Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-0244 Page: 2 of 11
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The Honorable David M. Motley - Page 2
The costs for a hearing or proceeding under the Texas Mental Health Code are paid by:
(1) the county that initiates emergency detention procedures
under Subchapter A or B, Chapter 573; or
(2) if no emergency detention procedures are initiated, the
county that accepts an application for court-ordered mental health
services, issues an order for protective custody, or issues an order for
temporary mental health services.
Id. 571.018(a). In addition, "[t]he county responsible for the costs of a hearing or proceeding
... shall pay the costs of all subsequent hearings or proceedings for that person under this subtitle
until the person is discharged from mental health services. The costs shall be billed by the clerk of
the court conducting the hearings." Id. 571.018(b).
You state that Kerr County is served by two county courts, the constitutional county court
and a county court at law. See Request Letter, supra note 1, at 1; see also TEX. Gov'T CODE ANN.
25.1351 (Vernon 2004) ("Kerr County has one statutory county court, the County Court at Law
of Kerr County."). The Kerrville State Hospital, a Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental
Retardation facility that serves 27 counties, is located in Kerr County. See Request Letter, supra
note 1, at 1. Eighty percent of the patients committed to the hospital are from other counties. See
id. Traditionally, the constitutional county court "has heard mental health commitment hearings for
all cases at the Kerrville State Hospital." Id. at 2. "[A]pproximately 80% of these cases originate
from counties other than Kerr County." Id. These cases are heard at the hospital, "away from the
county courthouse where the County Court customarily holds hearings." Id.
Your questions pertain to the Kerr County constitutional county court's duty to hear mental
health commitment hearings at the state hospital and the judge's entitlement to receive a salary
supplement for doing so. As background to your questions, you explain that in 1999, the Kerr
County Commissioners Court approved a $10.00 "judicial salary supplement fee" to be charged in
mental health cases pursuant to section 574.031(i) of the Health and Safety Code. See id. The
county's 2003-2004 budget included a line item to pay the constitutional county court judge a salary
supplement in an amount equal to the estimated number of mental health hearings to be held away
from the county courthouse multiplied by $10.00. See id. The commissioners court "approved
payment of... [the] salary supplement to the judge in the budget; however, such approval was on
the express condition that the judge's salary to be paid by Kerr County should be reduced by an
amount equal to such approved salary supplement in the County Court budget, and reduced the
judge's salary accordingly." Id.
ii. Analysis
A. The Constitutional County Court's Duty to Hold Mental Health Commitment
Hearings at the State Hospital
You first ask whether "the judge of the Constitutional County Court of Kerr County
[is] required by the Constitution or state statutes to hear all of the mental health commitment(GA-0244)
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-0244, text, September 1, 2004; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth275140/m1/2/: accessed July 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.