Tune v. Texas Dep't of Pub. Safety

In Tune v. Texas Dep't of Pub. Safety, 23 S.W.3d 358, 361 (Tex. 2000), the Court held that the amount of money that a citizen is willing to pay for a privilege is some evidence of its value. Id. at 362. Thus, statutes that require payment for a person to be afforded a particular privilege, such as a licensing fee, may establish a minimum value. Id. That is not because the fee is somehow in controversy, but because "the standard fee offers the minimum measure of 'the [privilege's] value.'" Id. The Court concluded in Tune that the $ 140 statutory fee for a handgun license established its minimum value for jurisdictional purposes. Id.