| TO: | Honorable Todd Hunter, Chair, House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB3995 by Hunter (Relating to the operation of the judiciary.), As Introduced |
The bill would amend the Government Code, the Election Code, and the Civil Practice and Remedies Code relating to the operation of the judiciary. The bill would establish a system of retention elections for certain judges. While the financing of elections would undoubtedly be affected, the cost of conducting the election from the perspective of the State is not anticipated to be significantly affected. The bill would provide for the indemnification and defense of district judges and appellate court judges. Because judges already have judicial immunity, this analysis assumes these additional provisions would not have a significant fiscal implication. The bill would authorize certain courts to take certain actions in times of disaster. Although some of the actions may result in additional costs, this analysis assumes such costs could be reasonably absorbed within existing resources. The bill would authorize the Supreme Court and the intermediate courts of appeals to maintain almost all court documents electronically. This analysis assumes existing resources for the Supreme Court and the 14 Courts of Appeals will be sufficicient to implement the bill's provisions relating to electronic storage.
The bill would take immediate effect if the bill receives two-thirds the vote of all members. Otherwise, the bill would take effect September 1, 2009.
| Source Agencies: | 212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, MN, TB
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