Honorable John T. Smithee, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1604 by Bucy (relating to public access to criminal proceedings.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to clarify that magistration proceedings are open to the public. Under the provisions of the bill, courts may provide public access by livestream or videoconference and may impose reasonable limits on in-person access to magistration courts for safety reasons or to prevent overcrowding.
According to the Office of Court Administration (OCA), no significant impact to the state court system is anticipated.
Local Government Impact
Local governments may incur expenses related to providing public access by livestream or videoconference if their courts lack the capability to provide in-person public access to magistration hearings, but the cost cannot be determined due to the number of those entities being unknown.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 302 Office of the Attorney General