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Texas

Overview

  • The Texas Judiciary is primarily a locally funded court system. Its FY11 appropriation was reduced from $671.75 million in FY11 to $646.5 million in FY12.   Their FY11 budget was reduced during the fiscal year.  The Texas courts will maintain the same number of judges, but will reduce staff positions and reduce spending on operating costs.
  • To reduce spending, the Texas courts have imposed staff layoffs, delayed filling vacancies in the clerks’ offices and in judicial support positions, and reduced the use of retired judges.  They have frozen the salaries of judges and staff and reduced the salaries of some staff.
  • To date, the Texas courts have been able to absorb reductions without a significant impact on court performance measures, e.g., clearance rate. However, the courts are concerned that additional reductions will impact court services in the intermediate and long-term. Recent growth in the number of filings in the appellate courts, coupled with budget reductions, increases the risk of a backlog in processing cases.
  • E-filing and Electronic document management are being implemented in the appellate courts; this will reduce the level of effort in accepting filings and, in some cases, allow the courts to operate more efficiently by reassigning clerk staff to other duties.  Interpreter services are being introduced statewide in the trial courts; this will allow the courts to have access to interpretation services in domestic violence cases that would not otherwise be available, particularly in the rural areas.
  • The Texas legislature passed a court reorganization bill that, among other things, addressed the following issues:
    • set the minimum jurisdictional amount of district courts at $500 and raised the upper jurisdictional limit of all statutory county courts to at least $200,000;
    • generated uniform provisions relating to all statutory county courts and repealed many provisions specific to statutory county courts in particular counties;
    • created general provisions for the appointment, qualification, compensation, termination and powers of "associate judges," while repealing many individual statutes creating masters, referees and magistrates; and
    • ordered a study of the feasibility, efficiency, and cost of converting statutory county courts with civil jurisdiction in excess of $200,000 into district courts.
    • The state is in about the same position as it was a year ago. Like the rest of Texas (and the U.S.), Texas courts saw a reduction in their budgets in FY 2011, as well as FY 2012 and 2013; however, the Legislature made relatively minor reductions compared to the rest of state government. As the courts continue to operate on this lower level of funding, the impact will become greater. The courts face an increased risk of backlogs in processing cases, as well as turnover in staff attorney and court clerk positions. One immediate, major impact of budget reductions is that the Office of Court Administration, which provides technology initiatives for the judiciary, saw all but $50,000 per year of its capital budget eliminated. As a result, it will be at least two years before any additional statewide information technology projects can be initiated for the judiciary.

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