By Ellis                                              S.C.R. No. 15
         76R1220 RVH-D                           
                                CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-1           WHEREAS, While jury service is a civic duty for many
 1-2     Americans, extended jury service can create significant financial
 1-3     hardship on jurors, and for many citizens the honor and privilege
 1-4     of serving on a jury becomes instead a burden that not only tends
 1-5     to limit participation in jury service but ultimately reduces the
 1-6     representativeness of juries in an increasingly diverse society;
 1-7     and
 1-8           WHEREAS, Under current law, jurors are entitled to
 1-9     reimbursement of expenses in an amount not less than $6 nor more
1-10     than $50 for each day of jury service, with the actual amount being
1-11     determined by the county commissioners court; the law also allows a
1-12     presiding judge, under certain circumstances, to increase the daily
1-13     reimbursement above the amount set by the commissioners court
1-14     provided that reimbursement does not exceed the maximum allowable
1-15     amount of $50 per day, with the additional costs in these cases
1-16     being shared equally by the parties involved; and
1-17           WHEREAS, Because jurors' compensation often falls  at the
1-18     lower end of this reimbursement schedule, jury duty participation
1-19     may cause undue financial hardships on citizens who incur
1-20     substantial traveling and other daily expenses when responding to a
1-21     jury summons; and
1-22           WHEREAS, To alleviate potential financial hardships for those
1-23     jurors who serve for an extended period of time, a task force
1-24     appointed by the Supreme Court of Texas  recommended increasing the
 2-1     reimbursement of expenses for jurors to $40 per day beginning on
 2-2     the second day of jury service; in its 1997 report  the task force
 2-3     also  recommended that counties be allowed the option of offering
 2-4     to jurors an array of first-day incentives; and
 2-5           WHEREAS, In addition to easing the financial burden that jury
 2-6     service imposes on some citizens, the recommendations of the
 2-7     Supreme Court of Texas Jury Task Force regarding an increase in the
 2-8     reimbursement of expenses for jurors and other incentives also
 2-9     would facilitate the court system's efforts to increase the number
2-10     and diversity of people who are able to participate in the state's
2-11     jury system; now, therefore, be it
2-12           RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas
2-13     hereby direct the Texas Judicial Council to examine the costs of
2-14     increasing reimbursement of expenses of jurors to $40 after the
2-15     first day of trial and to examine the feasibility of allowing
2-16     counties to offer other incentives to jurors for service; and, be
2-17     it further
2-18           RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official
2-19     copy of this resolution to the executive director of the Texas
2-20     Judicial Council.