Maverick County approves $2 Fee for Electronic Filing of Court Documents

By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2014, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

Maverick County Commissioners Court approved a charge of $2 dollars for the electronic filing (e-filing) of court documents during their regular monthly meeting held on Monday, July 14, 2014, to become effective October 1, 2014.

The collection of the $2 e-filing fee for each electronic filing transaction of court documents in both civil and criminal cases in County and District courts is to recover the actual system operation costs incurred by Maverick County in implementing the state law mandated electronic filing of all court documents pursuant to Senate Bill 1147, now codified in Subchapter C, Chapter 72, Government Code Section 72.031. Senate Bill 1147 had an effective date of September 1, 2013 and is required to be implemented and approved by Maverick County by no later than July 15, 2014 per state law. Maverick County Commissioners Court had not yet approved this $2 e-filing fee prior to its approval at the July 14th meeting.

Maverick County Clerk Sara Montemayor addressed Commissioners Court stating that this $2 e-filing fee was approved last year through state law and is to be implemented for civil and criminal courts filing of documents.   “This is a service that we are going to be providing for attorneys and the public as well. We are going to be doing all filings electronically and have to be in compliance with the state by July 2015. The company that the state approved to work with all the counties is Tyler Technology. Tyler Technology started the process two weeks ago. We have been working with them, we have had our webinars because they want us to be going by October,1 2014. This is a service that will provide everything to be filed electronically, District and County,” said County Clerk Montemayor.

Montemayor also stated that if anything is appealed to the Texas Fourth Court of Appeals, it now required that all appeals be done electronically and not in paper. “Everything has to be electronically,” said Montemayor.

Montemayor stated that the $2.00 e-filing fee will be added to the existing fees already established by the state and county.

The $2.00 e-filing fee will be be used and kept by Maverick County to alleviate the expenses incurred implementing new technology hardware and software to comply with the new electronic filing state law.

Commissioners Court appointed Leopoldo “Polo” Vielma as the project manager for Maverick County to work with Tyler Technology in implementing the new hardware and software technology to bring Maverick County in compliance with state law.

Vielma stated that he is currently working with Tyler Technology in getting Maverick County in compliance with the new state law.