HBA-BSM S.B. 1001 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 1001 By: Zaffirini Judicial Affairs 5/3/2001 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Often, district court dockets are very full, causing some cases to be postponed. District judges appointed to these cases must first locate available courtroom space in a county and cases may take many months to be heard and resolved. A civil or criminal case in which a party to the case is confined in a correctional facility requires the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to transport the inmate to the courtroom in the county in which the complaint was filed. A hearing that does not involve a jury and in which a plea is taken may easily and effectively be held inside a correctional facility. Senate Bill 1001 authorizes a district judge to hear a nonjury matter relating to a civil or criminal case at a correctional facility in the county in which the case is filed or prosecuted if a party to the case or the criminal defendant is confined in the correctional facility. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS Senate Bill 1001 amends the Government Code to authorize a district judge to hear a nonjury matter relating to a civil or criminal case at a correctional facility in the county in which the case is filed or prosecuted if a party to the case or the criminal defendant is confined in the correctional facility. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. The bill applies to a civil or criminal case regardless of whether the case was filed or commenced before, on, or after that date.