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February 22, 2013
IN THIS ISSUE... Access to Justice Day House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee Senate Jurisprudence Committee Senate State Affairs Committee Subscribe to the Friday Update Calendar WEB LINKS Home Page Contact Us NEWS ARCHIVE Click here to view past issues of the Friday Update
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Access to Justice Day On Wednesday, representatives from the Texas Access to Justice Commission and the Texas Access to Justice Foundation met with legislators and hosted a press conference at the Capitol to emphasize the ongoing funding crisis in the Texas legal aid system. Currently, 5.7 million Texans qualify for legal aid for help with issues such as veteran’s benefits, health care, domestic violence, and foreclosures. A variety of bills are expected to be filed this session to help address the funding shortfall, including HB 1445 by Representative Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) and SB 635 by Senator Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock), which would increase the funds dedicated to legal aid for indigent Texans from civil penalties and civil restitution recovered by the Attorney General. HB 1 as introduced, includes $13 million in funding for legal aid in the Texas Supreme Court budget, a decrease of $4.6 million from current appropriations for the 2012-2013 biennium. On Wednesday, the House Appropriations Committee adopted the recommendation of its Article I, IV (Judiciary), and V Subcommittee to add $4.6 million to the budget, restoring funding to current levels.
House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee On Monday, the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee heard invited testimony from the Supreme Court of Texas, Office of Court Administration, State Office of Administrative Hearings, Office of the Attorney General, and the State Bar of Texas. Michelle Hunter, executive director of the State Bar of Texas, appeared before the committee and provided an overview of the Bar’s mission, programs, and initiatives. Click here to listen to the archived broadcast. The committee will next meet on Monday, February 25. Click here for the agenda. House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee held its organizational meeting on Tuesday, February 19. The committee heard invited testimony from a number of organizations, including the Office of State Prosecuting Attorney, Texas District and County Attorneys Association, and the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. Visit the broadcast archives page to listen to the hearing. Senate Jurisprudence Committee The Senate Jurisprudence Committee met on Tuesday, February 19. The archived broadcast of the hearing is available here. The committee is scheduled to next meet on Tuesday, February 26 and will consider three bills, including SB 363 by Senator Carlos Uresti (D-San Antonio) relating to prohibited exemptions from state bar examination requirements for attorneys who hold law licenses issued by certain other states.
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2/22/2013