HBA-BSM C.S.H.B. 546 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 546
By: Noriega
Judicial Affairs
3/23/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

There have been some reported incidents of racial slurs and bias occurring
in courtrooms.  Judges are required by law to attend judicial training
classes.  However, such training does not address racial, cultural, and
ethnic awareness issues.  C.S.H.B. 546 adds racial, cultural, and ethnic
sensitivity training in addition to the training already required.   

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority is expressly delegated to the court of criminal appeals in
SECTION 1 (Section 22.111, Government Code) of this bill. 

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 546 amends the Government Code to require the court of criminal
appeals to adopt  rules requiring the training of judges in issues  related
to racial, cultural, and ethnic awareness including training regarding
relevant sections in the Code of Judicial Conduct.  The rules must require
each judge subject to the Rules of Judicial Education to complete the
training within the first four years of service and to complete additional
training during each additional four years of service.  

The bill authorizes the court of criminal appeals to consult with
professional groups and associations in the state that have expertise in
the subject matter to obtain the recommendations of those groups or
associations for instruction content.  The instruction  must include
information about issues related to race fairness and ethnic and cultural
awareness.  The court of criminal appeals or the court's designee is
required to report the name of a judge who does not comply with the above
requirements to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

August 31,  2001.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE
C.S.H.B. 546 differs from the original by adding cultural awareness and
issues related to race fairness into the required training, as well as
training regarding relevant sections in the Code of Judicial Conduct.  The
substitute modifies the amount of and schedule for the training.  The
original bill required the judge to complete training within the first term
and to complete three additional hours of training during each additional
term.  The substitute also removes the provision in the rules that provided
for a method of certification for completion of the training.