Bill Text: TX HB3611 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Comm Sub

Texas House Bill 3611 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Relating to remotely conducting court proceedings in this state.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-05-12 - Placed on General State Calendar [HB3611 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-HB3611-Comm_Sub.html

	87R22026 YDB-F

	By: Leach	H.B. No. 3611

	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3611:

	By: Schofield	C.S.H.B. No. 3611



	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to remotely conducting court proceedings in this state.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 21.009, Government Code, is amended by
	adding Subdivision (5) to read as follows:
	(5) "Remote proceeding" means a proceeding before a
	court in which one or more of the participants, including a judge,
	party, attorney, witness, court reporter, juror, or other
	individual, attends the proceeding remotely through the use of
	technology and the Internet.
	SECTION 2. Chapter 21, Government Code, is amended by
	adding Section 21.013 to read as follows:
	Sec. 21.013. OPTION FOR REMOTE PROCEEDING. (a)
	Notwithstanding any other law and except as limited by the United
	States Constitution, the Texas Constitution, rules adopted by the
	Texas Supreme Court, or this section, a court in this state as the
	court determines appropriate, on the court's own motion or on the
	motion of any party, may:
	(1) conduct a hearing or other proceeding as a remote
	proceeding; and
	(2) allow or require a judge, party, attorney,
	witness, court reporter, juror, or any other individual to
	participate in a remote proceeding, including a deposition,
	hearing, trial, or other proceeding.
	(b) A court that elects to conduct a remote proceeding must:
	(1) provide adequate notice of the remote proceeding
	to the parties to the proceeding;
	(2) allow a party to file with the court a motion
	objecting to the remote proceeding and requesting an in-person
	proceeding not later than the 10th day after the date the party
	receives the notice; and
	(3) provide a method for a person described by
	Subsection (a)(2) to notify the court that the person is unable to
	participate in the remote proceeding because the person is a person
	with a disability, lacks the required technology, or shows other
	good cause and:
	(A) provide an alternate method for the person to
	participate that accommodates the disability, lack of technology,
	or other situation;
	(B) allow the person to appear in person; or
	(C) conduct the proceeding as an in-person
	proceeding.
	(c) On the court's receipt from any party to a proceeding of
	a motion objecting to the conduct of the proceeding as a remote
	proceeding and requesting an in-person proceeding, the court shall
	consider the motion and grant the motion for good cause shown.
	(d) In any contested adversarial or contested evidentiary
	criminal proceeding for an offense punishable by confinement, the
	prosecutor and defendant must each agree for the proceeding to be
	conducted as a remote proceeding. If the prosecutor or defendant
	does not agree, the proceeding may not be held as a remote
	proceeding.
	(e) A district court, statutory county court, statutory
	probate court, or county court may not conduct a jury trial as a
	remote proceeding unless each party to the proceeding agrees to
	conduct the proceeding as a remote proceeding.
	(f) For a jury trial that is to be conducted as a remote
	proceeding in a justice or municipal court, the court shall
	consider on the record any motion or objection related to
	proceeding with the trial not later than the seventh day before the
	trial date, except that if the motion or objection is made later
	than the seventh day before the trial date, the court must consider
	the motion or objection on the record as soon as practicable.
	(g) A court that conducts a jury trial as a remote
	proceeding shall ensure all prospective jurors have access to the
	technology necessary to participate in the remote proceeding.
	(h) A court that conducts a remote proceeding at a location
	other than the location the court regularly conducts proceedings
	must provide to the public reasonable notice of the location of the
	remote proceeding and an opportunity to observe the remote
	proceeding.
	(i) The Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial
	System shall provide guidance and assistance to the extent possible
	to a court conducting a remote proceeding.
	(j) For purposes of any law requiring notice or citation of
	the time and place for a proceeding, notice of the remote means by
	which the proceeding will be conducted and the method for accessing
	the proceeding through that remote means constitutes notice of the
	place for the proceeding.
	SECTION 3. The following provisions are repealed:
	(1) Section 30.012(b), Civil Practice and Remedies
	Code; and
	(2) Section 54.012(b), Family Code.
	SECTION 4. As soon as practicable after the effective date
	of this Act, the Texas Supreme Court shall adopt the rules necessary
	to implement the changes in law made by this Act. Before adopting
	the rules, the supreme court must consult with interested parties,
	including prosecutors, criminal defense attorneys, judges, and
	representatives from the State Bar of Texas and Disability Rights
	Texas.
	SECTION 5. The Texas Legislative Council, with the
	assistance of the Office of Court Administration of the Texas
	Judicial System, shall prepare for consideration by the 88th
	Legislature a nonsubstantive revision of the statutes of this state
	as necessary to reflect the changes in law made by this Act.
	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.