1-1     By:  Gallego (Senate Sponsor - Ellis)                  H.B. No. 786

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 4, 1997;

 1-3     April 8, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on

 1-4     Jurisprudence; April 23, 1997, reported favorably by the following

 1-5     vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0; April 23, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to statistics gathered by the Texas Judicial Council.

 1-9           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-10           SECTION 1.  Section 71.035(b), Government Code, is amended to

1-11     read as follows:

1-12           (b)  The council may require a state justice, judge, clerk,

1-13     or other court official, as an official duty, to comply with

1-14     reasonable requirements for supplying statistics pertaining to the

1-15     amount and character of the civil and criminal business transacted

1-16     by the court or other information on the conduct, operation, or

1-17     business of his court or the office of the clerk of his court that

1-18     is within the scope of the functions of the council.  If the

1-19     official does not supply the information within a reasonable time

1-20     after the request, he is presumed to have wilfully refused the

1-21     request.  The council shall [may] prescribe procedures, definitions

1-22     of terms, and forms for supplying the statistics and other

1-23     information.

1-24           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-25           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-26     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-27     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-28     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-29     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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