| 1 | 1 | | H.B. No. 841 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | AN ACT |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | relating to certain judicial statistics and related information |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | gathered by the Texas Judicial Council. |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | SECTION 1. Section 71.035(a), Government Code, is amended |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | to read as follows: |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | (a) The council shall gather judicial statistics and other |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | pertinent information, including case-level information on the |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | amount and character of the business transacted by courts, from the |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | several state judges and other court officials of this state. In |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | addition, the council shall implement a monthly tracking system to |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | ensure accountability for counties and courts which participate in |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | the statewide integrated system for child support, medical support, |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | and dental support enforcement established under Section 231.0011, |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | Family Code. As a duty of office, the district clerks and county |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | clerks serving the affected courts shall report monthly such |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | information as may be required by the council, including, at a |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | minimum, the time required to enforce cases from date of |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | delinquency, from date of filing, and from date of service until |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | date of disposition. Such information as is necessary to complete |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | the report and not directly within the control of the district or |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | county clerk, such as date of delinquency, shall be provided to the |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | clerk by the child support registry or by the enforcement agency |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | providing Title IV-D enforcement services in the court. The |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | monthly report shall be transmitted to the Office of Court |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | Administration of the Texas Judicial System no later than the 20th |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | day of the month following the month reported, in such form as may |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | be prescribed by the Office of Court Administration, which may |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | include electronic data transfer. Copies of such reports shall be |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | maintained in the office of the appropriate district or county |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | clerk for a period of at least two years and shall be available to |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | the public for inspection and reproduction. |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | SECTION 2. The Texas Judicial Council shall adopt rules |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | necessary to implement this Act. |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | ______________________________ ______________________________ |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | President of the Senate Speaker of the House |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | I certify that H.B. No. 841 was passed by the House on April |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | 28, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 133, Nays 13, 2 present, not |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | voting. |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | ______________________________ |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | Chief Clerk of the House |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | I certify that H.B. No. 841 was passed by the Senate on May |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | 17, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1. |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | ______________________________ |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | Secretary of the Senate |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | APPROVED: _____________________ |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | Date |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | _____________________ |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | Governor |
|---|