PMWJ S.B. 1956 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS JUDICIAL AFFAIRS S.B. 1956 By: Carona (Hill) 5-21-97 Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND As the statute on the municipal court of the City of Garland currently exists, it requires an official court reporter in the courtroom to record all proceedings where a record is requested. The City of Garland wishes to avoid that requirement. The Legislature has adopted similar provisions for a number of other municipal courts of record in Texas. The Garland municipal court statute does not currently provide for the qualifications of alternate judges, require the defendant to file a written notice of appeal, provide for the automatic overruling of a motion for a new trial, or the exchange of benches. PURPOSE S.B. 1956 _permits the City of Garland to elect to record court proceedings in the municipal court on a high quality electronic recorder, _adds a provision concerning the qualifications of alternate judges, _requires that the chief judge, instead of the governing body, appoint an official court reporter, _provides for the exchange of benches, _provides for the automatic overruling of a motion for new trial, _requires the defendant to provide written notice of appeal, and _requires that a chief judge be appointed if more than one judge is appointed. 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 SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1 amends Government Code Section 30.453, Jurisdiction, to delete a reference to a repealed statute and replace it with a reference to the sections of the Texas Local Government Code where the old statute was recodified. SECTION 2 amends Government Code Section 30.454, Judge, Subsecs. (a) and (d) and adds new Subsecs. (e) and (f). Subsec. (a) is amended to provide that if the City of Garland has more than one municipal judge, the city shall appoint one of the judges as chief judge. Subsecs. (b) and (c) are unchanged. Subsec. (d) is amended to establish the qualifications for any alternate judge appointed by the City Council to serve in the absence of the municipal court judges, and to clarify that any alternate judge appointed in the absence of a municipal court judge has the same powers and duties of a municipal court judge. New Subsec. (e) provides for the exchange of benches. New Subsec. (f) requires a judge to take judicial notice of city ordinances and the boundaries of the City in cases before the Garland Municipal Court of Record. SECTION 3 amends Government Code Section 30.456, Court Reporter. Subsec. (a) is amended to provide that the chief judge, instead of the governing body, shall appoint the official court reporter for the court. New language requires the governing body of the city to determine and provide compensation for the court reporter. For clarification "and proceedings" is added after "cases tried" in the requirement that an official court reporter be provided for the purpose of preserving the record. Subsec. (b) is amended to require the court reporter to keep the record for 20 days after the last day of the court proceeding, trial or denial of a motion for a new trial. Subsec. (c) is amended to provide that the court reporter need not record testimony unless the judge requests a record or one of the parties files a request for a record in writing prior to the beginning of the trial or proceeding. New Subsec. (d) authorizes the governing body to provide for the recording of proceedings by a good quality electronic recording device instead of providing a court reporter. The recording must be kept for 20 days after the proceeding, trial, or denial of motion for a new trial. Proceedings that are appealed shall be transcribed from the recording by an official court reporter. SECTION 4 amends Government Code Sections 30.461(b) and (c). Subsec. (b) was amended to specify that a defendant's motion for new trial is overruled by operation of law if the court does not rule on the motion in 21 days after the motion is filed. Subsec. (c) was amended to require the defendant to give notice of an appeal in order to perfect an appeal, to specify that the notice must be in writing, to clarify that the motion to which reference is made in Subsec. (c) is a motion "for new trial," and to strike language made obsolete by additions to this section (that the defendant may give notice of an appeal following an order overruling a motion for new trial). SECTION 5. Effective date. SECTION 6. Emergency clause.