89R21869 BCH-F
By: Vasut, et al. H.B. No. 745
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an exemption from jury service for certain crime
victims or close relatives of deceased crime victims.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 62.106(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A person qualified to serve as a petit juror may
establish an exemption from jury service if the person:
(1) is over 75 years of age;
(2) has legal custody of a child younger than 12 years
of age and the person's service on the jury requires leaving the
child without adequate supervision;
(3) is a student of a public or private secondary
school;
(4) is a person enrolled and in actual attendance at an
institution of higher education;
(5) is an officer or an employee of the senate, the
house of representatives, or any department, commission, board,
office, or other agency in the legislative branch of state
government;
(6) is summoned for service in a county with a
population of at least 200,000, unless that county uses a jury plan
under Section 62.011 and the period authorized under Section
62.011(b)(5) exceeds two years, and the person has served as a petit
juror in the county during the 24-month period preceding the date
the person is to appear for jury service;
(7) is the primary caretaker of a person who is unable
to care for himself or herself;
(8) except as provided by Subsection (b), is summoned
for service in a county with a population of at least 250,000 and
the person has served as a petit juror in the county during the
three-year period preceding the date the person is to appear for
jury service; [or]
(9) is a member of the United States military forces
serving on active duty and deployed to a location away from the
person's home station and out of the person's county of residence;
or
(10) is a victim or close relative of a deceased victim
of a crime, as those terms are defined by Article 56A.001, Code of
Criminal Procedure, who:
(A) testified in a court proceeding relating to
the offense of which the person or the person's deceased close
relative was a victim; and
(B) would suffer severe anxiety or
post-traumatic stress as a result of attending a court proceeding.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an exemption from jury service for a person who is summoned to
appear for service on or after the effective date of this Act. An
exemption from jury service for a person who is summoned to appear
for service before the effective date of this Act is covered by the
law in effect when the person was summoned, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.