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House Bill 4128 |
House Author: Murr et al. |
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Effective: Vetoed |
Senate Sponsor: Zaffirini |
House Bill 4128 amends the Government Code to reclassify certain associate judges and their staff from county employees to state employees and provides for the payment of their salaries accordingly. The bill authorizes an applicable associate judge to oversee and monitor guardianship proceedings and protective services proceedings and establishes that the judge's authority to oversee and monitor proceedings includes the authority to review certain issues with respect to the guardian's reporting and accounting requirements, address concerns about a ward's well‑being, and take any other action the judge considers necessary to ensure the efficient administration of justice in guardianship proceedings and protective services proceedings and curtail the risk of potential abuse, fraud, or exploitation of wards under a guardianship.
House Bill 4128 provides for the Office of Court Administration (OCA) to contract for available money, including state money, to fund the use of associate judges in certain guardianship and protective services proceedings and for an applicable court coordinator or court investigator to assist associate judges in those proceedings in specified tasks. The bill authorizes the presiding judges of the administrative judicial regions, state agencies, and counties to seek federal money and use state money and public or private grants to reimburse costs and salaries associated with the use of associate judges and associated personnel. The bill requires the presiding judges and OCA in cooperation with other state agencies and counties to take the action necessary to maximize the amount of federal money available for such purposes. The bill also requires OCA to make available to appointed associate judges guardianship compliance specialists and other resources and assistance to assist with the oversight and monitoring of the proceedings.
Governor's Reason for Veto: "Last session, I approved House Bill No. 79 to protect vulnerable Texans through a system of specialized guardianship courts with associate judges. This session's House Bill No. 4128 goes too far, however, in building a new state bureaucracy. I have vetoed similar bills that would have burdened state taxpayers and given outsized authority to associate judges. House Bill No. 4128 suffers from the same flaws and meets the same fate."