SECTION 57.9. Administrative Fee

(a) Outside Counsel must pay a non-refundable administrative fee to the Office of the Attorney General for the Invoice review described in §57.8 of this chapter. Outside Counsel may not charge, or seek reimbursement from, the Agency for payment of this administrative fee.

(b) The administrative fee described in subsection (a) of this section is incurred on the date that the first Invoice after the effective date of this chapter is submitted to the Agency. Any Invoice submitted to the Office of the Attorney General by the Agency before the administrative fee has been submitted by the Outside Counsel to the Office of the Attorney General shall be deemed incorrect and incomplete and not eligible for payment.

(c) The administrative fee is set as follows:

(1) For an Outside Counsel Contract with a maximum liability of less than $2,000.00, but more than $0.00, the administrative fee is $100.00.

(2) For an Outside Counsel Contract with a maximum liability equal to or greater than $2,000.00 but less than $10,000.00, the administrative fee is $200.00.

(3) For an Outside Counsel Contract with a maximum liability equal to or greater than $10,000.00 but less than $50,000.00, the administrative fee is $500.00.

(4) For an Outside Counsel Contract with a maximum liability equal to or greater than $50,000.00 but less than $150,000.00, the administrative fee is $1,000.00.

(5) For an Outside Counsel Contract with a maximum liability equal to or greater than $150,000.00 but less than $1,000,000.00, the administrative fee is $1,500.00.

(6) For an Outside Counsel Contract with a maximum liability of equal to or greater than $1,000,000.00, the administrative fee is $2,000.00.

(7) For Contingency Fee Outside Counsel Contracts, the Office of the Attorney General will establish a reasonable administrative fee when Invoices are submitted to the Office of the Attorney General for review.

(d) The administrative fee due under subsection (c) of this section covers the then current State Fiscal Biennium in an Outside Counsel Contract term. Outside Counsel must pay a non-refundable administrative fee to the Office of the Attorney General, as set by subsection (c) of this section, for every State Fiscal Biennium covered in an Outside Counsel Contract term. Subsequent biennial administrative fees are due upon submission of the first Invoice of a new State Fiscal Biennium.

(e) The administrative fee described in subsection (a) of this section is not due for a contract having a zero dollar liability or a contract that is only seeking reimbursement for expenses.

(f) For exceptional circumstances, the Office of the Attorney General, at its sole discretion, may modify the amount of the administrative fee due under subsection (c) of this section. If the Office of the Attorney General, at its sole discretion, permits an Agency to submit information other than the information specified in §57.8(b)(1) - (7) of this chapter, the Office of the Attorney General, in its sole discretion, may reduce or waive the administrative fee.

(g) When an Outside Counsel Contract is amended to increase the maximum liability of the contract to an amount that requires Outside Counsel to pay a higher administrative fee, under subsection (c) of this section, then Outside Counsel shall pay the difference between the original lesser fee, if already paid, and the new higher fee upon submission of the next submitted Invoice.

(h) The administrative fee described in subsection (a) of this section shall be sent to the Office of the Attorney General and not to the Agency.

Source Note: The provisions of this §57.9 adopted to be effective March 27, 2012, 37 TexReg 2065