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