1

Debbie was caught driving without insurance and appears in court in order to find out what she needs to do next. The clerk states that the court has adopted a standing/blanket order with pre-established payment amounts or ranges of amounts. The payment amount will be $100 per month and Debbie agrees to the payment plan. At no time does Debbie see the Judge.


Scenario #1


Debbie is required to fill out a contact form and sign an acknowledgment agreeing that she: 1) understands the terms; 2) has the ability to successfully make the payments; and 3) declines the opportunity for local program staff to consider lower monthly payments or a longer term.


Scenario #2

John is on a business trip in San Antonio and is running late for a meeting. John gets pulled over for speeding and is given a ticket. When John returns home to Dallas he calls the court in San Antonio and informs the clerk that he lives 4 hours away but would like to be put on a payment plan. The clerk talks to the Judge and as per the Judge, John is put on a $50/month payment plan.


Scenario #2

Judge-Set Plan

John will be required to fill out a contact form. Contact information can be obtained over the telephone.


Scenario #3

Mike was arrested for DWI and goes to court. The judge orders Mike to report to the Collections Program to get set up on a payment plan. The clerk states that the court has adopted a standing/blanket order with pre-established payment amounts or ranges of amounts. The payment amount will be $100 per month and Mike states that he cannot afford this amount. At no time does Mike return to court to see the Judge.


Scenario #3

Court Review of Ability to Pay

Mike is required to fill out an application with both contact and payment ability information. If this information reflects that Mike falls under any of the Ability to Pay Guidelines in rule (6)(A) , the local program/court staff must provide this information to the court to review and consider if non-monetary compliance options or waiver or partial waiver of costs, fees and fines are appropriate.





Payment Plan Compliance Monitor

Monitoring of payment plans and documenting the process is required.

No change

Sec. 175.3(a)(2)


Phone Contact for Past-Due Payments

Within one month of a missed payment, a phone call must be made to a defendant who has not contacted the program staff. The phone call must be documented.


Phone Contact for Past-Due Payments (continued)New: Contact must include: 1) instructions on what defendants can do if unable to make

payments, and 2) information about how the defendant may request a

hearing for the judge to consider the defendant’s ability to pay and any non-monetary compliance options available for the defendant to satisfy the judgment.

Sec. 175.3(a)(8)


Written Notice for Past-Due Payments

Within one month of a missed payment, a written delinquency notice must be sent to a defendant who has not contacted the program staff. The written notice must be documented.


Written Notice for Past-Due Payments (continued)

New: Written notice must provide: 1) instructions on what defendants can do if unable to make

payments, and

2) information about how the defendant may request a hearing for the judge to consider the defendant’s ability to pay and any non-monetary compliance options available for the defendant to satisfy the judgment.


Written Notice for Past-Due Payments (continued)

Written notice not required if successful phone contact is made.

E-mail and text message added to list of means of providing written notice.

Sec. 175.3(a)(9)


Final Contact Attempt

New: Program staff must send a final written notice by regular or certified mail to the defendant within one month of the written notice described in Sec. 175.3(a)(9) before reporting the case to the court as non-compliant.


Final Contact Attempt (continued)

The final contact must include the information required in Sec. 175.3(a)(9) and include steps the defendant can take to avoid his/her case being referred to court as non-compliant. Notice must include the defendant’s right to avoid jail time for nonpayment if the defendant is unable to pay the amount owed without undue hardship.


Final Contact Attempt (continued)

New: Local program staff should wait one month from the final contact attempt before the program refers the case back to the court as non-compliant.

The revised section acknowledges that a court can adjudicate a case as non-compliant at any time.

Sec. 175.3(a)(10)


Serious Delinquent Cases

The collection program must have a component designed to improve collection of balances more than 60 days past due.

No change

Sec. 175.3(a)(11)





Reporting

Annual report due by the 60th day following the fiscal year end. Monthly report due by the 20th day of the following month.

New: Number of cases in which local program staff provide the court a defendant’s ability to pay information in a case under §175.3(a)(6) for review of the defendant’s ability to pay

Sec. 175.4(c)(2)(B)


Reporting (continued)


http://www.txcourts.gov/cip/cip-rules/


North – Region 1 - Cynthia MontesPhone: (940) 349-2818Cell: (817) 455-3895Email: [email protected] – Region 2 - Lee E. Keeton, Jr.Phone: (713) 314-5778Cell: (281) 638-0776Email: [email protected] – Region 3 - Daphne WebberPhone: (512) 936-7555Cell: (512) 968-1512Email: [email protected] – Region 5 - Chad GraffPhone: (903) 216-4308Email: [email protected] – Region 6 - Aaron CastilloPhone: (956) 973-7830Cell: (956) 236-5206Email: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]






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OCA Audit — David Cueva

OCA Round Table

Documents

Texas Judicial Council Amended Collection Improvement ... · OFFICE of COURT ADMINISTRATION Texas Judicial Council Amended Collection Improvement Program Rules Effective January 1,