By:  Ellis                                                        S.B. No. 1704


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to jury service.                                                     
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 61.001(a), Government Code, is amended 
to read as follows:
	Sec. 61.001.  (a)  Each grand juror or petit juror in a civil 
or criminal case in a district court, criminal district court, 
county court, county court at law, or justice court is entitled to 
receive as reimbursement for travel and other expenses an amount 
not less than $40 [6 nor more than $50] for each day or fraction of 
each day served as a juror.
	SECTION 2.  Section 62.0141, Government Code, is amended to 
read as follows: 
	Sec. 62.0141.  FAILURE TO ANSWER JURY SUMMONS.  In addition 
to any criminal penalty prescribed by law, a person summoned for 
jury service who does not comply with the summons as required by law 
or who knowingly provides false information in a request for an 
exemption or to be excused from jury service is subject to a 
contempt action punishable by a fine of not less than $100 nor more 
than $1,000.
	SECTION 3.  Subchapter A, Chapter 62, Government Code, is 
amended by adding Section 62.0142 to read as follows:
	Sec. 62.0142.  POSTPONEMENT OF JURY SERVICE.  (a)  A person 
summoned for jury service may request a postponement of the 
person's initial appearance for jury service.  The person may 
request the postponement by contacting the clerk of the court in 
person, in writing, or by telephone before the date on which the 
person is summoned to appear.
	(b)  On receipt of a request under Subsection (a), the clerk 
of the court shall grant the person a postponement if:
		(1)  the person has not been granted a postponement in 
that county during the one-year period preceding the date on which 
the person is summoned to appear; and
		(2)  the person and the clerk determine a substitute 
date on which the person will appear for jury service that is not 
later than six months after the date on which the person was 
originally summoned to appear.
	(c)  A person who receives a postponement under Subsection 
(b) may request a subsequent postponement in the manner described 
by Subsection (a).  The clerk of the court may approve the 
subsequent postponement only because of an extreme emergency that 
could not have been anticipated, such as a death in the person's 
family, sudden serious illness suffered by the person, or a natural 
disaster or national emergency in which the person is personally 
involved.  Before the clerk may grant the subsequent postponement, 
the person and the clerk must determine a substitute date on which 
the person will appear for jury service that is not later than six 
months after the date on which the person was to appear after the 
postponement under Subsection (b).
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.