TO:	Honorable Joan Huffman, Chair, Senate Committee on Jurisprudence
FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	SB1530 by Huffman (relating to the operation and administration of and practice and procedure related to proceedings in the judicial branch of state government.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

General Revenue-Related Funds, Five- Year Impact:

All Funds, Five-Year Impact:

Fiscal Analysis

The bill would amend the Government Code to create 474th Judicial District (McLennon County), the 475th Judicial District (Smith County), the 478th Judicial District (Bell County), the 480th Judicial District (Williamson County), the 481st Judicial District (Denton County), the 482nd Judicial District (Harris County), the 483rd Judicial District (Hays County), the 484th Judicial District (Cameron County), and the Criminal Judicial District No. 5 of Tarrant County. The bill would require the 484th District Court to give preference to juvenile matters.  

The bill would amend the Government Code to create Probate Court Number 2 of Denton County and to give County Court at Law 2 of Denton County jurisdiction over all civil causes and proceedings, regardless of amount in controversy for eminent domain, for statutory courts and direct and inverse condemnation cases. The bill would also create the County Court at Law No. 2 of San Patricio County, County Court at Law No. 3 of McLennon County, County Court at Law No. 5 of Williamson County, and the County Court at Law No. 6 of Montgomery County.

The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to prohibit a judge or justice from accepting a plea of guilty or nolo contendere unless the defendant appears mentally competent, and the plea is free and voluntary.

The bill would also amend the Government Code to create the Brazoria County Criminal Magistrate Court and would authorize the commissioners court of Brazoria County, upon recommendation of the local administrative district judge, to appoint one or more full- or part-time criminal magistrate judges to preside over the court for a term designated by the commissioners court.

The bill would amend the Family Code to add a definition for a “dual status child” and clarify other provisions that apply to dual status children. The bill would also amend provisions to eliminate the requirement for a written statement by an attorney ad litem and replaces the requirement with a report to be made to the court regarding the ad litem's compliance with the requirement to meet with a child and expands the list of ad litems that would be required to do so to include those appointed for a child in proceedings under Chapter 264 of the Family Code.

The bill would amend the Government Code to permit the Office of Court Administration (OCA) to allow public access to view information or documents in the state court document database and to charge a reasonable fee for optional features in the state court document database.

The bill would amend the Family Code to require the clerk of court to send certain transferred documents through the electronic filing system when the transfer is ordered by a court. The bill would require the OCA to adopt rules setting out which documents are to be transferred and to develop a standardized transfer certificate and index of transferred documents form.

The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to allow a habeas corpus applicant to serve a copy of the application for writ of habeas corpus to the state attorney by secure electronic mail the attorney has on file with the electronic filing system or another form of secure electronic transmission.

The bill would amend the Civil Practice and Remedies Code to require the citation for receivership to be published on the public information internet website maintained by OCA, except as provided by Section 17.032.

The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to require the Forensic Science Commission to adopt a code of professional responsibility to regulate the conduct of persons, laboratories, facilities, and other entities regulated under this article, publish the code of professional responsibility, adopt rules establishing sanctions for code violations update the code of professional responsibility, as necessary.

The bill would require the commission to investigate any allegation of professional negligence or misconduct that would affect the integrity of an examination or test conducted by a crime laboratory and a forensic examination or test not subject to accreditation or testimony related to an analysis, examination, or test.

The bill would amend the Government Code to give a juror an option to direct the county treasurer to donate a specified amount of a person's daily jury reimbursement to a veterans court treatment program or a veterans county service office.

The bill would amend the Government Code to permit a judge or magistrate of a district court or statutory county court authorized to hear criminal cases to be appointed to preside over a regional specialty court program if approved by the local administrative district and statutory county court judges of each county participating in the program or another approval method selected by the judges and the presiding judges of each of the administrative judicial regions in which the participating counties are located sign an order granting the appointment.

The bill  would amend the Government Code to allow a veterans treatment court program to transfer responsibility for supervising the defendant's participation in the program to an adjacent county where the defendant works or resides and allows a court to place the defendant in a veterans treatment court program located in a county adjacent to the county where the defendant works or resides, if the county where the defendant is charged does not operate a veterans treatment court program.

The bill would amend the Government Code to clarify and add protective orders that must be included in the protective order registry maintained by OCA to include those issued by a court in this state under Chapter 83 or 85, Family Code under Subchapter A, Chapter 7B, Code of Criminal Procedure. The bill would require clerks to remove from the registry protective orders that have been vacated.

The bill would take effect September 1, 2021. The 480th Judicial District would be created on October 1, 2022. The 475th Judicial District and County Court of Law No 2 of San Patricio County would be created January 1, 2023.

Methodology

Costs reflected in the tables above are based on analysis provided by the Comptroller of Public Accounts and the Office of Court Administration (OCA).

Biennial costs for the bill include salaries for nine district judges and related benefit costs, salary reimbursement for the statutory probate court judge, salary reimbursement for a statutory county court judge, as well as costs associated for seven visiting judges for the newly created district courts.

Personnel costs for the judicial districts created by the bill are based on the current base salary for a district judge ($140,000) as set forth in the General Appropriations Act.  The bill would create seven new district courts as of the effective date; one as of October 1, 2022; and one as of January 1, 2023. Salary costs for these positions would total $980,000 in fiscal year 2022; $1,202,600 in fiscal year 2023; and $1,260,000 in subsequent years. Operating and payroll related benefit costs for these positions would total $410,004 in fiscal year 2022; $503,133 in fiscal year 2023; and $527,148 in subsequent years.

Costs for the state's contributions to Statutory Probate Court Number 2 of Denton would total $40,000 each year.

The state also contributes 60 percent of a district judge's base pay of $140,000 ($84,000) for a county court at law judge. The bill would create three county courts at law as of the effective date of the bill and one more as of January 1, 2023. State costs for these positions would total $252,000 in fiscal year 2022; $308,280 in fiscal year 2023; and $336,000 in subsequent years.

Based on information provided by OCA and the OCFW, this analysis assumes that the remaining duties and responsibilities assigned to OCA, OCFW, and the Forensic Science Commission to implement the provisions of the bill could be accomplished utilizing existing resources.

Local Government Impact

According to the Office of Court Administration there may be a fiscal impact to local units of government due to necessary operating costs associated with district courts and county courts at law, such as office space, computer equipment, furniture, and court staff.