Legislative Report

The 2009 Legislative Report has been issued and is available online, see http://www.courts.state.tx.us/tjc/pdf/81st_leg_update.pdf
Below are selected bills requiring implementation within the Judicial Branch.

HB 1861: Provides for Judicial Branch inclusion in the Emergency Management statutes and recognizes the Supreme Court’s authority to alter proceedings in an emergency. The Court is considering adoption of “pre-disaster orders.”

SB 1259: Provides for Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, and intermediate courts of appeals clerks to accept and store digital documents. Requires the Supreme Court to adopt privacy rules for information to be made available on the Internet, such as through TAMES (see Information Technology & Data). The Court is considering privacy rules proposed by the Supreme Court Advisory Committee in conjunction with relevant legislation, federal privacy rules, and other states’ privacy rules. The Court intends to promulgate privacy rules in the fall of 2009.

HB 4314: Authorizes the Court of Criminal Appeals to adopt rules for implementation of eFiling in capital cases.

HB 4009: Requires the Health and Human Services Commission, with assistance from OCA, DPS, and local law enforcement agencies, to create training programs designed to increase the awareness of judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement personnel of the needs of domestic victims, the availability of services, the database of services, and potential funding sources for those services.

HB 1711: Requires the Department of Criminal Justice to establish a Reentry Task Force to develop plans for reintegrating offenders. TDCJ must coordinate with OCA in establishing this task force. Although HB 1711 contains the “Ogden amendment,” we are advised that TDCJ is implementing the parts of the bill with no fiscal impact, presumably including the Task Force.

SB 1091: Establishes a capital writs committee and office of capital writs, and requires OCA and the Task Force on Indigent Defense to provide administrative support to the regional presiding judges in maintaining a list of competent counsel for appointment under Art. 11.071, CCP.