Title GV, Government Code

Sec. 154.105. TITLE; OATHS. (a) On certification under Section 154.101 or as a provisional court reporter, a shorthand reporter may use the title "Certified Shorthand Reporter" or the abbreviation "CSR." (b) A certified shorthand reporter may administer oaths to witnesses without…

Sec. 154.106. FIRM REGISTRATION. (a) A shorthand reporting firm or an affiliate office may not assume or use the title or designation "court recording firm," "court reporting firm," or "shorthand reporting firm" or any abbreviation, title, designation, words, letters, sign, card,…

Sec. 154.107. CERTIFICATION AND REGISTRATION FEE AND RENEWAL. (a) A person who receives certification as a shorthand reporter or a shorthand reporting firm or affiliate office that registers with the commission must pay the initial fee and any other required fee before receiving …

Sec. 154.108. CONTINUING EDUCATION. Subject to Section 152.101, the commission by rule shall require each court reporter who holds a certification issued by the commission and at least one person who has management responsibility for a shorthand reporting firm registered in this …

Sec. 154.110. DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS AGAINST COURT REPORTERS. (a) After receiving a complaint and giving the certified shorthand reporter notice and an opportunity for a hearing as prescribed by Subchapter B, Chapter 153, the commission shall revoke, suspend, or refuse to renew the…

Sec. 154.111. DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS AGAINST FIRMS. (a) After receiving a complaint and giving the shorthand reporting firm or affiliate office notice and an opportunity for a hearing as prescribed by Subchapter B, Chapter 153, the commission shall reprimand, assess a reasonable fi…

Sec. 154.112. EMPLOYMENT OF NONCERTIFIED PERSON FOR SHORTHAND REPORTING; CIVIL PENALTY. (a) A person who is not certified as a court reporter may be employed to engage in shorthand reporting until a certified shorthand reporter is available. (b) A person who is not certified as a…

Sec. 154.113. CRIMINAL PENALTY. (a) Except as provided by Section 154.112, a person commits an offense if the person engages in shorthand reporting in violation of Section 154.101. Each day of violation constitutes a separate offense. (a-1) A person commits an offense if the pers…

Sec. 154.114. EXEMPTIONS. This chapter does not apply to: (1) a party to the litigation involved; (2) the attorney of the party; or (3) a full-time employee of a party or a party's attorney. Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 480, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985. Transferred, redesignated and …

Sec. 154.115. PROHIBITED CONTRACTS. (a) A court reporter or shorthand reporting firm may not enter into or provide services under any contractual agreement, written or oral, exclusive or nonexclusive, that: (1) undermines the impartiality of the court reporter; (2) requires a cou…

Sec. 155.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: (1) "Advisory board" means the Guardianship Certification Advisory Board. (2) "Corporate fiduciary" has the meaning assigned by Section 1002.007, Estates Code. (3) "Guardian" has the meaning assigned by Section 1002.012, Estates Code. (…

Sec. 155.002. RULES. The supreme court may adopt rules consistent with this chapter, including rules governing the certification of individuals providing guardianship services. Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 268 (S.B. 6), Sec. 3.24, eff. September 1, 2005. Transferred, redesi…

Sec. 155.051. ADVISORY BOARD. (a) The Guardianship Certification Advisory Board is established as an advisory board to the commission. The advisory board is composed of at least five members appointed by the supreme court. (b) Appointments to the advisory board shall be made with…

Sec. 155.052. TRAINING. (a) A person who is appointed to and qualifies for office as a member of the advisory board may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a member in attendance at a meeting of the advisory board until the person completes a training program that complies wit…

Sec. 155.101. STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN GUARDIANSHIPS AND ALTERNATIVES TO GUARDIANSHIP. (a) The commission shall adopt minimum standards for: (1) the provision of guardianship services or other similar but less restrictive types of assistance or services by: (A) individuals employed …

Sec. 155.102. CERTIFICATION REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN GUARDIANS. (a) To provide guardianship services in this state, the following individuals must hold a certificate issued under this section: (1) an individual who is a private professional guardian; (2) an individual who will provid…

Sec. 155.103. PROVISIONAL CERTIFICATE. (a) Notwithstanding Section 155.102(a), the commission may issue a provisional certificate to an individual who: (1) does not meet the qualifications for obtaining certification under Section 155.102; and (2) possesses the qualifications for…

Sec. 155.104. INFORMATION FROM PRIVATE PROFESSIONAL GUARDIANS. In addition to the information submitted under Section 1104.306, Estates Code, the director may require a private professional guardian or a person who represents or plans to represent the interests of a ward as a gua…

Sec. 155.105. ANNUAL DISCLOSURE. (a) Not later than January 31 of each year, each guardianship program shall provide to the commission a report containing for the preceding year: (1) the number of wards served by the guardianship program reported by county in which the applicatio…

Sec. 155.106. PROHIBITED EMPLOYMENT. A guardianship program may not employ an individual to provide, or directly supervise the provision of, guardianship and related services on the program's behalf: (1) if a certificate issued to the individual under this subchapter is expired o…

Sec. 155.151. REGISTRATION OF GUARDIANSHIPS. (a) The supreme court, after consulting with the office and the commission, shall by rule establish a mandatory registration program for guardianships under which all guardianships in this state shall be required to register with the c…

Sec. 155.152. GUARDIANSHIP DATABASE. In cooperation with the commission and courts with jurisdiction over guardianship proceedings and by using the information obtained by the commission under this subchapter, the office shall establish and maintain a central database of all guar…

Sec. 155.153. ACCESS TO DATABASE. (a) The office shall ensure the database is accessible to the Department of Public Safety for law enforcement purposes. (b) Subject to Subsection (c), the Department of Public Safety shall make information from the database available to law enfor…

Sec. 155.154. DATABASE DISCLAIMER. To the extent feasible, the following disclaimer shall be displayed when the database is accessed: "This database is for the limited purpose of determining whether an individual has a guardian and obtaining a guardian's contact information. The …

Sec. 155.155. CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION IN DATABASE. (a) Information that is contained in the database required under Section 155.152, including personally identifying information of a guardian or a ward, is confidential and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552 or any…

Sec. 155.201. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "probate court" has the meaning assigned by Section 1002.008, Estates Code. Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 313 (S.B. 1096), Sec. 11, eff. September 1, 2017.

Sec. 155.202. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter does not apply with respect to the following persons who are or will be providing guardianship services to a proposed ward: (1) an attorney or corporate fiduciary; or (2) an individual subject to certification under Subchapter C. Added…

Sec. 155.203. DUTY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE IN QUALIFYING GUARDIANS; SUPREME COURT RULEMAKING. (a) The supreme court, after consulting with the commission, shall by rule establish a process by which the commission performs training and criminal history background checks for individu…

Sec. 155.204. TRAINING REQUIRED. (a) In adopting rules under Section 155.203, the supreme court shall: (1) subject to Subdivision (3), ensure that before a person is appointed guardian, the person completes a training course: (A) designed by the commission to educate proposed gua…

Sec. 155.205. DUTY TO OBTAIN CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION. (a) In accordance with Subsection (c) and the rules adopted by the supreme court under Section 155.203, the commission shall obtain criminal history record information that is maintained by the Department of Public…

Sec. 155.206. INFORMATION FOR EXCLUSIVE USE OF COMMISSION AND COURT. (a) Criminal history record information obtained under this subchapter is privileged and confidential and is for the exclusive use of the commission and the court with jurisdiction over the guardianship. The cri…

Sec. 155.207. USE OF CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION. (a) The commission shall use the criminal history record information obtained under this subchapter only for a purpose authorized by this subchapter. (b) A court may use the criminal history record information obtained und…

Sec. 155.208. CLARIFICATION OF AUTHORITY GRANTED. (a) This subchapter does not grant to the commission the authority to: (1) establish additional qualifications or a code of ethics for individuals subject to training or a background check under this subchapter, require those indi…

Sec. 155.209. FEE FOR OBTAINING CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the commission may charge a fee to obtain criminal history record information under this subchapter, in an amount approved by the supreme court. (b) The supreme court ma…

Sec. 155.251. APPLICATION OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter does not apply to guardianship and related services provided by a guardianship program under a contract with the Health and Human Services Commission. Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 715 (S.B. 36), Sec. 5, eff. Sep…

Sec. 155.252. STANDARDS FOR OPERATION OF GUARDIANSHIP PROGRAMS. (a) The commission, in consultation with the Health and Human Services Commission and other interested parties, shall adopt minimum standards for the operation of guardianship programs. (b) The commission shall desig…

Sec. 155.253. REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR GUARDIANSHIP PROGRAMS. (a) A guardianship program may not provide guardianship and related services to an incapacitated person or other person described by Section 155.001(4) unless the program is registered with and holds a certificate of …

Sec. 155.254. REGISTRATION DATABASE. (a) The commission shall make available on the commission's Internet website a publicly accessible list of all registered guardianship programs. The list must contain the following for each guardianship program: (1) the information provided un…

Sec. 155.301. TRAINING. (a) The office by rule shall establish a training course with at least 24 hours of training for persons facilitating mediations under Title 3, Estates Code, that may be provided by a mediation training provider approved by the office. A mediation training …

Sec. 156.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: (1) "Advisory board" means the Process Server Certification Advisory Board. (2) "Certified process server" or "process server" means a person who is certified by the commission under order of the supreme court to serve process. Added by…

Sec. 156.051. ORGANIZATION. (a) The Process Server Certification Advisory Board is established as an advisory board to the commission. The advisory board is composed of at least five members appointed by the supreme court. (b) Appointments to the advisory board shall be made with…

Sec. 156.052. FEES FOR PROCESS SERVER CERTIFICATION. (a) The commission may recommend to the supreme court the fees to be charged for process server certification and renewal of certification. The supreme court must approve the fees recommended by the commission before the fees m…

Sec. 156.053. PROCESS SERVER CERTIFICATION RENEWAL; FEES. Certification of a process server expires on the last day of the month in which the second anniversary of the date on which the certification was issued occurs unless it is renewed on or before that date. On renewal of cer…

Sec. 157.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: (1) "Advisory board" means the licensed court interpreter advisory board. (2) "Licensed court interpreter" means an individual licensed under this chapter by the commission to interpret court proceedings for an individual who can hear b…

Sec. 157.051. LICENSED COURT INTERPRETER ADVISORY BOARD. (a) The licensed court interpreter advisory board is established as an advisory board to the commission. The advisory board is composed of at least five members appointed by the supreme court. Members of the advisory board …

Sec. 157.101. ISSUANCE OF LICENSE; TERM. (a) The director shall issue a court interpreter license to an applicant who: (1) can interpret for an individual who can hear but who has no or limited English proficiency; (2) passes the appropriate examination prescribed by the commissi…