PMWJ H.B. 622 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS JUDICIAL AFFAIRS H.B. 622 By: Thompson 3-5-97 Committee Report (Amended) BACKGROUND Court coordinators are not currently required to take continuing education courses. Changes in law and technology can affect the performance of court coordinators and the performance of the court that employees them. Many people feel that adopting standard continuing education programs for court coordinators can improve their efficiency and the efficiency of the courts that employ them. PURPOSE The purpose of this bill is to provide for continuing education for court coordinators where local funding allows. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY Section 1 of the bill expressly grants the court of criminal appeals authority to adopt rules relating to the education and training of court coordinators. Section 2 of the bill requires that the rules adopted by the court of criminal appeals pursuant to Tex. Gov't Code, Chapter 56, as described in Section 1, require that court coordinators obtain 16 hours of continuing education hours annually unless the judge employing the coordinator certifies that funds are not available. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1 amends Section 56.006 of the Government Code, to provide that the court of criminal appeals may adopt rules for and administer continuing education programs for court coordinators. SECTION 2 adds a new Section 74.106 to Subchapter E of the Government Code. New Section 74.106 provides that the court coordinator of a district or statutory county court shall annually complete 16 hours of continuing education unless the judge employing the coordinator certifies that funds are not available. SECTION 3. Effective Date. SECTION 4. Emergency Clause EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS District and county clerks may already be required to attend continuing education programs. Committee Amendment No. 1 inserts "district clerks" and "county clerks" into the list of persons for whom the court of criminal appeals may adopt rules for education and training and to monitor the performance of such programs. For clarity, Committee Amendment No. 2 adds "or commissioners court of the county" in addition to "judge" as an entity employing the court coordinator.