By: Ellis, Armbrister, Ratliff S.B. No. 1417 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT 1-1 relating to judicial efficiency. 1-2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-3 SECTION 1. Chapter 51, Government Code, is amended by adding 1-4 Subchapter K to read as follows: 1-5 SUBCHAPTER K. TIME PAYMENT FEE 1-6 Sec. 51.921. TIME PAYMENT FEE. (a) In addition to other 1-7 fees authorized or required by law, the clerk of each district 1-8 court, statutory county court, county court at law, and justice 1-9 court shall collect a fee of $25 from a person who: 1-10 (1) has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor; 1-11 (2) has been ordered to pay a fine, court costs, or 1-12 restitution by the court; and 1-13 (3) seeks to pay the fine, court costs, or restitution 1-14 over a period of time rather than immediately. 1-15 (b) Court fees under this section shall be collected in the 1-16 same manner as other fees, fines, or costs in the case. The 1-17 officer collecting the fees shall keep separate records of the 1-18 money collected under this section and shall deposit the money in 1-19 the county or municipal treasury, as appropriate. 1-20 (c) The custodian of the county treasury shall keep a record 1-21 of the amount of money on deposit collected under this section and 1-22 shall send 50 percent of the fees collected under this section to 1-23 the comptroller at least as frequently as monthly. The comptroller 2-1 shall deposit the fees received to the credit of the general 2-2 revenue fund. 2-3 (d) The custodian of the county treasury shall deposit 10 2-4 percent of the fees collected under this section to the comptroller 2-5 at least as frequently as monthly. The comptroller shall deposit 2-6 the fees received pursuant to this subsection to the credit of the 2-7 Office of Court Administration Collections Grant Account. 2-8 (e) The custodian of the county treasury shall deposit 40 2-9 percent of the fees collected under this section in the general 2-10 revenue account of the county or municipality. 2-11 SECTION 2. Chapter 72, Government Code, is amended by adding 2-12 Subchapter D to read as follows: 2-13 SUBCHAPTER D. JUDICIAL LAW CLERK AND STAFF ATTORNEY 2-14 RECRUITMENT 2-15 Sec. 72.041. RECRUITMENT PROGRAM. (a) In this section, 2-16 "bar association" includes the State Bar of Texas, a national bar 2-17 association, and a local bar association. 2-18 (b) The office shall establish a recruitment program to 2-19 assist the courts of this state in recruiting individuals for 2-20 employment as judicial law clerks and staff attorneys. 2-21 (c) The Texas Judicial Council shall provide the office 2-22 policy advice regarding the program. 2-23 (d) The office shall create a judicial law clerk and staff 2-24 attorney recruitment program committee. The committee must include 2-25 representatives of the judiciary, bar associations, law schools, 3-1 and former judicial law clerks and staff attorneys. 3-2 (e) With the assistance of the office, the committee shall: 3-3 (1) facilitate the exchange of information between the 3-4 courts, law students, and attorneys regarding employment 3-5 opportunities for law students and attorneys: 3-6 (A) by developing a book of resumes of law 3-7 students and attorneys; 3-8 (B) by encouraging judges and former judges to 3-9 act as mentors for judicial law clerks and attorneys; and 3-10 (C) by coordinating bar association programs to 3-11 provide information regarding employment opportunities offered by 3-12 the courts; 3-13 (2) produce a directory of the courts of this state; 3-14 (3) develop and encourage courts to use a uniform 3-15 employment application; 3-16 (4) facilitate the inclusion of the courts of this 3-17 state in career orientation programs and law school placement 3-18 programs; and 3-19 (5) facilitate formal classroom presentations in law 3-20 schools in cooperation with law school career services offices. 3-21 Sec. 72.042. JUDICIAL LAW CLERK STUDENT LOAN FUND. (a) In 3-22 this section, "fund" means the judicial law clerk student loan 3-23 fund. 3-24 (b) The judicial law clerk student loan fund is an account 3-25 in the general revenue fund of the state treasury. 4-1 (c) The fund may be used to assist a judicial law clerk or 4-2 attorney employed by a court of this state in repaying a debt 4-3 incurred as a result of attending law school. 4-4 (d) Under the direction of the Texas Judicial Council, the 4-5 office shall administer the fund. 4-6 (e) The office shall by rule establish eligibility for 4-7 assistance from the fund. The office shall base a judicial law 4-8 clerk's eligibility for assistance on a consideration of the 4-9 economic circumstances of the judicial law clerk. 4-10 (f) The office shall appoint a committee to provide advice 4-11 to the office regarding administration of the fund. The committee 4-12 appointed by the office must include the deans of law schools 4-13 located in this state. Each dean may designate a person to act on 4-14 the committee on behalf of the dean. 4-15 Sec. 72.043. JUDICIAL LAW CLERK EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE. 4-16 (a) The office shall establish a program to assist courts in 4-17 employing judicial law clerks for the courts. 4-18 (b) The program may include direct or indirect support for 4-19 employment of judicial law clerks. 4-20 (c) The office shall by rule establish eligibility standards 4-21 for direct assistance from the program. 4-22 Sec. 72.044. DIVERSITY. The judges of the supreme court, 4-23 court of criminal appeals, and courts of appeals shall encourage 4-24 the recruitment of judicial law clerks and staff attorneys that 4-25 reflect the gender, racial, and ethnic diversity of this state. 5-1 Sec. 72.045. DEMOGRAPHIC CENSUS. (a) The office shall 5-2 annually publish a report regarding the demographic profile of the 5-3 judicial law clerks and attorneys employed by the courts of this 5-4 state. 5-5 (b) The office may request that a court provide demographic 5-6 information to the office. 5-7 SECTION 3. Chapter 72, Government Code, is amended by adding 5-8 Subchapter E to read as follows: 5-9 SUBCHAPTER E. COURT PERFORMANCE STANDARDS 5-10 Sec. 72.081. RULES. The office shall adopt rules and forms 5-11 for administering this subchapter and for obtaining information 5-12 under this subchapter. 5-13 Sec. 72.082. PERFORMANCE REPORT. The office shall annually 5-14 collect and publish a performance report of information regarding 5-15 the efficiency of the courts of this state. 5-16 Sec. 72.083. TRIAL COURTS. The office shall report the 5-17 aggregate clearance rate of cases for the district courts. In this 5-18 section, "clearance rate" means the number of cases disposed of by 5-19 the district courts divided by the number of cases added to the 5-20 dockets of the district courts. 5-21 Sec. 72.084. COURT OF APPEALS. A court of appeals shall 5-22 annually report to the office: 5-23 (1) the number of cases filed with the court during 5-24 the reporting year; 5-25 (2) the number of cases disposed of by the court 6-1 during the reporting year; 6-2 (3) for active cases on the docket of the court on the 6-3 reporting date, the average number of days from the date of 6-4 submission of the case to the court until the reporting date; and 6-5 (4) for each case disposed of during the reporting 6-6 year by the court, the number of days from the date of submission 6-7 of the case to the court until the date of disposition of the case 6-8 by the court. 6-9 Sec. 72.085. COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS. The court of 6-10 criminal appeals shall annually report to the office: 6-11 (1) the number of cases filed with the court during 6-12 the reporting year involving: 6-13 (A) capital punishment; 6-14 (B) an application for writ of habeas corpus; or 6-15 (C) a petition for discretionary review; 6-16 (2) the number of cases disposed of by the court 6-17 during the reporting year involving: 6-18 (A) capital punishment; 6-19 (B) an application for writ of habeas corpus; or 6-20 (C) a petition for discretionary review; 6-21 (3) the average number of days from the date a case 6-22 was filed with the court until the reporting date, for each active 6-23 case on the docket of the court on the reporting date involving: 6-24 (A) capital punishment; 6-25 (B) an application for writ of habeas corpus; or 7-1 (C) a petition for discretionary review; and 7-2 (4) the average number of days from the date a case 7-3 was filed with the court until the date the case was disposed of by 7-4 the court, for each case disposed of during the reporting year by 7-5 the court involving: 7-6 (A) capital punishment; 7-7 (B) an application for writ of habeas corpus; or 7-8 (C) a petition for discretionary review. 7-9 Sec. 72.086. SUPREME COURT. (a) The supreme court shall 7-10 annually report to the office: 7-11 (1) the number of cases filed with the court during 7-12 the reporting year; 7-13 (2) the number of cases disposed of by the court 7-14 during the reporting year; 7-15 (3) for the active cases on the docket of the court on 7-16 the reporting date, the average number of days from the date a case 7-17 was filed with the court until the reporting date; and 7-18 (4) for the cases disposed of during the reporting 7-19 year by the court, the average number of days from the date a case 7-20 was filed with the court until the date of release of the court's 7-21 opinion for the case or the date the case was otherwise disposed of 7-22 by the court. 7-23 (b) For cases on the docket of the court during the 7-24 reporting year, the supreme court shall annually report to the 7-25 office: 8-1 (1) the average number of days from the date a case is 8-2 filed with the court until the date the court releases an order 8-3 announcing its decision granting, overruling, denying, or 8-4 dismissing an application, petition, or motion; 8-5 (2) the average number of days from the date of the 8-6 granting of an application, petition, or motion until the date of 8-7 oral argument of the case; 8-8 (3) the average number of days from the date of the 8-9 oral argument of the case until the date the court issues a signed 8-10 opinion and judgment for the case; and 8-11 (4) the average number of days from the date of filing 8-12 of a case with the court until the date of the release of a per 8-13 curiam opinion. 8-14 SECTION 4. Chapter 72, Government Code, is amended by adding 8-15 Subchapter F to read as follows: 8-16 SUBCHAPTER F. COURT EFFICIENCY 8-17 Sec. 72.091. DUTIES. The office shall: 8-18 (1) assist the courts of this state to develop 8-19 strategies for change; 8-20 (2) continuously evaluate the effectiveness of the 8-21 courts; and 8-22 (3) actively consult with all levels of courts and 8-23 other branches of government. 8-24 Sec. 72.092. EXPENDITURES. The director shall study and 8-25 recommend expenditures and savings of money appropriated for the 9-1 maintenance and operation of the judicial system. 9-2 Sec. 72.093. PERSONNEL. The director, with the approval of 9-3 the chief justice of the supreme court, shall employ the personnel 9-4 needed to execute the duties of the office under this subchapter. 9-5 Sec. 72.094. CONSULTATION AND ASSISTANCE. The director, to 9-6 provide for the efficient administration of the courts, shall 9-7 consult with and assist: 9-8 (1) court clerks; 9-9 (2) other court officers or employees; 9-10 (3) clerks or other officers or employees of offices 9-11 related to and serving a court; and 9-12 (4) administrators and coordinators of the courts. 9-13 Sec. 72.095. ANNUAL REPORT. (a) The director shall prepare 9-14 an annual report regarding: 9-15 (1) the activities of the office under this 9-16 subchapter; and 9-17 (2) the results of an examination of the effectiveness 9-18 and efficiency of court operations. 9-19 (b) The director shall recommend to the supreme court 9-20 appropriate means to implement this subchapter. 9-21 Sec. 72.096. ADDITIONAL DUTIES. The chief justice of the 9-22 supreme court may assign the director duties in addition to those 9-23 imposed by this subchapter. 9-24 SECTION 5. Chapter 72, Government Code, is amended by adding 9-25 Subchapter G to read as follows: 10-1 SUBCHAPTER G. COURT COSTS AND FINES COLLECTION PROGRAM 10-2 Sec. 72.101. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: 10-3 (1) "Account" means the Office of Court Administration 10-4 Collections Grant Account. 10-5 (2) "Collections" means amounts of money received by a 10-6 collections officer pursuant to Section 51.921. 10-7 (3) "Collections officer" means the county official 10-8 who is charged by other state law to receive court costs, fines, or 10-9 restitution ordered by a court of the state. 10-10 (4) "County" means a county created within the State 10-11 of Texas pursuant to the laws of the State of Texas or any 10-12 combination or group of counties so created. 10-13 Sec. 72.102. POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) The office by rule 10-14 shall establish a program for providing grants to enhance 10-15 collections. 10-16 (b) The award of grants by the office shall be by contract 10-17 with a county and a collections officer. For each county which 10-18 receives a grant, or part of a grant, the contract awarding the 10-19 grant must include as a party to the contract a county and a 10-20 collections officer. 10-21 Sec. 72.103. OFFICE OF COURT ADMINISTRATION COLLECTIONS 10-22 GRANT ACCOUNT. (a) The Office of Court Administration Collections 10-23 Grant Account is an account in the general revenue fund 10-24 administered by the office. 10-25 (b) Money in the account may only be used for the purposes 11-1 set out in Section 72.102 to pay the reasonable and necessary 11-2 administrative costs of performing the duties of the office under 11-3 this subchapter. The comptroller may pay money from the account 11-4 only on vouchers approved by the office. 11-5 (c) Money available from the account may be supplemented by 11-6 local or federal money and private or public grants. 11-7 SECTION 6. Subtitle F, Title 2, Government Code, is amended 11-8 by adding Chapter 77 to read as follows: 11-9 CHAPTER 77. JUDICIAL COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 11-10 SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS 11-11 Sec. 77.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: 11-12 (1) "Committee" means the Judicial Committee on 11-13 Information Technology. 11-14 (2) "Court" means any tribunal forming a part of the 11-15 judiciary. 11-16 (3) "Internet" means the largest nonproprietary 11-17 nonprofit cooperative public computer network, popularly known as 11-18 the Internet. 11-19 (Sections 77.002-77.010 reserved for expansion 11-20 SUBCHAPTER B. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS 11-21 Sec. 77.011. JUDICIAL COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. 11-22 (a) The committee operates under the direction and supervision of 11-23 the chief justice of the supreme court. 11-24 (b) The committee shall exercise the powers and perform the 11-25 duties or functions imposed on the committee by this chapter or the 12-1 supreme court. 12-2 Sec. 77.012. MEMBERS. (a) The committee is composed of 15 12-3 members appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court. 12-4 (b) The chief justice of the supreme court, in making 12-5 appointments to the committee, shall attempt to select members who 12-6 are representative of, but not limited to, appellate court judges, 12-7 appellate court clerks, district court judges, county court judges, 12-8 statutory probate judges, justices of the peace, municipal court 12-9 judges, district attorneys, court reporters, court administrators, 12-10 district or county clerks, members of the legislature, attorneys, 12-11 and the general public. The members shall be selected based on 12-12 their experience, expertise, or special interest in the use of 12-13 technology in court. A representative from the Office of Court 12-14 Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall serve as a 12-15 nonvoting member of the committee. 12-16 (c) The chief justice of the supreme court shall designate 12-17 the presiding officer of the committee. The presiding officer may 12-18 form subcommittees as needed to accomplish the business of the 12-19 committee. 12-20 (d) A person may not serve on the committee if the person is 12-21 required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305 because of the 12-22 person's activities for compensation on behalf of a profession 12-23 related to the business of the committee. 12-24 Sec. 77.013. COMPENSATION. A member of the committee is not 12-25 entitled to compensation but is entitled to reimbursement of travel 13-1 expenses incurred by the member while conducting the business of 13-2 the committee, as provided in the General Appropriations Act. 13-3 Sec. 77.014. STAFF. The Office of Court Administration of 13-4 the Texas Judicial System shall provide staff for the committee. 13-5 (Sections 77.015-77.030 reserved for expansion 13-6 SUBCHAPTER C. POWERS AND DUTIES; FUNDING 13-7 Sec. 77.031. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES. The committee 13-8 shall: 13-9 (1) develop programs to implement the recommendations 13-10 of the Information Technology Task Force of the Texas Commission on 13-11 Judicial Efficiency; 13-12 (2) develop minimum standards for voice storage and 13-13 retrieval services, including voice messaging and electronic mail 13-14 services, local area networks, Internet access, electronic data 13-15 interchange, data dictionaries, and other technological needs of 13-16 the judicial system; 13-17 (3) develop a coordinated statewide computer and 13-18 communication network that is capable of linking all courts in this 13-19 state; 13-20 (4) encourage efficiency and planning coordination by 13-21 researching the possible uses of existing computer and 13-22 communication networks developed by other state agencies; 13-23 (5) develop minimum standards for an electronically 13-24 based document system to provide for the flow of information within 13-25 the judicial system in electronic form and recommend rules relating 14-1 to the electronic filing of documents with courts; 14-2 (6) develop security guidelines for controlling access 14-3 to and protecting the integrity and confidentiality of information 14-4 available in electronic form; 14-5 (7) develop a state judicial system web page for use 14-6 on the Internet accessible to the public for a reasonable access 14-7 fee set by the supreme court after consultation with the committee; 14-8 (8) develop minimum standards for an internal computer 14-9 and communication network available only to court staff; 14-10 (9) recommend pilot programs relating to the testing 14-11 and demonstration of new technologies as applied to the judicial 14-12 system; 14-13 (10) recommend programs to provide training and 14-14 technical assistance to users of the coordinated statewide computer 14-15 and communication network; 14-16 (11) develop funding priorities regarding the various 14-17 technological needs of the judicial system; and 14-18 (12) recommend distributions to courts from the 14-19 judicial technology account in the judicial fund. 14-20 Sec. 77.032. JUDICIAL TECHNOLOGY ACCOUNT. (a) The judicial 14-21 technology account is an account in the judicial fund administered 14-22 by the committee. 14-23 (b) Money in the judicial technology account may only be 14-24 used for the support of programs that are approved by the committee 14-25 and that provide technological support for the judiciary. The 15-1 comptroller may pay money from the account only on vouchers 15-2 approved by the committee. 15-3 (c) The committee shall file a report with the Legislative 15-4 Budget Board at the end of each fiscal year showing disbursements 15-5 from the account and the purpose for each disbursement. All money 15-6 expended is subject to audit by the comptroller and the state 15-7 auditor. 15-8 (d) Money available from the judicial technology account may 15-9 be supplemented by local or federal money and private or public 15-10 grants. 15-11 SECTION 7. Section 552.272, Government Code, is amended by 15-12 adding Subsection (e) to read as follows: 15-13 (e) The provisions of this section that prohibit a 15-14 governmental entity from imposing a charge for access to 15-15 information that exists in an electronic medium do not apply to the 15-16 collection of a fee set by the supreme court after consultation 15-17 with the Judicial Committee on Information Technology as authorized 15-18 by Section 77.031 for the use of a computerized electronic judicial 15-19 information system. 15-20 SECTION 8. The importance of this legislation and the 15-21 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 15-22 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 15-23 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 15-24 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended. 15-25 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1 16-1 Amend S.B. No. 1417 as follows: 16-2 (1) In SECTION 1 of the bill, in the last sentence of 16-3 proposed Section 51.921(b), Government Code (page 1, line 19, 16-4 engrossed printing), strike "or municipal" and ", as appropriate". 16-5 (2) In SECTION 1 of the bill, strike proposed Section 16-6 51.921(d), Government Code (page 2, lines 3-7, engrossed printing), 16-7 and substitute the following: 16-8 (d) The custodian of the county treasury shall deposit 10 16-9 percent of the fees collected under this section in an appropriate 16-10 account under the control of the officer who collected the fees as 16-11 reimbursement for the expense of making collections under this 16-12 section. 16-13 (3) Strike SECTION 5 of the bill and renumber the subsequent 16-14 SECTIONS of the bill accordingly. 16-15 75R14811 MWV-D Luna