Sen. Greg Treat, vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the fee increases were necessary to make sure the courts remained whole.

“The courts could not have functioned without raising some of those fees,” said Treat, R-Edmond. “It had been a while since any of those fees had been raised. It was to make sure the people using the court system were helping pay for it.”

House Bill 1610 increases the prosecution assessment on all traffic citations, with the exception of driving under the influence, to $20 from $10.

It also increases the prosecution assessment for a misdemeanor to $30 from $15, and raises the prosecution assessment for misdemeanor driving under the influence to $30 from $15 and felony driving under the influence to $50 from $25.

The assessments go to fund the operation of district attorneys’ offices, said Trent Baggett, assistant executive coordinator for the District Attorneys Council.

The assessments were enacted years ago under the belief that offenders should help pay a fee for the prosecution of their cases, Baggett said.

Also taking effect Friday is Senate Bill 1036, which allows school districts to keep confidential the names of district employees who are approved to carry a firearm.