BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 2409

By: Naishtat

Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Current law refers to a probate judge's court administrator as an "administrative assistant." Interested parties assert that in many counties, an administrative assistant performs clerical or secretarial duties, while a court administrator is almost always a lawyer, handles personnel issues, and often acts as a sounding board for legal issues before the court. Noting that the salary structure in many counties is tied to a person's job title, the parties contend that the law should reflect a title commensurate with the job's responsibilities, so court administrators can be paid accordingly. H.B. 2409 seeks to address this issue by updating the language used to refer to a probate judge's court administrator.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 2409 amends the Government Code to provide for the hiring of a court administrator, rather than an administrative assistant, by a statutory probate court judge. The bill establishes that on the bill's effective date, a person serving as an administrative assistant in a statutory probate court continues service as a court administrator in the statutory probate court unless otherwise removed as provided by law.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2013.