Today's Committee Meetings on the LRL website is a calendar of interim committee hearings with links to agendas. Below are resources related to upcoming Interim Hearings.
October 12, 2022
House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
Charge: Evaluate the use and types of guardianships in Texas and the effect of guardianship on individual rights. Study the financial costs to families related to attaining and maintaining guardianship and compare costs to those associated with guardianship alternatives, such as supported decision-making.
- Texas Judiciary Legislative Update: 87th Legislature (Guardianship and Mental Health), Texas Judicial Council, March 2022
- Texas Guardianship Compliance: Protecting Our Most Vulnerable Citizens and Their Assets, Office of Court Administration, Fiscal Year 2021
- Turning Rights Into Reality: How Guardianship and Alternatives Impact the Autonomy of People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, National Council on Disability, June 10, 2019
- Guardianship, Office of the Texas Governor
- Guardianship (A Texas Guide to Adult Guardianship), Texas Health and Human Services Commission
- Legal Guardianship for Young Adults with Disabilities, Navigate Life Texas, Texas Health and Human Services
Charge: Study state laws and procedures relating to jury service eligibility, including a review of existing jury exemptions, and make recommendations to ensure the privilege, right, and duty of jury service is protected and promoted.
- Texas Judiciary Legislative Update: 87th Legislature (Jury Service and Grand Jury Service), Texas Judicial Council, March 2022
- Jury Trials During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observations and Recommendations, Office of Court Administration, August 28, 2020
- Texas Uniform Jury Handbook, State Bar of Texas, February 2019
- American Juror, Texas Young Lawyers Association
- Jury Duty, Especially for Texas Employers, Texas Workforce Commission
- Jury Service in Texas, Texas Judicial Branch
- Jury Service Resources, State Bar of Texas
House Interim Study Committee on Criminal Justice Reform
Charge: Monitor the implementation of S.B. 6 (87th Legislature, 2nd Called Session), relating to changes in the state's bail system, to determine if additional legislation is needed to ensure Texans are protected from the most dangerous criminals while ensuring the constitutional rights of defendants.
Topic: Examine policies and penalties relating to drug offenses.
- Drug Report 2020, Texas Department of Public Safety, February 26, 2021
- Interim Report to the 85th Texas Legislature (Charge 3 – Study Incarceration Rates for Non-Violent Drug Offenses and the Cost to the State Associated with Those Offenses), House Committee on Corrections, December 2016
- Continuum of Care for Substance Abuse Treatment, Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Topic: Examine the civil asset forfeiture process.
- New Discovery Rules for Civil Asset Forfeitures, The Texas Prosecutor, Texas District & County Attorneys Association, July-August 2021
- Asset Forfeiture Policy Manual (Chapter 3: Seizures by State and Local Law Enforcement), U.S. Department of Justice, 2021
- Policing for Profit: The Abuse of Civil Asset Forfeiture (Texas), Institute for Justice, December 2020
- Lawmakers May Consider Proposed Changes to Civil Asset Forfeiture, House Research Organization, October 29, 2018
- Interim Report to the 85th Legislature (Charge Seven – Conduct a Study of Civil Asset Forfeiture Laws), Senate Committee on Criminal Justice, December 2016
Topic: Examine jury instructions and sentencing guidelines in felony cases.
- Jury Trials During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observations and Recommendations, Office of Court Administration, August 28, 2020
- Interim Report to the 86th Texas Legislature (Charge 6 – State Jail System, Joint Charge with the House Committee on Corrections), House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence, January 2019
- Interim Report to the 86th Texas Legislature (Charge 5 – State Jail System, Joint Charge with the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence), House Committee on Corrections, November 2018
- Typical Felony Caseflow, Office of Court Administration, May 23, 2018
- Penal Code Offenses by Punishment Range, Including Updates from the 85th Legislative Session, Office of the Texas Attorney General, revised March 2018
- Jury Service in Texas and Jury Charges & Sentences in Capital Cases, Texas Judicial Branch
October 13, 2022
House Interim Study Committee on Criminal Justice Reform
Topic: Examine policing, including training, use of force, arrest procedures, and alternative responses to nonviolent and noncriminal issues.
- Legislative Responses for Policing–State Bill Tracking Database, National Conference of State Legislatures, July 11, 2022
- Investing in Evidence-Based Alternatives to Policing, Vera Institute of Justice, August 2021
- A Better Path Forward for Criminal Justice: Police Reform, Brookings Institution, April 2021
- Many Cities Are Rethinking the Police, But What Are The Alternatives?, Kinder Institute for Urban Research, Rice University, July 22, 2020
- Law Enforcement, National Conference of State Legislatures, July 3, 2020
- Police Use of Force: Foresight Over Hindsight, Texas Public Policy Foundation, July 2019
- Training Requirements, Texas Commission on Law Enforcement
Topic: Examine the use of prosecutorial discretion.
- Prosecutorial Discretion, Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, March 2020
Topic: Examine the use and conditions of detention and incarceration.
- Monthly Tracking of Adult and Juvenile Correctional Population Indicators, Legislative Budget Board, September 2022
- Adult and Juvenile Correctional Population Projections: Fiscal Years 2022 to 2027, Legislative Budget Board, July 2022
- Legislative Primer Series on Community Supervision: Limiting Incarceration in Response to Technical Violations, National Conference of State Legislatures, June 29, 2022
- Pretrial Release: Detention, National Conference of State Legislatures, June 20, 2022
- Texas Profile (Incarceration rates), Prison Policy Initiative
Topic: Examine the level of transparency in policing and prosecution, including the grand jury process.
- Legislative Responses for Policing–State Bill Tracking Database, National Conference of State Legislatures, July 11, 2022
- Reforming the Grand Jury Indictment Process: Recent Efforts to Improve Public Confidence in Cases Involving Police Use of Lethal Force, National Center for State Courts, 2021
- A Contract for Public Safety: A Model for the 21st Century, Texas Public Policy foundation, September 2020
- Assessing the State of Police Reform (State and local reforms to increase police transparency and accountability), Center for American Progress, last updated December 2, 2020
