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Senate Bill 1233 |
Senate Author: West |
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Effective: 6-17-11 |
House Sponsor: Coleman |
Senate Bill 1233 amends provisions of the Agriculture Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, Election Code, Family Code, Government Code, Health and Safety Code, Local Government Code, and Property Code relating to certain district court and county services and functions. The bill, among other provisions:
· authorizes a county clerk to accept electronic filing or rerecording of an earmark, brand, tattoo, electronic device, or other type of mark for which a recording is required by law
· authorizes a licensed jailer to execute lawful process under certain circumstances
· authorizes a peace officer summoned to testify before a grand jury to testify through the use of a closed circuit video teleconferencing system
· authorizes a person operating a video teleconferencing system to be present in a grand jury room while the grand jury is conducting proceedings
· establishes that a court reporter or court recorder is not required to transcribe or make a separate recording of a plea taken by closed circuit video teleconferencing unless an appeal is taken in the case and a party requests a transcript
· authorizes any deposition or testimony of an inmate witness in certain proceedings to be conducted by a video teleconferencing system in a prescribed manner
· authorizes a medical examiner to charge reasonable fees for services provided by the office of medical examiner under certain conditions
· authorizes the employment of a county elections administrator to be suspended, with or without pay, as an alternative to being terminated under certain conditions
· changes the amount of the fee a district clerk is required to collect for each page or part of a page of a certified copy of a record, judgment, order, pleading, or paper on file or of record in the district clerk's office
· authorizes a court in certain counties to appoint a spoken language interpreter who is not a licensed court interpreter
· adds a county commissioners court to a current open meetings law provision applicable to municipalities that authorizes, under specified circumstances, certain reports to be received and made at a meeting without prior public notice of the subject of the report
· authorizes the commissioners courts of all counties, rather than only counties with a population of 400,000 or more, to conduct a closed meeting to deliberate certain business and financial issues
· adds the electronic processing of checks as a payment method authorized by a commissioners court for the collection of certain fees, fines, court costs, or other charges
· authorizes reimbursement for the provision of punitive damage coverage from a person to whom a self-insuring county or a county government liability insurance pool provides coverage
· revises provisions relating to an exclusive county contract for the marketing of a computer software application or software system developed by or for a county and relating to the sale or licensing of such software
· adds a determination made by a county judge or fire marshal if designated for that purpose by the commissioners court to the current law that provides for the expiration of an order prohibiting or restricting outdoor burning after certain determinations are made by specified entities
· revises provisions relating to a county assistance district's creation and functions, governing body, agreements with municipalities, and sales and use tax
· sets out procedures relating to foreclosure data collection by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
· repeals certain provisions relating to a constable's power to summon assistance from a county resident and relating to the requirement that a commissioners court maintain an indexed county finance ledger