Title GV, Government Code

Sec. 72.015. JUDICIAL SECURITY DIVISION. (a) The office shall establish a judicial security division to provide guidance to state court personnel on improving security for each court. (b) The office shall appoint a director of security and emergency preparedness to oversee the ju…

Sec. 72.016. NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE FOR JUDICIAL PRIVACY. The director shall develop a procedure to regularly notify county registrars, the Department of Public Safety, the Texas Ethics Commission, and any other state or local government agency the office determines should be not…

Sec. 72.021. BUDGET; EXPENDITURES. (a) The director shall prepare and submit an estimated budget for the appropriation of funds necessary for the maintenance and operation of the judicial system. (b) The director shall study and recommend expenditures and savings of funds appropr…

Sec. 72.022. PERSONNEL. (a) The director, with the approval of the chief justice of the supreme court, shall employ the personnel needed to administer the office, including personnel needed for the Texas Judicial Council. (b) The office shall provide staff functions necessary for…

Sec. 72.023. CONSULTATION AND ASSISTANCE. (a) The director shall assist the justices and judges in discharging their administrative duties. (b) The director shall consult with the regional presiding judges and local administrative judges and assist them in discharging duties impo…

Sec. 72.024. METHODS; RECOMMENDATIONS. (a) The director shall examine the judicial dockets, practices, and procedures of the courts and the administrative and business methods or systems used in the office of a clerk of a court or in an office related to and serving a court. (b) …

Sec. 72.025. ANNUAL REPORT. (a) The director shall prepare an annual report of the activities of the office. (b) The report must be published in the annual report of the Texas Judicial Council. Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 480, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.

Sec. 72.026. RULES. The director, under the supervision of the chief justice, shall implement a rule of administration or other rules adopted by the supreme court for the efficient administration of justice. Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 480, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985. Amended by Ac…

Sec. 72.027. ADDITIONAL DUTIES. The supreme court or the chief justice of the supreme court may assign the director duties in addition to those imposed by this chapter. Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 480, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985. Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 148, Sec. 2.91(…

Sec. 72.028. GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the office may request, accept, and administer gifts, grants, and donations from any source to carry out the purposes of this chapter. (b) The office may not request, accept, or administer a gift…

Sec. 72.029. GRANTS FOR COURT SYSTEM ENHANCEMENTS. (a) The office shall develop and administer, except as provided by Subsection (c), a program to provide grants from available funds to counties for initiatives that will enhance their court systems or otherwise carry out the purp…

Sec. 72.030. COLLECTION OF DATA RELATING TO JUDICIAL TURNOVER. (a) The office biennially shall collect data relating to: (1) the rate at which state judges resign from office or do not seek reelection; and (2) the reason for action under Subdivision (1). (b) Not later than Decemb…

Sec. 72.031. ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM. (a) In this section: (1) "Appellate court" means the supreme court, the court of criminal appeals, or a court of appeals. (2) "Electronic filing system" means the filing system established by supreme court rule or order for the electronic fi…

Sec. 72.032. BEST PRACTICES EDUCATION. The director shall make available to courts information concerning best practices for addressing the needs of persons with mental illness in the court system, including the use of the preferred terms and phrases provided by Section 392.002. …

Sec. 72.033. LIST OF NEW OR AMENDED COURT COSTS AND FEES. The office biennially shall prepare and publish a list of new or amended court costs and fees as required by Section 51.607. Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 606 (S.B. 891), Sec. 9.03, eff. September 1, 2019.

Sec. 72.034. PUBLIC INFORMATION INTERNET WEBSITE. (a) In this section: (1) "Public information" means citation, other related public or legal notice that a person, including a party to a cause of action, is required to publish under a statute or rule, and any other information th…

Sec. 72.035. SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT DATABASE. (a) The office shall establish and maintain an electronic database that contains personal injury or wrongful death settlement agreements for which a minor or incapacitated person is the beneficiary. A party to the agreement or a guardia…

Sec. 72.036. TRAINING ON EDUCATIONAL AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING PILOT PROGRAM. The office shall develop and annually provide a training program to educate and inform judges on the components of the pilot program established under Section 493.034. Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S.,…

Sec. 72.037. TRANSFER CERTIFICATE AND INDEX OF TRANSFERRED DOCUMENTS FORM. (a) The office shall develop and make available a standardized transfer certificate and an index of transferred documents form to be used for the transfer of cases and proceedings under Sections 33.105 and…

Sec. 72.038. BAIL FORM. (a) The office shall promulgate a form to be completed by a magistrate, judge, sheriff, peace officer, or jailer who sets bail under Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, for a defendant charged with an offense punishable as a Class B misdemeanor or any …

Sec. 72.039. PROTECTIVE ORDER APPLICATIONS, FORMS, AND MATERIALS. (a) The office shall develop and make available on the office's Internet website standardized forms and other materials necessary to apply for, issue, deny, revise, rescind, serve, and enforce any of the following:…

Sec. 72.0395. DISTRICT COURT CASELOAD ANALYSIS. (a) In this section: (1) "Clearance rate" has the meaning assigned by Section 72.083. (2) "Judicial officer" means a district judge or an associate judge, master, magistrate, or referee who conducts proceedings for district courts. …

Sec. 72.0396. JUDICIAL TRANSPARENCY INFORMATION. (a) Each district court judge shall submit to the presiding judge of the administrative judicial region in which the judge's court sits not later than July 20 or January 20, as applicable, information for the preceding six-month pe…

Sec. 72.041. DIVERSITY. The judges of the supreme court, court of criminal appeals, and courts of appeals shall encourage the recruitment of judicial law clerks and staff attorneys that reflect the gender, racial, and ethnic diversity of this state. Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg.,…

Sec. 72.042. DEMOGRAPHIC CENSUS. (a) The office shall annually publish a report regarding the demographic profile of the judicial law clerks and attorneys employed by the courts of this state. (b) The office may request that a court provide demographic information to the office. …

Sec. 72.081. RULES. The office shall adopt rules and forms for administering this subchapter and for obtaining information under this subchapter. Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1327, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

Sec. 72.082. PERFORMANCE REPORT. The office shall annually collect and publish a performance report of information regarding the efficiency of the courts of this state. The report must include disaggregated performance measures for each appellate court, district court, statutory …

Sec. 72.083. TRIAL COURTS. (a) In this section, "clearance rate" means the number of cases disposed of by a court divided by the number of cases added to the docket of the court. (b) The office shall annually report the following performance measures for each district court, stat…

Sec. 72.084. COURT OF APPEALS. Each month, a court of appeals shall report to the office: (1) the number of cases filed with the court during the reporting month; (2) the number of cases disposed of by the court during the reporting month; (3) for active cases on the docket of th…

Sec. 72.085. COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS. The court of criminal appeals shall annually report to the office: (1) the number of cases filed with the court during the reporting year involving: (A) capital punishment; (B) an application for writ of habeas corpus; or (C) a petition for…

Sec. 72.086. SUPREME COURT. (a) The supreme court shall annually report to the office: (1) the number of cases filed with the court during the reporting year; (2) the number of cases disposed of by the court during the reporting year; (3) for the active cases on the docket of the…

Sec. 72.087. CAPITAL TRIALS. (a) The office shall annually collect and publish a report of information regarding cases involving the trial of a capital offense. (b) The report must include: (1) the contents of the trial court's charge to the jury; and (2) the sentence issued in e…

Sec. 72.121. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: (1) "Estate" has the meaning assigned by Section 1002.010, Estates Code. (1-a) "Financial institution" has the meaning assigned by Section 201.101, Finance Code. (1-b) "Guardianship proceeding" has the meaning assigned by Section 1002…

Sec. 72.122. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. (a) The office shall establish and maintain a guardianship abuse, fraud, and exploitation deterrence program designed to provide additional resources and assistance to courts that have jurisdiction over guardianship proceedings by: (1) engag…

Sec. 72.1221. PROGRAM ACCESS TO FINANCIAL RECORDS. (a) To the extent allowed and in the manner required by federal law, a financial institution or other person, as applicable, shall on request provide the program with access to financial institution records, accounting records, a…

Sec. 72.123. NOTIFICATION OF STATE COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL CONDUCT. The director may notify the State Commission on Judicial Conduct in writing if the office has reason to believe that a judge's actions or failure to act with respect to a report received from a guardianship compli…

Sec. 72.124. ANNUAL REPORT. Not later than January 1 of each year, the office shall submit a report to the legislature regarding the performance of the program. The report must include: (1) the number of courts involved in the program; (2) the number of guardianships reviewed by …

Sec. 72.151. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: (1) "Authorized user" means a person to whom the office has given permission and the means to submit records to or modify or remove records in the registry. The term does not include members of the public who may only access through t…

Sec. 72.152. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies only to: (1) an application for a protective order filed under: (A) Chapter 82, Family Code; (B) Subchapter A, Chapter 7B, Code of Criminal Procedure; or (C) Article 17.292, Code of Criminal Procedure, with respect to a person w…

Sec. 72.153. PROTECTIVE ORDER REGISTRY. (a) In consultation with the Department of Public Safety and the courts of this state, the office shall establish and maintain a centralized Internet-based registry for applications for protective orders filed in this state and protective o…

Sec. 72.154. PUBLIC ACCESS TO PROTECTIVE ORDER REGISTRY. (a) Subject to Subsections (c) and (d) and Section 72.158, the office shall establish and maintain the registry in a manner that allows a member of the public, free of charge, to electronically search for and receive public…

Sec. 72.155. RESTRICTED ACCESS TO PROTECTIVE ORDER REGISTRY. (a) The registry must include a copy of each application for a protective order filed in this state and a copy of each protective order issued in this state, including an expired order, or a vacated order other than an …

Sec. 72.156. ENTRY OF APPLICATIONS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), as soon as possible but not later than 24 hours after the time an application for a protective order is filed, the clerk of the court shall enter a copy of the application into the registry. (b) A clerk…

Sec. 72.157. ENTRY OF ORDERS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), as soon as possible but not later than 24 hours after the time a court issues an original or modified protective order or extends the duration of a protective order, the clerk of the court shall enter into th…

Sec. 72.158. REQUEST FOR GRANT OR REMOVAL OF PUBLIC ACCESS. (a) The office shall ensure that the public may access information about protective orders, other than information about vacated orders or orders under Article 7B.002 or 17.292, Code of Criminal Procedure, or Chapter 83,…

Sec. 72.201. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: (1) "Accredited crime laboratory" means a crime laboratory, as that term is defined by Article 38.35, Code of Criminal Procedure, that has been accredited under Article 38.01 of that code. (2) "Commission" means the Texas Forensic Sci…