Good news! If this whole “lawyer thing” goes south, we now have enough hours behind a chainsaw in the wake of the recent “Arborgeddon” to consider lumberjacking as a second career.

Budget news

The substantive action at the capitol right now is on budget and funding matters, so we’ll lead with that.

Judicial pay raise bill gets filed
State Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) filed SB 802 this week to increase the starting benchmark salary of a district judge from $140,000 to $172,494 as of September 1, 2023. We expect a similar companion bill to be filed in the House by State Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano), but that version may break out the same increase into two annual 11-percent bumps. (That’s the actual math that results in the uneven new figure.) These bills will be the enabling legislation for the most recent recommendations by the Judicial Compensation Commission.

Funding for these proposals has not been included in the base budgets of either the House or the Senate, but Chief Justice Hecht will no doubt make that request to the Senate Finance Committee next Thursday when it takes up that part of the state budget.

Senate Finance Committee hearings
Last Friday’s Senate Finance hearing included a review of the initial budget proposals for various executive branch agencies, including the Office of Attorney General (OAG). In laying out his budget presentation, Attorney General Ken Paxton (R-McKinney) pointed out the challenges OAG faces in recruiting and retaining quality lawyers, noting their average annual salary of around $97,000 pales in comparison to the average law firm salary of about $150,000 in Texas (and some firms start new lawyers at even higher salaries). The state’s baseline budget currently includes two annual 5-percent raises for those lawyers and other agency staff—something the budget writers are doing for many state agencies—but OAG is requesting $26+ million in additional funding for more targeted salary increases as well as 30 additional law enforcement positions (at a cost of $10.5 million). Many of you may find yourselves facing similar challenges in recruiting and retaining good help, so the fate of those OAG funding requests may shed light on how the legislature feels about similar asks related to local prosecution later this session.

Other highlights of that OAG presentation last week included the following:

• In response to a question from State Sen. Pete Flores (R-Pleasanton) about helping rural prosecutors with human trafficking and border prosecutions, AG Paxton bragged on his office’s willingness to help any prosecutor who asks for help and then pivoted into an attack on unnamed DAs who “have nullified Texas law on certain types of crimes,” and he recommended that the legislature “give some kind of concurrent jurisdiction either to us or to some other entity that could actually be a back-up if certain district attorneys decide not to prosecute certain crimes that you all have said are crimes” (starting at the 01:23:45 mark of the video link below).
• When asked by State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) why OAG failed to help several small counties sued in federal court over the new state anti-abortion laws, First Assistant AG Brent Webster said OAG cannot do that without specific statutory authority, so Sen. Kolkhorst said she will file a bill to give OAG that civil authority (starting at 01:33:13).

The archived video of this entire hearing is available HERE, with the OAG agency testimony beginning at the 01:11:45 mark for those interested.

Next week we hope to have an update for you on how the Senate Finance Committee feels about possible judicial branch funding increases, plus potential news on the status of more prosecutor-specific funding ideas. Stay tuned!

House committees named

The Speaker released his committee assignments on Wednesday (full list available HERE). This is the final organizational step necessary for the legislature to begin its committee work, which is where the rubber meets the road for most lawmaking. Relevant committees for most of you will include the following (* = new role or new committee assignment for that member; (F) = freshman):
            Appropriations (R chair, 14R/12D): Bonnen (R-Friendswood), chair; M. Gonzalez (D-Clint), vice-chair; *Allison (R-San Antonio), C. Bell (R-Magnolia), *Bryant (D-Dallas), *DeAyala (F) (D-Houston), Gates (R-Richmond), *Gervin-Hawkins (D-San Antonio), Howard (D-Austin), *Isaac (F) (R-Dripping Springs), *Jetton (R-Richmond), Ja. Johnson (D-Houston), *Martinez (D-Weslaco), *Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio), Morrison (R-Victoria), *Orr (F) (R-Itasca), *Ortega (D-El Paso), Rose (D-Dallas), *Spiller (R-Jacksboro), *Tepper (F) (R-Lubbock), *Thimesch (F) (R-Lewisville), E. Thompson (R-Pearland), Toth (R-The Woodlands), VanDeaver (R-New Boston), Walle (D-Houston), Wu (D-Houston).
            Calendars (R chair, 7R/4D): Burrows (R-Lubbock), chair; Rose (D-Dallas), *vice-chair; *Cook (R-Mansfield), *Geren (R-Fort Worth), Hefner (R-Mt. Pleasant), Hernandez (D-Houston), *A. Johnson (D-Houston), Patterson (R-Frisco), Slawson (R-Stephenville), Talarico (D-Round Rock, *E. Thompson (R-Pearland).
            Corrections  (D chair, 4R/5D): *Herrero (D-Robstown), chair; *Kacal (R-College Station), vice-chair; Allen (D-Houston), *V. Jones (F) (D-Houston), *R. Lopez (D-San Antonio), Murr (R-Junction), Sherman (D-Dallas), *Swanson (R-Spring), *Toth (R-The Woodlands).
            Criminal Jurisprudence (D chair, 5R/4D): *Moody (D-El Paso), chair; Cook (R-Mansfield), *vice-chair; *Bhojani (F) (D-Euless), *Bowers (D-Rowlett), *Darby (R-San Angelo), *Harrison (F) (R-Waxahachie), *Leach (R-Plano), *C. Morales (D-Houston), *Schatzline (F) (R-Fort Worth). (Note: Eight of nine members are new to this committee, although two—Moody and Leach—have served on it in the past.)
            Homeland Security & Public Safety (R chair, 5R/4D): *Guillen (R-Rio Grande City), chair; Bowers (D-Rowlett), vice-chair; *Canales (D-Edinburg), *Dorazio (F) (R-San Antonio), Goodwin (D-Austin), Harless (R-Spring), *Holland (R-Rockwall), *Ja. Johnson (D-Houston), *Troxclair (F) (R-Austin).
            Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence (R chair, 5R/4D): Leach (R-Plano), chair; Ju. Johnson (D-Farmers Branch), *vice-chair; Y. Davis (D-Dallas), *Flores (F) (D-Austin), Moody (D-El Paso), *Murr (R-Junction), Schofield (R-Katy), *Slawson (R-Stephenville), *Vasut (R-Angleton).
            Juvenile Justice & Family Issues (D chair, 5R/4D): *Dutton (D-Houston), chair; *Lujan (R-San Antonio), vice-chair; Cook (R-Mansfield), *Leo-Wilson (F) (R-Galveston), *J. Lopez (F) (R-San Benito), *Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio), *Smithee (R-Amarillo), *Talarico (D-Round Rock), Wu (D-Houston).
            State Affairs (R chair, 8R/5D): *Hunter, chair; Hernandez, vice-chair; *Anchia (D-Dallas), *Dean, *Geren (R-Fort Worth), *Guillen (R-Rio Grande City), Metcalf, Raymond, Slawson, Smithee (R-Amarillo), *Spiller (R-Jacksboro), *S. Thompson (D-Houston), *Turner (D-Arlington).
There are more House committees and assignments than we can recount here, so if you are curious about another committee or what assignments your local House member(s) received, check the House website.

Looking ahead

The governor has announced that he will give his State of the State Address next Thursday evening (Feb. 16) from San Marcos in a made-for-TV event. That address is likely to include his designation of what legislative issues he will deem “emergencies,” a status that allows the legislature to debate and vote on those issues or bills before the 60-day “quiet period” imposed by the state constitution. Look for more information in this space next week on whether those emergencies involve you or your jobs.

Bill filing deadlines approaching

In addition to making the legislature wait 60 days before voting on any legislation, the state constitution also establishes the 60th day of a session as the deadline for filing general legislation. That puts this session’s Deadline Day on Friday, March 10, a mere four weeks from today. But in reality, the effective deadline is even earlier than that because the Office of Legislative Council (which drafts bills for legislators) already has a huge backlog of work to complete, so it has given legislators a deadline for requesting the drafting of non-local bills as the end of business on Friday, February 17. (As in, next Friday.) So, if you’ve been toying with the idea of requesting that a bill be filed on a particular topic but haven’t pulled the trigger yet, you are now on notice. In addition, the naming of committee members gives you the final piece of information necessary to identify good (or not-so-good) potential authors for those ideas. If you need help with any of that, feel free to contact Shannon.

Many of the bills relevant to your work that have been filed to date can be accessed on our Legislative webpage under our Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure tracks. We also have a list of other “Bills to Watch” that includes these nine new additions this week:

• HB 1874 by Noble relating to the award of attorney’s fees in a civil asset forfeiture proceeding
• HB 2038 by Allison requiring forfeiture proceeds be awarded to certain property owners
• HB 2043 by Bowers creating a statewide pretrial and sentencing database
• HB 2117 by Oliverson creating a new cause of action against judges who wrongfully release offenders on personal bond
• SB 740 by Huffman requiring an election to reduce or reallocate funding or resources for certain county prosecutors’ offices
• SB 787 by Huffman imposing a 10-year minimum sentence for 3g offenses involving a firearm
• SB 793 by Hinojosa applying the exclusionary rule to civil asset forfeitures and raising the State’s burden of proof in those civil cases
• SB 802 by Hughes increasing the annual base salary of a district court judge
• SB 819 by Perry allowing crime victims to enforce rights by mandamus, injunction, etc.

To read these or any other bills, visit https://capitol.texas.gov/ and enter “HB ___” or “SB ___” in the “Search Legislation” box, then click on the “text” tab and click on the format you wish to read it in (PDF, html, or Word).

Austin-bound?

If you are ready to clear your calendar and come to Austin for a specific time in late February, March, April, or early May, please call or email Shannon to reserve that week ahead of time. Ditto for any questions you might have—call or email Rob or Shannon to get the scoop before you make plans.

Scattershooting

Here are some recent stories you might’ve missed:

• “Texas veterans vow to protect the state’s hemp market as one state lawmaker hopes to crack down” (Texas Tribune)
• “Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan defies GOP pressure, taps Democrats to lead committees” (Dallas Morning News)
• “Appeals court ruling says alleged domestic abusers have a constitutional right to keep their guns” (Texas Tribune)
• “Texas AG Ken Paxton’s office, whistleblowers reach $3.3M settlement in retaliation lawsuit” (Dallas Morning News)

Quotes of the Week

“There is zero excuse for driving under the influence and putting lives in danger, in particular by a member of the legislature whose conduct should be held to a higher standard.”
            —Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R-Houston), publicly commenting upon the DWI arrest of State Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) in Austin earlier this week.

“We have a really good team. We have, I think, the best team to prosecute human trafficking in the state. … We would like to step in and help in those cases. We think we can save lives. … I’m really passionate about this issue. … It is at the heart of, like, what I care about. And I’m very sad … that there was opposition, I guess, from the district attorneys who didn’t want to share any kind of jurisdiction. We don’t care. We want you to prosecute. But if you’re not going to, please let us prosecute these people who are doing great harm to a lot of young women in our state.”
            —Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, commenting at last week’s Senate Finance Committee hearing upon a bill he pushed four years ago to grant his office original criminal jurisdiction in human trafficking cases because too many local prosecutors either don’t care about them or lack the resources or expertise to properly handle them (according to his testimony again this session).

“Prosecutors play an absolutely critical role in the criminal justice system as they are charged with obtaining justice for victims of crime. Prosecutors with criminal jurisdiction should be treated no differently than law enforcement, and I hope that this bill delivers that message.”
            —State Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), in her press release announcing the filing of SB 740 to prevent counties with a population exceeding one million from defunding their prosecutor offices.

###