Honorable John T. Smithee, Chair, House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB824 by Huffman (Relating to the number of jurors required in certain civil cases pending in a statutory county court.), As Engrossed
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Government Code to provide that a jury would be composed of 12 members, unless the parties agree to a jury composed of six members, and the procedures regarding jury panels and selection of jurors would be the same as for district courts in that county when the amount in controversy is $200,000 or more. The bill would allow commissioners courts to issue an order reducing the civil jurisdiction of the court to $200,000 in instances where a statutory county court has concurrent jurisdiction with the district court in civil cases in which the amount in controversy exceeds $200,000.
Based on the analysis of the Office of Court Administration and Comptroller of Public Accounts, duties and responsibilities associated with implementing the provisions of the bill could be accomplished by utilizing existing resources.
Local Government Impact
The fiscal implications of the bill for local governments are indeterminate. The Office of Court Administration assumes most statutory county courts' jurisdiction is capped at $200,000 and would not be impacted by the bill. However, there may be some fiscal impact to counties related to additional juror pay that would vary depending on the number of civil jury trials where the amount in controversy exceeds $200,000 in counties where the statutory county courts' jurisdiction exceeds $200,000. In addition, there is likely to be some fiscal impact to counties that would need to modify courtroom space to accommodate changes required by the bill since most statutory county courts have space for only 6-8 jurors.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts