PMJ H.J.R. 55 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS JUDICIAL AFFAIRS H.J.R. 55 By: Dutton 3-5-97 Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND Presently a claimant may go to trial and have a judgement rendered. This judgment may be appealed to an a appellate court and affirmed by the court. Application for writ of error can then be filed with the Supreme Court of Texas. This application can be accepted or denied. Upon denial, within the requisite 15 days of Rule 134 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, a motion for rehearing of the Court's denial of the application can be made. Currently the law does not require the the Supreme Court to take action within a certain time frame on the motion for rehearing. The result has been that no action has been taken by the Court in some cases for more than two-and-a-half years. PURPOSE HJR 55 provides that if the Supreme Court does not act on a motion for rehearing before the 180th day after the date on which the motion is filed, the motion is denied. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1 adds a new Subsection (d) to Section 31, Article V of the Texas Constitution to provide that if the supreme court does not act on a motion for rehearing before the 180th day after the date on which the motion is filed, the motion is denied. SECTION 2. Ballot date. Ballot wording.