baa H.B. 3544 75(R) BILL ANALYSIS JUDICIAL AFFAIRS H.B. 3544 By: Thompson 4-16-97 Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND There are sixteen Justice of the Peace Courts in Harris County, who collectively handle some 500,000 cases per year. As attorney involvement in the courts increases, and as more and more citizens find themselves doing business in more than one precinct, the necessity of uniform standards for practice and procedure in the justices courts becomes apparent. Currently the Harris County Justices of the Peace have no ability to promulgate rules for the practice and procedure in the justice courts. Local rules could advise citizens as to standard filing practices and procedures, alleviate disparate cases loads, and allow for a justice of the peace to acquire an expertise in certain areas of the law. Among the qualifications for a justice of the peace is their educational requirement, which based on the fiscal year of the Justice Court Training Center. A former Justice of the Peace, or a former district or county court judge may be appointed to serve as a special judge in the absence of a Harris County Justice of the Peace, and currently the statute provides that the qualifications of a special judge are the same as for the regular justice of the peace. It is more appropriate for the qualifications for a special judge to be those inherent in the status of a former justice of the peace, or former district or county court judge. PURPOSE The purpose of this bill is to allow the Harris County Justices of the Peace to adopt local rules not inconsistent with the rules governing justice courts found among the Code of Criminal Procedure and Rules of Civil Procedure, similar to the rulemaking authority granted to the county courts. It also provides that the duties and powers of a special judge are the same as for the regular justice of the peace, but that the qualifications are inherent in the status of the former justice of the peace, or former county court judge. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of this committee that this bill does not grant any additional rulemaking authority to any state officer, agency, institution, or department, but Section 75.404(g) of the Government Code in Section 1 of the bill would grant rulemaking authority to the Harris County Justices of the peace to adopt rules governing practice and procedure in the Harris County Justice Courts, which are not inconsistent with the rules governing justice courts found among the Code of Criminal Procedure and Rules of Civil Procedure. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1 amends Section 75.404, Government Code, by amending subsection (e) and adding subsections (g)-(k), as follows: Subsection (e) is amended to provide that the qualifications are inherent in the status of the former justice of the peace, or former county court judge. Subsection (g) grants rulemaking authority to the Harris County Justices of the peace to adopt rules which are not inconsistent with the rules governing justice courts found among the Code of Criminal Procedure and Rules of Civil Procedure. Subsection (h) provides that a local rule must be adopted by a vote of three quarters of the justices of the peace. Subsection (i) provides that the local rules may govern assigning, docketing, transferring or hearing of a case. Subsection (j) provides that local rules govern in the placement of cases in the justice courts in Harris County. Subsection (k) requires the justice to enter the rules into the courts minutes and to provide the rules to any interested party. SECTION 2. Effective date. Application of act. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.