HOUSE 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 Texas law, jurors are entitled to
1-9 reimbursement of expenses in an amount not less that $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, Furthermore, because Texas law does not require
1-23 employers to pay employees for the time they take off work to
1-24 perform jury service, the financial hardship falls most heavily on
2-1 hourly wage earners who cannot afford the difference between the $6
2-2 per day compensation and the amount of wages lost; and
2-3 WHEREAS, Consequently, minorities, young adults, and other
2-4 lower-income individuals are significantly underrepresented on many
2-5 Texas juries, which may potentially violate a constitutional
2-6 requirement that juries represent a cross-section of the community;
2-7 and
2-8 WHEREAS, While county commissioners courts may provide for
2-9 juror compensation above the state minimum, courts in poorer
2-10 communities may be hard pressed to do so, and even in those
2-11 communities that do pay above the minimum, the higher compensation
2-12 still does not offset the amount of wages a juror may forgo during
2-13 an extended jury trial; additional incentives are needed to lessen
2-14 or remove jurors' financial burdens and thus ensure greater public
2-15 participation in jury service and safeguard constitutional
2-16 guarantees; now, therefore, be it
2-17 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
2-18 hereby respectfully request the Congress of the United States to
2-19 pass legislation amending the Internal Revenue Code to give each
2-20 person who serves on a jury under certain circumstances or in
2-21 certain localities a $40 tax credit per day of service and to give
2-22 each person who is summoned and appears, but does not serve, a
2-23 one-time $40 tax credit for that day; and, be it further
2-24 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
2-25 copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
2-26 the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of
2-27 the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of
3-1 the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this
3-2 resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a
3-3 memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.
Jones of Dallas
_______________________________ _______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.C.R. No. 104 was adopted by the House on
April 20, 2001, by a non-record vote.
_______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.C.R. No. 104 was adopted by the Senate on
May 18, 2001, by a viva-voce vote.
_______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________________
Date
__________________________
Governor