TO: | Honorable Jeff Wentworth, Chair, Senate Committee on Jurisprudence |
FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board |
IN RE: | SB348 by Wentworth (Relating to the availability of judges and magistrates for proceedings related to chemically dependent persons.), As Introduced |
The bill would require a probate court or court having probate jurisdiction to be open during normal business hours and for the probate judge or magistrate to be available at all times upon request of certain persons taken into custody, detained, or that is a proposed patient.
Under current statute, probate courts are required to be open at all times, which in effect results in applicable judges and magistrate's being available at all times, as well as other court employees. It is anticipated that the reduction to business hours only for the court to be open would provide an operational savings to the courts, as the judges and magistrates would have to be "on call" rather than having the courts staffed around the clock.
Source Agencies: |
LBB Staff: | JOB, DLBa
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