Jurisdiction: Newly Introduced
Alabama SB 74 Increases small claims jurisdiction to $6,000. In Senate Judiciary Committee.
Minnesota SB 1264 Prohibits state court use of foreign or international law. In Senate Judiciary Committee.
Texas HB 2555 Prohibits state judges from issuing or acknowledging same sex marriages/licenses regardless of any federal court ruling. In House (no committee).
Jurisdiction: Floor and Committee Activity
Hawaii SB 214 Establishes the exclusive jurisdiction of the small claims division of the district court over cases in which the amount claimed is $1,000 or less. Expands the small claims division's jurisdiction over personal property cases to include any personal property worth $5,000 or less. Approved by full Senate 3/5/15.
Mississippi HB 177 AS AMENDED: Provides "A court, arbitrator, administrative agency or other adjudicative, mediation or enforcement authority shall not enforce a foreign law if doing so would violate a right guaranteed to a natural person by the United States Constitution or the Mississippi Constitution of 1890." Approved by full Senate with Senate amendment 3/4/15. To House to concur with Senate amendment.
Washington SB 5125 Increases District Court jurisdiction from $75,000 to $100,000. Approved by full Senate 3/3/15.
Qualifications and Terms: Newly Introduced
Minnesota HB 1332 Increases mandatory judicial retirement age from last day of month judge turns 70 to end of term in which judge turns 70. In House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee.
Minnesota SB 1258 Increases mandatory judicial retirement age from last day of month judge turns 70 to end of term in which judge turns 70. In Senate Judiciary Committee.
Qualifications and Terms: Floor and Committee Activity
Arkansas HB 1458 Repeals law held as unconstitutional that a judge removed from office through state's judicial disciplinary process may never hold judicial office again. Approved by full House 3/6/15.
Idaho SB 1027 Allows retired senior status judges to serve or work for state government, for example, as a teacher at a university. Approved by House Judiciary Committee 3/4/15.
Pennsylvania HB 221 Allows for training for judges in the identification and recognition of individuals with a mental health condition, autism, or an intellectual disability. Approved by Senate Judiciary Committee 3/5/15.
Tennessee SB 544 Enacts the "Senior General Sessions and Juvenile Judge Enabling Act". Enables the creation of a program whereby the supreme court can designate a senior general sessions or juvenile judge to relieve court congestion in a needed area. Approved by Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee 3/4/15.
Rule Making Authority: Newly Introduced
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Rule Making Authority: Floor and Committee Activity
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Salary and Budget: Newly Introduced
Maine SB 261 Increases compensation for active retired judges. In Joint Judiciary Committee.
North Carolina SB 166 Requests AOC conducted study of clerk salaries who serve counties where the annual workload is greater than would be expected for the population of the county due to seasonal tourism. In Senate Rules Committee.
Pennsylvania SB 573 Provides fees, fines and costs assessed under state's Dog Law to go to Dog Law Restricted Account rather than Judicial Computer System Augmentation Account. In Senate Judiciary Committee.
Texas SB 967 Provides district clerk may not charge a fee for a noncertified electronic copy of any electronic document on file or of record in the clerk's office, unless the copy is provided in a bulk distribution. In Senate State Affairs Committee.
Texas SB 1025 Provides county judges entitled to annual salary supplement from the state in an amount equal to 25 percent of the annual compensation provided for a district judge in the General Appropriations Act (currently county judges get $15,000). In Senate Finance Committee
Salary and Budget: Floor and Committee Activity
Arkansas HB 1193 Clarifies that district court fees shall be credited to the general fund of the county. Approved by Senate Judiciary Committee 3/4/15.
Florida SB 838 Reduces to 1 calendar month the time period that a retired judge must be terminated from employment to retain his or her full retirement benefits while working as a part-time senior judge. Reduces from 6 calendar months to 1 calendar month the required termination period for required justices and judges to return to work as a senior judge while maintaining retirement benefits. Approved by Senate Judiciary Committee 3/3/15.
Georgia HB 279 Repeals annual cost of living adjustments for judges. Approved by House Appropriations Committee 3/4/15.
Georgia HB 377 Specifically defines court "fines and fees" subject to collection processes. Specifies local governing authority may contract out to collect such fines and fees. Approved by House Judiciary Committee 3/2/15.
Kentucky HB 469 Creates a Kentucky Citizens' Commission on Judicial and Legislative Compensation. Recommendations are binding unless rejected by legislature. Approved by full House 3/3/15.
New Mexico HB 487 Requires every municipality to enact an ordinance requiring assessed fees to be collected as court costs, outlines the fees to be collected upon conviction and the amount of each, details how the money collected can be used and deposited into a special fund. Balances available in the special fund in a municipality with a population less than 10,000 according to the most recent federal decennial census, which are not needed, may transfer them into the municipality’s general fund. Approved by House Government Committee 3/9/2015.
Oregon HB 2338 Modifies annual salaries of judges of Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Oregon Tax Court and circuit courts. Approved by House Judiciary Committee 3/2/15.
Utah SB 183 Clarifies presiding/chief judges may receive salaries above those of other judges. Approved by full Senate 3/3/15.
West Virginia SB 560 Creates special revenue fund for use of certain Supreme Court advanced technology. Funds to be derived from moneys received from subscribers utilizing the court’s advanced technology systems including, but not limited to, the E-filing system and the Unified Judicial Application information system. Approved by full Senate 3/2/15.
Selection: Newly Introduced
Arkansas HJR 1016 (Constitutional Amendment) Ends nonpartisan elections for supreme court only. Creates merit/commission system with retention elections. Provides for partisan elections for all other judicial offices. In Joint Committee on Constitutional Amendments.
Arkansas HJR 1015 (Constitutional Amendment) Provides for partisan elections for all judicial offices. In Joint Committee on Constitutional Amendments.
Selection: Floor and Committee Activity
Hawaii SB 615 (Constitutional Amendment) Provides that the senate receive written notice of the governor's or the chief justice's appointment, as applicable, to fill a vacancy in the office of chief justice, supreme court, intermediate appellate court, circuit courts, and district courts concurrently with the appointment. Approved by Senate Judiciary Committee 3/3/15.
Tennessee HB 142 Establishes legislative procedure for the appointment, confirmation and retention of appellate court judges. Approved by House Civil Justice subcommittee 3/4/15.
Utah HB 136 Amends the definition of "political purposes," as it relates to campaign and financial reporting requirements, to include an act done to influence a judicial retention. Approved by full Senate 3/6/15. To Governor for approval.
West Virginia SB 325 Requires financial disclosure statements for some judges be filed with Secretary of State rather than county clerk. Approved by full Senate 3/4/15.
Structure Changes: Newly Introduced
Georgia SB 205 Designates Municipal Courts as courts of record. In Senate Judiciary Committee.
Structure Changes: Floor and Committee Activity
Arkansas HB 1629 Requires District Court be held in each department of the district at least 1 time per month unless the city or town in which the department is located waives the requirement OR unless there are absolutely no cases to be heard. Approved by House Judiciary Committee 3/5/15.
Connecticut SB 1015 Requires creation of veterans court dockets in every judicial district. Approved by Joint Committee on Veterans' Affairs 3/5/15.
Utah SB 214 Authorizes creation of veterans courts throughout state. Approved by full Senate 3/4/15.
Other: Newly Introduced
Alabama SB 66 Provides courts may not charge by district attorneys and their employees for access to electronic court records. In Senate Judiciary Committee.
Arkansas HB 1626 Allows elected officials to carry guns into courthouse that contains person's primary place of employment. In House Judiciary Committee.
Colorado SB 185 Requires the judicial department to report data on charges, dispositions, sentences, and probation revocations, including race, ethnicity, gender, and incident report number. In Senate Judiciary Committee.
Maryland HB 1257 (Constitutional Amendment) Renames "Orphan's Court" as "Probate Court". In House Rules Committee.
Nevada AB 219 Specifies and requires credentials of court interpreters. Provides that an interpreter must also be provided at public expense if the person with limited English proficiency is a party or witness in a civil proceeding. In Assembly Judiciary Committee.
Nevada SB 197 Prohibits filing false liens/encumbrances on judges or other public official. In Senate Judiciary Committee.
New York AB 5631 Enacts uniform electronic legal material act. In Assembly Governmental Operations Committee.
New York SB 4132 Requires judicial disciplinary commission provide an explanation as to the reason or reasons for the dismissal of a complaint against a judge. In Senate Judiciary Committee.
North Carolina SB 161 Allows Supreme Court to sit in its old summer-session chambers in Morganton twice a year. In Senate Judiciary I Committee.
Oregon HB 3399 Requires justice court or municipal court to record criminal proceedings. In House Judiciary Committee.
Oregon SB 889 Allows person to file motion or petition seeking to assert right of public access to court document or proceeding. In Senate Judiciary Committee.
Rhode Island SR 553 Requests Chief Justice and Dept. of Health and Human Services create task force to improve court scheduling, placement decision-making, and information regarding children in state care. In Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
Texas HB 2241 Allows county employees and officers to carry guns into courthouses. In House (no committee).
Vermont HB 433 Requires judiciary create online database of all landlord-tenant cases in last 7 years. In House Judiciary Committee.
Other: Floor and Committee Activity
Arizona SB 1073 Allows former judges to request that certain records containing personal information be restricted from public access. Approved by House Government Committee 3/4/15.
Georgia HB 207 Removes requirement that judges & jurors who are related to party within six degrees of consanguinity or affinity recuse or be disqualified. Reduces degrees down to three degrees. Approved by full House 3/2/15.
Georgia SB 135 Provides Clerk of Superior Court is sole custodian of all records clerk is required to file and retain. Provides Clerk alone to respond to open records requests for documents in Clerk's office. Allows Clerk to contract out archiving and storage of electronic records. Provides any contracting entity who releases information subject a felony conviction. Approved by full Senate 3/4/15.
Indiana HB 1141 Specifies that the clerk of a circuit court shall keep a judgment docket for the circuit court and for each superior court and probate court served by the clerk and is the official keeper of the judgment docket for the circuit court and for each superior court and probate court served by the clerk. Approved by Senate Judiciary Committee 3/4/15.
New Hampshire HB 453 Authorizes special license plates for circuit court judges. Rejected by full Senate 3/4/15.
New Hampshire SB 258 Changes the timing of determination of weighted case units for the purpose of calculating the judicial branch operating budget request and judicial salaries from October to July. Approved by Senate Finance Committee 3/4/15.
Oklahoma SB 447 Provides clerk of court to set date and time for hearing on all motions at time of filing. Provides judges may reschedule this date and time. Approved by full Senate 3/3/15.
Oklahoma SB 802 Requires all clerks in all court filings and any accompanying orders presented to the judge by mail or facsimile, unless the clerk demonstrates to the Administrative Office of the Courts that such acceptance would be unfeasible. Approved by full Senate 3/5/15.
Oregon HB 2340 Restricts Social Security numbers, driver license numbers, and taxpayer identification numbers in certain court documents to last four digits of such numbers. Prohibits the inclusion of address of victim within judgment containing a money award in criminal action. Approved by House Judiciary Committee 3/4/15.
South Carolina HB 3722 Creates statutory Commission on Judicial Conduct (currently created by court rule). Provides if Commission finds accusation/complaint filed against judge is groundless Commission may recommend prosecution to Attorney General for misdemeanor. Provides Commission may assess civil penalty for filing of groundless complaint. Approved by full House 3/4/15.
Tennessee HJR 54 Requests Tennessee Supreme Court adopt rule to provide free online public access to video of oral arguments. Approved by House Civil Justice Committee 3/3/15.
Utah HB 387 Requires state auditor create Citizens' Customer Satisfaction Program to review judiciary and other state government entities using "covert observation". Approved by House Government Operations Committee 3/6/15.