By Ellis                                         S.B. No. 825

      75R3751 MWV-F                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to educational requirements for court coordinators.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 56.006, Government Code, is amended to

 1-5     read as follows:

 1-6           Sec. 56.006.  RULES; OVERSIGHT.  (a)  The court of criminal

 1-7     appeals may adopt rules for programs relating to education and

 1-8     training for attorneys, judges, [court personnel, and] justices of

 1-9     the peace, and court personnel,  including court coordinators, as

1-10     provided by Section 56.003 and for the administration of those

1-11     programs, including rules that:

1-12                 (1)  require entities receiving a grant of funds to

1-13     provide legislatively required training; and

1-14                 (2)  base the awarding of grant funds to an entity on

1-15     qualitative information about the entity's programs or services and

1-16     the entity's ability to meet financial performance standards.

1-17           (b)  The court of criminal appeals, for the proper

1-18     administration of this chapter and as part of its oversight of

1-19     training programs for attorneys, judges, [court personnel, and]

1-20     justices of the peace, and court personnel, including  court

1-21     coordinators, as provided by Section 56.003, shall monitor both the

1-22     financial performance and the program performance of entities

1-23     receiving  a grant of funds under this chapter.

1-24           SECTION 2.  Subchapter E, Chapter 74, Government Code, is

 2-1     amended by adding Section 74.106 to read as follows:

 2-2           Sec. 74.106.  CONTINUING EDUCATION.  (a)  Except as provided

 2-3     by Subsection (b), a court coordinator of a district court or

 2-4     statutory county court  shall annually complete 16 hours of

 2-5     continuing education as provided by rules adopted by the court of

 2-6     criminal appeals under Chapter 56.

 2-7           (b)  The court of criminal appeals may not require a court

 2-8     coordinator to complete continuing education instruction during a

 2-9     year in  which the judge employing the court coordinator certifies

2-10     to the court of criminal appeals that state and local funds are not

2-11     available for the court coordinator's continuing education.

2-12           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-13           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-14     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-15     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-16     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-17     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.