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ANALYSIS
C.S.S.B. 1233
amends the Agriculture Code to authorize a county clerk to accept
electronic filing or rerecording of an earmark, brand, tattoo, electronic
device, or other type of mark for which a recording is required by law.
C.S.S.B. 1233
amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to authorize a licensed jailer to
execute lawful process issued to the jailer by any magistrate or court on a
person confined in the jail at which the jailer is employed to the same
extent that a peace officer is authorized, under certain provisions, to
execute process, including a warrant, capias, subpoena, or attachment.
C.S.S.B. 1233
authorizes a peace officer summoned to testify before a grand jury, with
the consent of the foreman of the grand jury and the attorney representing
the state, to testify through the use of a closed circuit video
teleconferencing system that meets certain specifications. The bill
requires a peace officer testifying through the use of a closed circuit
video teleconferencing system, in addition to being administered the oath
for a witness and before being interrogated, to affirm that no person other
than a person in the grand jury room is capable of hearing the peace
officer's testimony and that the peace officer's testimony is not being
recorded or otherwise preserved by any person at the location from which
the peace officer is testifying. The bill requires such testimony received
from a peace officer to be recorded and preserved.
C.S.S.B. 1233
adds to the list of persons authorized to be present in a grand jury room
while the grand jury is conducting proceedings to include a person
operating such a video teleconferencing system and makes such a person, in
addition to other specified individuals, liable to a fine as for contempt
of the court, not exceeding $500, imprisonment not exceeding 30 days, or
both the fine and imprisonment, for disclosing anything transpiring before
the grand jury, regardless of whether the thing transpiring is recorded, in
the course of the official duties of the grand jury.
C.S.S.B. 1233
establishes that a court reporter or court recorder is not required to
transcribe or make a separate recording of a plea taken by closed circuit
video teleconferencing unless an appeal is taken in the case and a party
requests a transcript. The bill establishes that the loss or destruction
of or failure to make a video recording of a plea entered by closed circuit
video teleconferencing is not alone sufficient grounds for a defendant to
withdraw the defendant's plea or to request the court to set aside a
conviction, sentence, or plea.
C.S.S.B.
1233 authorizes any deposition or testimony of an inmate witness in a
proceeding in the prosecution of a criminal offense in which an inmate in
the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is required to
testify as a witness to be conducted by a video teleconferencing system in
the manner described by provisions of law relating to a plea or waiver of
rights by closed circuit video teleconferencing, as amended by the bill,
rather than by electronic means in the same manner as permitted in civil
cases under miscellaneous trial matters provisions relating to the use of
communication equipment in certain proceedings.
C.S.S.B.
1233 authorizes a medical examiner to charge reasonable fees for services
provided by the office of medical examiner under applicable provisions,
including cremation approvals, court testimonies, consultations, and
depositions. The bill requires the commissioners court to approve the
amount of the fee before the fee may be assessed and prohibits the fee from
exceeding the amount necessary to provide such services. The bill
prohibits the fee from being assessed against the county's district
attorney or a county office.
C.S.S.B.
1233 amends the Election Code to authorize the employment of a county
elections administrator to be suspended, with or without pay, as an
alternative to being terminated under certain conditions.
C.S.S.B. 1233
increases from three to six the number of counties with a population of
100,000 or more, and from two to four the number of counties with a
population of less than 100,000, that the secretary of state is authorized
to select to participate in a program to eliminate county election precinct
polling places and establish countywide polling places for certain
elections.
C.S.S.B. 1233
amends the Family Code, in provisions relating to fees and charges assessed
and collected by a domestic relations office, to establish that the first
payment of a monthly service fee not to exceed $3 to be paid annually in
advance by a managing conservator and possessory conservator for whom the
domestic relations office provides child support services, rather than a
reasonable attorney's fee and court costs incurred or ordered by the court,
is due on the date that the person required to pay support is ordered to
begin child support, alimony, or separate maintenance payments.
C.S.S.B.
1233 amends the Government Code to change the amount of the fee a district
clerk is required to collect for a certified copy of a record, judgment,
order, pleading, or paper on file or of record in the district clerk's
office, including certificate and seal, for each page or part of a page,
from an amount of $1 to an amount not to exceed $1 and makes a conforming
change in provisions relating to Government Code district court fees and
costs.
C.S.S.B. 1233
authorizes a court in a county to which a Civil Practice and Remedies Code
provision relating to Spanish language interpreters in certain border
counties applies to appoint a spoken language interpreter who is not a
licensed court interpreter.
C.S.S.B.
1233 includes a county commissioners court under provisions applicable to a
municipality authorizing the governing body of a municipality to receive
from staff, and authorizing a member of the governing body to make, a
report about items of community interest during a meeting of the governing
body without having given notice of the subject of the report as required
by the open meetings law if no action is taken and, with certain
exceptions, possible action is not discussed regarding the information
provided in the report. The bill makes conforming changes, including a
change in the applicable definition of "items of community
interest."
C.S.S.B.
1233, in a provision authorizing the county commissioners court to conduct
a closed meeting to deliberate business and financial issues relating to a
contract being negotiated, removes language limiting the authorization to a
commissioners court of a county with a population of 400,000 or more.
C.S.S.B.
1233 amends the Health and Safety Code to redefine "general revenue
levy," for purposes of the Indigent Health Care and Treatment Act, to
include property taxes imposed by a county that are not dedicated to the
payment of principal or interest on county debt.
C.S.S.B. 1233
amends the Local Government Code to authorize the commissioners court of a
county to authorize a county or precinct officer who collects fees, fines,
court costs, or other charges on behalf of the county or the state to
accept payment by the electronic processing of checks. The bill authorizes
the commissioners court to also authorize a county or precinct officer to
collect and retain a fee for processing the payment by the electronic
processing of checks.
C.S.S.B.
1233 authorizes a self-insuring county or the intergovernmental pool
operating under provisions relating to a county government liability
insurance pool, under policies concerning the provision of coverages
adopted by the county's commissioners court or the pool's governing body, to
require reimbursement for the provision of punitive damage coverage from a
person to whom the county or intergovernmental pool provides coverage.
C.S.S.B.
1233 makes the requirement that an exclusive county contract with a person
to market a computer software application or software system be awarded in
compliance with certain alternative competitive procedures for insurance or
high technology items contingent on the original contract for development
of the application or system not including a provision for marketing the
application or system. The bill removes language requiring a county, upon
request of any person and except as otherwise provided, to sell or license
software, except county software that protects county computer systems from
unauthorized use or access, for a price negotiated between the county and
the person, not to exceed the developmental cost to the county. The bill
instead authorizes a county, except as otherwise provided, to sell or
license software for a price negotiated between the county and the purchaser
or licensee, including another governmental entity.
C.S.S.B.
1233, in a provision establishing that an order by the commissioners court
of a county prohibiting or restricting outdoor burning in all or part of
the unincorporated area of the county expires on the date a determination
is made by the commissioners court that circumstances no longer exist that
would create a public safety hazard that would be exacerbated by outdoor
burning, to include as an alternative such a determination made by the
county judge or fire marshal if designated for that purpose by the
commissioners court.
C.S.S.B.
1233 authorizes more than one county assistance district to be created in a
county, but prohibits more than one district from being created in a
commissioners precinct. The bill changes the maximum combined rate of all
local sales and use taxes authorized to be imposed under certain conditions
in a district from two percent to the maximum combined rate that is
prescribed by Tax Code provisions relating to municipal and county sales
and use taxes.
C.S.S.B.
1233 authorizes territory of a municipality that was included in a proposed
county assistance district but is excluded from the district by the
governing body of the municipality to subsequently be included in another
district after complying with applicable statutory requirements and after
an election is held regarding inclusion in a district and imposition of the
district's sales and use tax. The bill removes a provision prohibiting
another election on the question of creating a county assistance district
from being held in a county before the first anniversary of the most recent
election concerning the creation of a district if a majority of the votes
received at the election are against the creation of the district. The bill
instead provides that if a majority of the votes received at such an
election are against the creation of a district, the district is not
created and authorizes the county at any time to call one or more elections
on the question of creating one or more county assistance districts.
C.S.S.B.
1233 authorizes the governing body of a district by order, in addition to the
authority to include an area in a county assistance district by election,
to include an area in the district on receipt of a petition or petitions
signed by the owner or owners of the majority of the land in the area to be
included in the district and provides that no election is required if there
are no registered voters in the area to be included in the district. The
bill authorizes a county commissioners court by order to exclude an area
from the district if the district has no outstanding bonds payable wholly
or partly from sales and use taxes and the exclusion does not impair any
outstanding district debt or contractual obligation.
C.S.S.B.
1233 replaces a provision establishing that the commissioners court of the
county in which a county assistance district is created is the governing
body of the district with a provision requiring the commissioners court of
the county in which such a district is created by order to provide that the
commissioners court is the governing body of the district or that the
commissioners court shall appoint a governing body of the district. The
bill requires a board of directors appointed by the commissioners court to
consist of five directors and sets out provisions relating to terms and
eligibility.
C.S.S.B.
1233 authorizes a county assistance district to enter into agreements with
municipalities necessary or convenient to achieve the district's purposes,
including agreements regarding the duration, rate, and allocation between
the district and the municipality of sales and use taxes. The bill requires
the rate of an adopted tax to be in increments of one-eighth of one
percent, rather than requiring the rate of such a tax to be one-eighth,
one-fourth, three-eighths, or one-half of one percent.
C.S.S.B.
1233 makes the authorization of a county assistance district that has
adopted a sales and use tax by order to change the rate of the tax or
repeal the tax, if the change or repeal is approved by a majority of the
votes received in the district at an election held for that purpose,
applicable only to an increase in the rate of the sales and use tax to a
rate that exceeds the rate approved at an election on the creation or
expansion of the district. The bill authorizes a district that has adopted
a sales and use tax, by order and subject to the maximum combined rate, to
reduce the rate of the tax or repeal the tax without an election, except
that the district may not repeal the sales and use tax or reduce its rate
below the amount pledged to secure payment of an outstanding district debt
or contractual obligation. The bill authorizes such a district to increase
the rate of the sales and use tax, if the increased rate of the sales and
use tax will not exceed the rate approved at an election on the creation or
expansion of the district. The bill removes the specified cap of one-half
of one percent to which the sales and use tax may be changed.
C.S.S.B.
1233 amends the Property Code to require a person filing certain notice of
sale of residential property under a contract lien to submit to the county
clerk a completed form that provides the zip code for the property. The
bill requires the trustee or sheriff, on completion of a sale of real
property, to submit to the county clerk a completed form that contains
information on whether the property is residential and the zip code of the
property. The bill requires the county clerk, not later than the 30th day
after the date of receipt of an applicable form, to transmit the form to
the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA). The bill
requires the board of the TDHCA to prescribe the required forms and authorizes
the forms to only request information on whether the property is
residential and the zip code of the property. The bill requires the TDHCA to
report the information received under these provisions relating to
foreclosure data collection quarterly to the legislature in a format
established by the board by rule and requires the board, not later than
January 1, 2012, to adopt the required forms and rules. The bill makes the
change in law made by such provisions applicable only to a notice of sale
filed on or after January 1, 2012. The bill defines
"department."
C.S.S.B.
1233 makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes.
C.S.S.B.
1233 repeals the following provisions of the Local Government Code:
·
Section 86.022, authorizing a constable to call for
assistance any resident of the county who is convenient if the constable
encounters resistance in the execution of any lawful process or in the
arrest of an offender
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Section 112.008, requiring the commissioners court of a
county to maintain a county finance ledger with an index
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Section 387.010(d), relating to ballot language to repeal a
county assistance district tax
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