§ 22.003.Fees for Witnesses Summoned by a State Agency

A separate and more generous scheme for witnesses the state calls, and its structure is the reverse of the general fee.

The daily attendance fee is one dollar — a tenth of the general fee. But the witness also receives mileage at the rate provided by law for state employees if using a personally owned or leased vehicle; reimbursement of transportation expenses if not; and reimbursement of meal and lodging expenses while attending court if the court is at least 25 miles from the witness's residence.

So the general fee is a flat sum covering everything, and this one is a token payment plus actual expenses. For a witness travelling any distance, the second is worth considerably more.

Subsection (c) allows direct payment. The agency may pay a commercial transportation company or a commercial lodging establishment directly instead of reimbursing the witness. A witness who cannot afford to advance a hotel bill is not kept from attending.

Both terms are defined in subsection (a): a commercial transportation company offers transportation of people or goods to the public for compensation; a commercial lodging establishment is a motel, hotel, inn, apartment, or similar entity offering lodging to the public for compensation.

Subsection (d) caps everything at the maximum rates provided by law for state employees, whether paid directly or reimbursed.

Subsections (e) and (f): after receiving the witness's affidavit the clerk issues a certificate showing the fees incurred, and the fees are taxed in the bill of costs.