By Harris                                        S.B. No. 796

      75R2619 SAW-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the establishment of a pilot program administered by

 1-3     the Office of Court Administration to improve the efficiency of

 1-4     court processing of family law cases.

 1-5           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-6           SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 72, Government Code, is

 1-7     amended by adding Section 72.028 to read as follows:

 1-8           Sec. 72.028.  PILOT PROGRAM: FAMILY LAW CASE PROCESSING.  (a)

 1-9     The office shall establish a pilot program to improve the

1-10     efficiency of court processing of family law cases, including child

1-11     support enforcement and foster care cases.

1-12           (b)  The office shall award grants to at least two counties

1-13     for the development of pilot program projects during each fiscal

1-14     year. In awarding grants, the office shall give preference to Bexar

1-15     and Harris counties.

1-16           (c)  To be eligible for a grant, a pilot program project must

1-17     include processes for:

1-18                 (1)  electronic case filing;

1-19                 (2)  automated case tracking;

1-20                 (3)  automated child support delinquency monitoring;

1-21     and

1-22                 (4)  automated statistical reporting to the office and

1-23     to the bureau of vital statistics at the Texas Department of

1-24     Health.

 2-1           (d)  As part of the pilot program, the office shall review

 2-2     county assessments of needs related to processing family law cases

 2-3     and shall provide technical assistance to county and district

 2-4     clerks as requested.

 2-5           (e)  The office may use a reasonable portion of the money

 2-6     appropriated for the pilot program to defray the costs of

 2-7     administering the program.

 2-8           (f)  The attorney general's office and the Department of

 2-9     Protective and Regulatory Services shall cooperate in the

2-10     development of the pilot program.

2-11           (g)  Each state agency or local government participating in

2-12     the pilot program shall identify all pilot program parts that

2-13     qualify for federal financial assistance and seek that assistance.

2-14           (h)  Not later than January 15 of each odd-numbered year, the

2-15     office shall submit a report regarding the effectiveness of the

2-16     pilot program to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker

2-17     of the house of representatives, and the comptroller.  On request,

2-18     the office shall make the report available to any member of the

2-19     legislature.

2-20           SECTION 2.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-21           (b)  The Office of Court Administration shall fully implement

2-22     the pilot program required by Section 72.028, Government Code, as

2-23     added by this Act not later than September 1, 1998.

2-24           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-25     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-26     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-27     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 3-1     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.