§ 14.007.Other Costs

An escalation for the repeat filer, and it converts real institutional expenses into court costs.

The order shall include the additional costs where the court finds that the inmate has previously filed an action to which this chapter applies and that a final order has been issued affirming that the action was dismissed as frivolous or malicious.

Both conditions are required, and the second is demanding. A dismissal is not enough; there must be a final order affirming it — which is why the disclosure affidavit must state the date of that order.

"Shall include" makes the escalation mandatory once the finding is made.

Three categories of expense become costs of court: expenses of service of process; postage; and transportation, housing, or medical care incurred in connection with the appearance of the inmate in court for any proceeding.

The third is the substantial one. Producing an inmate at a courthouse requires officers, a vehicle, and sometimes an overnight stay and medical attention — costs that dwarf a filing fee.

Those expenses are borne by the department, the jail, or a private facility operator, and the section moves them onto the litigant.

The provision is confined to expenses "not otherwise charged" under the general fee section, so nothing is collected twice.

Read with the effect-on-other-claims provision, the consequence compounds. Costs assessed under this section, unpaid, bar a clerk from accepting any further claim — so a single affirmed frivolous dismissal can close the courthouse to an inmate until a large sum is paid.

The one opening left is a claim for injunctive relief against a substantial threat of irreparable injury or serious physical harm.