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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to associate judges and court reporters for certain family |
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law cases and proceedings. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 201.004, Family Code, is amended by |
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adding Subsection (e) to read as follows: |
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(e) A resident of the county served by the associate judge |
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may file with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct a petition |
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for removal of the associate judge. If the commission finds the |
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associate judge abused the judge's discretion or acted in bad faith |
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against a party before the associate judge, the commission may |
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terminate the employment of the associate judge for the court |
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served by the associate judge. An associate judge's employment |
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termination does not prevent a de novo appeal of the associate |
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judge's ruling to any district court in the county. |
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SECTION 2. Section 201.009, Family Code, is amended to read |
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as follows: |
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Sec. 201.009. COURT REPORTER; RECORD. In [(a) A court
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reporter may be provided during] a hearing held by an associate |
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judge appointed under this chapter, a court reporter must be |
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provided or the proceedings must be recorded with a good quality |
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electronic audio recording device. [A court reporter is required
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to be provided when the associate judge presides over a jury trial
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or a contested final termination hearing.
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[(b)
A party, the associate judge, or the referring court
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may provide for a reporter during the hearing, if one is not
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otherwise provided.
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[(c)
Except as provided by Subsection (a), in the absence of
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a court reporter or on agreement of the parties, the record may be
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preserved by any means approved by the associate judge.
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[(d)
The referring court or associate judge may tax the
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expense of preserving the record under Subsection (c) as costs.
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[(e)
On a request for a de novo hearing, the referring court
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may consider testimony or other evidence in the record in addition
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to witnesses or other matters presented under Section 201.015.] |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |