Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB64 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R2419 CAE-D
2	2	By: Huffines S.B. No. 64
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to appellate court procedures and deadlines in a civil
8	8	action.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the "Appellate Court
11	11	Accountability Act."
12	12	SECTION 2. Section 22.001(b), Government Code, is amended
13	13	to read as follows:
14	14	(b) A case over which the court has jurisdiction under
15	15	Subsection (a) may be carried to the supreme court either by a
16	16	petition for review [writ of error] or by certificate from the court
17	17	of appeals, but the court of appeals may certify a question of law
18	18	arising in any of those cases at any time it chooses, either before
19	19	or after the decision of the case in that court.
20	20	SECTION 3. The heading to Section 22.007, Government Code,
21	21	is amended to read as follows:
22	22	Sec. 22.007. PETITION FOR REVIEW [APPLICATION FOR WRIT OF
23	23	ERROR].
24	24	SECTION 4. Section 22.007, Government Code, is amended by
25	25	amending Subsections (a) and (e) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
26	26	read as follows:
27	27	(a) The supreme court shall [may] act on petitions for
28	28	review as provided by this section [applications for writs of error
29	29	when the court deems it expedient]. The chief justice shall enforce
30	30	the requirements of this section as provided by Section 22.0072.
31	31	The supreme court shall pass on a petition for review [an
32	32	application for writ of error] in a case in which the justices of
33	33	the courts of appeals have disagreed or have declared void a statute
34	34	of the state. Subject to Subsection (a-1), the supreme court shall:
35	35	(1) deny a petition for review not later than the 90th
36	36	day after the date the petition is filed if the court does not
37	37	request a response to the petition;
38	38	(2) deny a petition for review not later than the 180th
39	39	day after the date the petition is filed if the court does not
40	40	request briefing on the petition; or
41	41	(3) grant or deny a petition for review not later than
42	42	the 300th day after the date the petition is filed if the court
43	43	requests briefing on the petition.
44	44	(a-1) The supreme court may place on hold a petition for
45	45	review if issues presented in the petition are related to the issues
46	46	presented in another case for which a petition for review has been
47	47	granted and a decision by the court is pending. The supreme court
48	48	shall:
49	49	(1) publish the names of the parties to the petitions
50	50	and the issues the supreme court has determined to be related; and
51	51	(2) grant or deny the petition for review placed on
52	52	hold not later than the 30th day after the date a decision has been
53	53	issued in the case for which the petition was placed on hold.
54	54	(e) The granting of a petition for review [an application
55	55	for writ of error] admits the case into the supreme court, and the
56	56	supreme court shall proceed with the case as provided by law. The
57	57	refusal or dismissal of a petition for review [an application] has
58	58	the effect of denying the admission of the case into the supreme
59	59	court, except that a motion for rehearing may be made [to the
60	60	designated justices in the same manner that a motion for rehearing
61	61	to the supreme court is made]. The denial of a petition for review
62	62	may [refusal or dismissal of an application shall] not be regarded
63	63	as a precedent or authority.
64	64	SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 22, Government Code, is
65	65	amended by adding Sections 22.0071 and 22.0072 to read as follows:
66	66	Sec. 22.0071. ISSUANCE OF DECISIONS. (a) In this section,
67	67	"term of court" means a state fiscal year beginning September 1 and
68	68	ending August 31.
69	69	(b) The supreme court shall issue a decision for all cases
70	70	in which the court grants a petition for review during the term of
71	71	court in which review was granted. Before the court adjourns for an
72	72	end-of-term recess, the chief justice shall certify that a decision
73	73	has been issued in all cases in which a petition for review was
74	74	granted during that term of court.
75	75	(c) If a petition for review is granted in June or later
76	76	during a term of court, the supreme court may, under extraordinary
77	77	circumstances, carry the decision into the next term of court. The
78	78	supreme court must state in the order granting the petition an
79	79	explanation of the nature of the extraordinary circumstance and
80	80	that the supreme court will issue a decision not later than December
81	81	31 of the next term of court.
82	82	Sec. 22.0072. ENFORCEMENT OF PROCEDURES AND DEADLINES. (a)
83	83	The supreme court shall adopt and publish written procedures that
84	84	allocate responsibilities to individual justices to assure the
85	85	supreme court's compliance with the procedures and deadlines
86	86	established by Sections 22.007 and 22.0071.
87	87	(b) The chief justice shall enforce the procedures and
88	88	deadlines established by this section and Sections 22.007 and
89	89	22.0071 and may:
90	90	(1) prohibit a justice who fails to comply with any
91	91	procedure that may result in the supreme court's failure to comply
92	92	with a requirement of this section or Section 22.007 or 22.0071 from
93	93	participating in future oral arguments until the justice complies
94	94	with the procedures and deadlines;
95	95	(2) reassign opinions to be authored by a noncompliant
96	96	justice;
97	97	(3) prohibit a noncompliant justice from
98	98	participating in a new case until the justice complies with the
99	99	procedures and deadlines; or
100	100	(4) refer a noncompliant justice to the State
101	101	Commission on Judicial Conduct.
102	102	SECTION 6. Subchapter C, Chapter 22, Government Code, is
103	103	amended by adding Sections 22.229 and 22.230 to read as follows:
104	104	Sec. 22.229. PROCESSING CIVIL APPEALS. (a) Not later than
105	105	the 60th day after the date the final brief allowed by rule is filed
106	106	in a civil appeal, a court of appeals shall announce whether oral
107	107	argument has been granted.
108	108	(b) In a civil appeal in which a court of appeals has granted
109	109	oral argument, the court shall hold the oral argument not later than
110	110	the 120th day after the date the final brief allowed by rule is
111	111	filed.
112	112	(c) A court of appeals shall issue its decision in a civil
113	113	appeal not later than the 90th day after:
114	114	(1) the date of oral argument, if oral argument is
115	115	granted; or
116	116	(2) the date the court announces that oral argument is
117	117	denied.
118	118	Sec. 22.230. ENFORCEMENT OF CIVIL APPEAL PROCEDURES AND
119	119	DEADLINES. (a) Each court of appeals shall adopt and publish
120	120	written procedures that allocate responsibilities to individual
121	121	justices of the court to assure compliance with the court's
122	122	procedures and deadlines established by this section and Section
123	123	22.229.
124	124	(b) The chief justice of each court of appeals shall enforce
125	125	the procedures and deadlines established by this section and
126	126	Section 22.229 and may:
127	127	(1) prohibit a justice who fails to comply with a
128	128	requirement of this section or Section 22.229 from participating in
129	129	future oral arguments until the justice complies with the
130	130	procedures and deadlines;
131	131	(2) reassign opinions to be authored by a
132	132	noncompliant justice; or
133	133	(3) prohibit a noncompliant justice from
134	134	participating in a new case until the justice complies with the
135	135	procedures and deadlines.
136	136	(c) The chief justice of each court of appeals shall prepare
137	137	and submit to the chief justice of the supreme court a quarterly
138	138	report regarding the compliance of the court with the requirements
139	139	of this section and Section 22.229.
140	140	(d) The chief justice of the supreme court shall monitor the
141	141	compliance of each court of appeals with the requirements of this
142	142	section and Section 22.229 and may:
143	143	(1) prohibit the filing of additional civil appeals
144	144	with a court of appeals that is not in substantial compliance; and
145	145	(2) order the transfer of civil appeals to other
146	146	courts of appeal.
147	147	(e) If a court of appeals is prohibited from accepting new
148	148	civil appeals:
149	149	(1) the justices of that court of appeals are not
150	150	credited with state service for the period during which the court
151	151	may not accept new appeals; and
152	152	(2) the Legislative Budget Board and the governor
153	153	shall take action as provided by Chapter 317 to:
154	154	(A) reduce the budget of that court of appeals in
155	155	an amount proportional to the number of civil appeals that the court
156	156	would normally hear during the period the court may not hear new
157	157	civil appeals and that are transferred to a different court; and
158	158	(B) increase the budget of each court of appeals
159	159	to which a civil appeal is transferred in an amount proportional to
160	160	the number of civil appeals transferred to that court.
161	161	(f) The chief justice of the supreme court shall prepare an
162	162	annual report regarding the compliance of the courts of appeals
163	163	with this section and Section 22.229. Not later than January 31 of
164	164	each year, the chief justice shall file the report for the preceding
165	165	year with the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the
166	166	house of representatives. The report must be made available to the
167	167	public.
168	168	SECTION 7. Sections 22.007(b), (c), (d), (f), and (g),
169	169	Government Code, are repealed.
170	170	SECTION 8. (a) Section 22.007, Government Code, as amended
171	171	by this Act, and Sections 22.0071 and 22.0072, Government Code, as
172	172	added by this Act, apply beginning on the effective date of this
173	173	Act.
174	174	(b) Sections 22.229 and 22.230, Government Code, as added by
175	175	this Act, apply only to a civil appeal filed on or after the
176	176	effective date of this Act. A civil appeal filed before the
177	177	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the
178	178	time the appeal was filed, and that law is continued in effect for
179	179	that purpose.
180	180	SECTION 9. Not later than the 180th day after the effective
181	181	date of this Act, the supreme court and the courts of appeals shall
182	182	adopt any changes to the courts' rules of practice and procedure
183	183	necessary to implement this Act.
184	184	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.