| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to exemption of certain firefighters and police officers |
|
|
from jury service. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 62.106(a), Government Code, is amended |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) A person qualified to serve as a petit juror may |
|
|
establish an exemption from jury service if the person: |
|
|
(1) is over 70 years of age; |
|
|
(2) has legal custody of a child younger than 12 years |
|
|
of age and the person's service on the jury requires leaving the |
|
|
child without adequate supervision; |
|
|
(3) is a student of a public or private secondary |
|
|
school; |
|
|
(4) is a person enrolled and in actual attendance at an |
|
|
institution of higher education; |
|
|
(5) is an officer or an employee of the senate, the |
|
|
house of representatives, or any department, commission, board, |
|
|
office, or other agency in the legislative branch of state |
|
|
government; |
|
|
(6) is summoned for service in a county with a |
|
|
population of at least 200,000, unless that county uses a jury plan |
|
|
under Section 62.011 and the period authorized under Section |
|
|
62.011(b)(5) exceeds two years, and the person has served as a petit |
|
|
juror in the county during the 24-month period preceding the date |
|
|
the person is to appear for jury service; |
|
|
(7) is the primary caretaker of a person who is an |
|
|
invalid unable to care for himself or herself; |
|
|
(8) except as provided by Subsection (b), is summoned |
|
|
for service in a county with a population of at least 250,000 and |
|
|
the person has served as a petit juror in the county during the |
|
|
three-year period preceding the date the person is to appear for |
|
|
jury service; [or] |
|
|
(9) is a member of the United States military forces |
|
|
serving on active duty and deployed to a location away from the |
|
|
person's home station and out of the person's county of residence; |
|
|
(10) is a firefighter, including a fire chief, who is |
|
|
a permanent, paid employee of the fire department of a municipality |
|
|
or county or of a special district or authority that provides |
|
|
firefighting services; or |
|
|
(11) is a police officer, including a police chief, |
|
|
who is a permanent, paid employee of the police department of a |
|
|
municipality or county. |
|
|
SECTION 2. This Act applies only to a person summoned to |
|
|
appear for jury service who is required to appear on or after the |
|
|
effective date of this Act. A person summoned to appear for jury |
|
|
service who is required to appear before the effective date of this |
|
|
Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before the |
|
|
effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in |
|
|
effect for that purpose. |
|
|
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |