PMWJ S.B. 1417 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS JUDICIAL AFFAIRS S.B. 1417 By: Brown et al. (Gallego) 5-10-97 Committee Report (Amended) BACKGROUND The 74th Legislature directed the chief justice of the supreme court of Texas to establish the Texas Commission on Judicial Efficiency (commission). This commission made recommendations regarding information technology, funding parity, court performance measures, staff diversity, and judicial selection. This bill adopts most of the recommendations by establishing the Judicial Committee on Information Technology, and authorizing the Office of Court Administration to establish recruitment programs and other programs for law clerks and staff attorneys. In adddition, S.B. 1417 requires the Office of Court Administration to publish certain reports and establish the Office of Court Efficiency. PURPOSE S.B. 1417 adopts most of the recommendations of the Texas Commission on Judicial Efficiency by establishing the Judicial Committee on Information Technology, authorizes the Office of Court Administration to establish recruitment programs and other programs for law clerks and staff attorneys, and requires the Office of Court Administration to publish certain reports and establish the Office of Court Efficiency. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY The Texas Judicial Council is required to provide policy advice to the Office of Court Administration concerning a recruitment program for judicial law clerks and staff attorneys under new Government Code Sec. 72.041(c) in Section 2 of this bill. New Government Code Section 72.042(e) in Section 2 of this bill expressly grants the Office of Court Administration rulemaking authority to establish eligibility requirements for assistance from the new judicial law clerk student loan fund. New Gov't Code Sec. 72.042(f) in Section 2 of this grants the Office of Court Administration power to appoint a committee to provide policy advice to the office regarding administration of the fund. New Government Code Section 72.042(d) in Section 2 of this bill grants the Texas Judicial Council authority to administer the fund. New Government Code Section 72.043(c) in Section 2 of this bill expressly grants the Office of Court Administration rulemaking authority to establish eligibility requirements for assistance from the new program to assist courts in employing judicial law clerks. New Government Code Sec. 72.081 in Section 3 of this bill requires the Office of Court Administration to adopt rules and forms for administering the provisions of new Subchapter E of Chapter 72, concerning court performance standards. New Government Code Sec. 72.102 in Section 5 of this bill requires the Office of Court Administration to establish a program by rule for providing grants to counties and collections officers to enhance collections of court costs and fines. New Government Code Sec. 77.031 in Section 6 of this bill requires the new Judicial Committee on Information Technology (1) to develop programs to implement to recommendations of the Information Technology Task Force, (2) to develop minimum standards for voice storage and retrieval, local area networks, Internet access, electronic data interchange, data dictionaries, electronically based document systems, an internal computer and communication network for court staff, and other technological needs, (3) to develop a coordinated statewide computer and communication network linking all the courts in the state, security guidelines, web pages, and funding priorities, (4) a reasonable access fee set by the supreme court for access to the judicial system web pages, and (5) to recommend pilot programs relating to the testing and development of new technologies and programs to provide training and technological assistance. New Government Code Sec. 77.031(7) in Section 6 of the bill authorizes the supreme court to set a reasonable access fee for access to the state judicial system web page(s). SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1 amends Chapter 51, Government Code, by adding Subchapter K, as follows: SUBCHAPTER K. TIME PAYMENT FEE Sec. 51.921, TIME PAYMENT FEE, requires the clerk of each district court, statutory county, county court at law and justice court to collect a $25 fee from persons who (1) have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor, (2) have been ordered to pay a fine, court costs or restitution, and (3) seek to pay the ordered amount over time. Sets forth the requirements for collection of fees under this section. Requires the custodian of the county treasury to send 50 percent of the fees collected under this section to the comptroller at least as frequently as monthly to be deposited in the general revenue fund. Forty percent (40%) of the fund shall go to the county or municipality general revenue fund and 10% shall go to the Office of Court Administration Collections Grant Account. SECTION 2 adds Subchapter D to Chapter 72 of the Government Code. SUBCHAPTER D. JUDICIAL LAW CLERK AND STAFF ATTORNEY RECRUITMENT Sec. 72.041. RECRUITMENT PROGRAM. Defines "bar association." Sets forth requirements for the establishment and maintenance of a recruitment program to assist courts in recruiting individuals for employment as judicial law clerks and staff attorneys. Provides that the Texas Judicial Council shall provide policy advice. Sec. 72.042. JUDICIAL LAW CLERK STUDENT LOAN FUND. Defines "fund." Sets forth requirements and procedures of the judicial law clerk student loan fund. Requires the office, by rule, to establish eligibility for assistance from the fund. Sec. 72.043. JUDICIAL LAW CLERK EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE. Sets forth requirements of the judicial law clerk employment assistance program. Requires the Office of Court Administration (office), by rule, to establish eligibility for direct assistance from the judicial law clerk employment assistance program. Sec. 72.044. DIVERSITY. Requires certain courts to encourage the recruitment of judicial law clerks and staff attorneys that reflect the gender, racial, and ethnic diversity of the state. Sec. 72.045. DEMOGRAPHIC CENSUS. Requires the office annually to publish a report regarding the demographics of judicial law clerks and attorneys employed by the courts of this state. Authorizes the office to request that a court provide demographic information to the office. SECTION 3 adds Subchapter E to Chapter 72 of the Government Code. SUBCHAPTER E. COURT PERFORMANCE STANDARDS Sec. 72.081. RULES. Requires the office to adopt rules to administer this section. Sec. 72.082. PERFORMANCE REPORT. Requires the office to publish a performance report regarding the efficiency of each court of this state. Sec. 72.083. TRIAL COURTS. Requires the office to report certain information. Defines "clearance rate." Sec. 72.084. COURT OF APPEALS. Requires a court of appeals to report on certain matters to the office. Sec. 72.085. COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS. Requires a court of criminal appeals to report on certain matters to the office. Sec. 72.086. SUPREME COURT. Requires the supreme court to report on certain matters to the office. SECTION 4 adds Subchapter F to Chapter 72 of the Government Code. SUBCHAPTER F. COURT EFFICIENCY Sec. 72.091. DUTIES. Sets forth the duties of the office. Sec. 72.092. EXPENDITURES. Requires the director to study and recommend expenditures and savings. Sec. 72.093. PERSONNEL. Sets forth requirements for employing personnel. Sec. 72.094. CONSULTATION AND ASSISTANCE. Requires the director to consult with certain persons. Sec. 72.095. ANNUAL REPORT. Requires the director to prepare an annual report regarding the office. Require the director to recommend to the supreme court appropriate means to implement this subchapter. Sec. 72.096. ADDITIONAL DUTIES. Authorizes the chief justice to assign duties to the director. SECTION 5. Amends Subchapter G to Chapter 72 of the Government Code. SUBCHAPTER G. COURT COSTS AND FINES COLLECTION PROGRAM. New Sec. 72.101 defines "account", "collections", "collections officer", and "county". New Sec. 72.102 requires the Office of Court Administration to establish a program for providing grants to counties and collections officers to enhance collections of court costs and fines. New Sec. 72.103 establishes the Office of Court Administration Collections Grant Account to be used to pay the reasonable and necessary costs of the office which may be supplemented by local or federal money or public or private grants. SECTION 6 adds new Chapter 77 to Subtitle F, Title 2, of the Government Code. CHAPTER 77. JUDICIAL COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS Sec. 77.001. DEFINITIONS. Defines "committee," "court," and "Internet." SUBCHAPTER B. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS Sec. 77.011. JUDICIAL COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. Sets forth the operation and powers of the Judicial Committee on Information Technology (committee). Sec. 77.012. MEMBERS. Sets forth constituency of the committee. Sets forth requirements for selecting members. Sec. 77.013. COMPENSATION. Prohibits compensation, other than travel reimbursement, for service as a member of the committee. Sec. 77.014. STAFF. Requires the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System to provide staff for the committee. SUBCHAPTER C. POWERS AND DUTIES; FUNDING Sec. 77.031. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES. Sets forth powers and duties of the committee. Sec. 77.032. JUDICIAL TECHNOLOGY ACCOUNT. Sets forth requirements of the judicial technology account. SECTION 7 amends Section 552.272, Government Code, by adding Subsection (e), as follows: New Subsec. (e) sets forth requirements for an exception for charging for access to information that exists in an electronic medium. SECTION 8. Emergency clause. EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS Committee Amendment No. 1 strikes "or municipal" and ", as appropriate" on page 1, line 19, to require that the officer collecting the fees shall keep separate records of the moneys collected under this section dposited to the county treasury and not the municipal treasury since no fees are imposed which are entitled to go to municipal treasuries. Committee Amendment No. 1 also substitutes New Government Code Sec. 51.921(d) , changing 10% of the fees paid from the Office of Court Administration Collections Grant Account to the county treasury. Finally, Committee Amendment No. 1 deletes Section 5 of the bill, relating to the Court Costs and Fines Collection Program.