Enrolled Bill Summary

House Bill 3474	House Author:  Leach et al.
Effective:  See below	Senate Sponsor:  Hughes et al.

            House Bill 3474 is an omnibus bill relating to the operation and administration of and practices and procedures regarding proceedings in the judicial branch of state government.

House Bill 3474 amends the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, Family Code, Estates Code, Government Code, Human Resources Code, and Property Code. Among other provisions, the bill does the following:

·        creates 13 district courts, two statutory county courts, one multicounty statutory county court, five statutory probate courts, and one criminal law magistrate court;

·        revises the jurisdiction of certain district courts, statutory county courts, statutory probate courts, and criminal law magistrate courts;

·        establishes term start dates for certain district courts;

·        grants the magistrates of certain counties jurisdiction in criminal actions and provides for the district clerk to serve as clerk of cases referred to a magistrate, except for cases filed in certain courts;

·        revises provisions relating to associate and visiting judges;

·        provides for the appointment, duties, and powers of an associate judge in Duval County;

·        sets out standard procedures for court clerks transferring or receiving probate and guardianship cases between courts, including sending or marking specified documents in each transferred case and using the standardized forms created by the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System;

·        entitles a justice of the supreme court, a judge of the court of criminal appeals, or a justice of a court of appeals to compensation for necessary expenses;

·        provides for service credit for a statutory county court, including a multicounty statutory county court judge, or a statutory probate court judge for any years of service as a district attorney, criminal district attorney, or county attorney;

·        provides for service credit for a district attorney or criminal district attorney for any years of service as a district attorney, criminal district attorney, county attorney, appellate court justice, district judge, or statutory county court or statutory probate court judge and provides for longevity pay for such an attorney;

·        revises provisions relating to jurors and jury service, including by requiring a court clerk to maintain a list of the name and address of each person who is disqualified from jury service because the person was convicted of misdemeanor theft or a felony;

·        revises provisions relating to a district clerk's authority to summon grand jurors;

·        sets out and revises provisions relating to court reporters and interpreters, including their appointment, duties, certification, reimbursement, and regulation;

·        sets out provisions relating to court deposition, transcription, and interpretation services;

·        revises provisions relating to criminal proceedings, including expunction and applications for writs of habeas corpus;

·        revises provisions relating to the reimbursement of certain funeral expenses;

·        provides for the filing of an appendix instead of a clerk's record for an appeal of a civil suit;

·        requires a statutory county court, district court, or appellate court to deliver through the statewide electronic filing system all applicable court orders entered for the case; and

·        removes the requirement that the executive director of the Texas Indigent Defense Commission be a licensed attorney.

Except as otherwise provided by the bill, the bill takes effect September 1, 2023.