Bill

HB 3790

83(R) - 2013
Civil Justice

Vote Recommendation

Vote No; Amend
  • Neutral
  • Neutral
  • Neutral
  • Negative
  • Neutral

Author(s)

Charles Perry

Bill Caption

Relating to creation of the Judicial Branch Certification Commission and the consolidation of judicial profession regulation.

Fiscal Notes

No significant fiscal impact is anticipated on the State or local government.

Bill Analysis

Summary: Currently, the Court Reporters Certification Board, the Guardianship Certification Board, the Process Server Review Board, and the Licensed Court Interpreter Advisory Board all exist as separate entities. HB 3790 seeks to consolidate these entities.

  • This bill creates the Judicial Branch Certification Commission on September 1, 2014.
  • This bill abolishes the Court Reporters Certification Board, the Guardianship Certification Board, and the Process Server Review Board on September 1, 2014 and transfers the power of these boards to the Judicial Branch Certification Commission.
  • This bill transfers the powers of the Licensed Court Interpreter Advisory Board to the Judicial Branch Certification Commission on September 1, 2014.
  • This bill grants the commission the power to create advisory boards.
  • This bill establishes the commission to "oversee the regulatory programs assigned to it by state law or the Supreme Court."

Analysis: We recognize and acknowledge the potential benefits of combining various related boards into one entity and we generally support efforts to make government more efficient. However, HB 3790 runs afoul of the Texas Constitution. Also, certain questions should be given more consideration. Are these certification commissions, licensing boards, and other government entities needed? Instead of consolidating these boards, could they be abolished?

The State of Texas operates under a separation of powers. This bill grants the Texas Supreme Court the power to "assign" regulatory programs to the commission. This language is very broad, but even if one assumes this language only applies to the four professions contained in this bill, the Texas Supreme Court would still granted the power to regulate four professions. This regulatory power properly belongs in the Legislature. Moreover, this bill grants the commission the power to create advisory boards without limit. A commission should not be granted this power. Instead, the Texas Legislature should create only pertinent advisory boards.

Furthermore, the Process Server Review Board was created by the Supreme Court, not by the Legislature. The Supreme Court has no statutory authority to create such a board. Therefore the existence of the board and any official action the board has taken are outside of statute and should be made null and void.

We recommend amending this bill to strike language located in Section 152.051in Article 1 that grants the Texas Supreme Court the power to assign regulatory programs. Additionally, we recommend striking Section 152.152 in Article 1 which allows the commission to create additional advisory boards.