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.
1-30 * * * * *