Sec. 71.035.  STATISTICS;  ENFORCEMENT BY MANDAMUS.
 
Text of subsection as amended by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 486 (H.B. 841), Sec. 1
 
(a)  The council shall gather judicial statistics and other pertinent information, including case-level information on the amount and character of the business transacted by courts, from the several state judges and other court officials of this state.  In addition, the council shall implement a monthly tracking system to ensure accountability for counties and courts which participate in the statewide integrated system for child support, medical support, and dental support enforcement established under Section 231.0011, Family Code.  As a duty of office, the district clerks and county clerks serving the affected courts shall report monthly such information as may be required by the council, including, at a minimum, the time required to enforce cases from date of delinquency, from date of filing, and from date of service until date of disposition.  Such information as is necessary to complete the report and not directly within the control of the district or county clerk, such as date of delinquency, shall be provided to the clerk by the child support registry or by the enforcement agency providing Title IV-D enforcement services in the court.  The monthly report shall be transmitted to the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System no later than the 20th day of the month following the month reported, in such form as may be prescribed by the Office of Court Administration, which may include electronic data transfer.  Copies of such reports shall be maintained in the office of the appropriate district or county clerk for a period of at least two years and shall be available to the public for inspection and reproduction.
 
Text of subsection as amended by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 677 (H.B. 1182), Sec. 1
 
(a)  The council shall gather judicial statistics and other pertinent information, including for each trial court in this state monthly court activity statistics and case-level information on the amount and character of the business transacted by the court, from the several state judges and other court officials of this state.  The monthly information gathered by the council for each trial court in a county with a population of at least one million must include, but is not limited to:
(1)  the number of cases assigned to the court;
(2)  the case clearance rate for the court;
(3)  the number of cases disposed by the court;
(4)  the number of jury panels empaneled for the court;
(5)  the number of orders of continuance for an attorney before the court or by the court;
(6)  the number of pleas accepted by the court;
(7)  the number of cases tried by the judge of the court or before a jury; and
(8)  the number of cases tried before a visiting or associate judge of the court.
(a-1)  The council shall implement a monthly tracking system to ensure accountability for counties and courts which participate in the statewide integrated system for child support, medical support, and dental support enforcement established under Section 231.0011, Family Code.  As a duty of office, the district clerks and county clerks serving the affected courts shall report monthly such information as may be required by the council, including, at a minimum, the time required to enforce cases from date of delinquency, from date of filing, and from date of service until date of disposition.  Such information as is necessary to complete the report and not directly within the control of the district or county clerk, such as date of delinquency, shall be provided to the clerk by the child support registry or by the enforcement agency providing Title IV-D enforcement services in the court.
(a-2)  A monthly report required by Subsection (a) or (a-1) must be transmitted to the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System no later than the 20th day of the month following the month reported, in the form and manner prescribed by the office, which may include electronic data transfer.  The office shall publish the information for each court on the office's public Internet website in a searchable format.
(a-3)  In a county with a population greater than one million, a court official for each court in the county shall submit to the appropriate county official for publication on the county's public Internet website a copy of each monthly report required under Subsections (a) and (a-1) within the time required by Subsection (a-2).  The county shall publish the information for each court on the county's Internet website in a searchable format.
(b)  The council may require a state justice, judge, clerk, or other court official, as an official duty, to comply with reasonable requirements for supplying statistics pertaining to the amount and character of the civil and criminal business transacted by the court or other information on the conduct, operation, or business of his court or the office of the clerk of his court that is within the scope of the functions of the council.  If the official does not supply the information within a reasonable time after the request, he is presumed to have wilfully refused the request.  The council shall prescribe procedures, definitions of terms, and forms for supplying the statistics and other information.
(c)  The duty provided by this section to supply information may be enforced by writ of mandamus in:
(1)  the district court of the county of residence of the respondent if the petition for mandamus is filed against a district clerk or a clerk, judge, or other official of a trial court other than a district court;
(2)  the court of appeals for the court of appeals district in which the respondent resides if the petition for mandamus is filed against a district judge or a clerk of a court of appeals;  or
(3)  the supreme court in any other case.
(d)  Except as provided by this subsection, the attorney general shall file and prosecute an action for mandamus on behalf of the council if requested to do so in writing by the council.  To be valid, the written request must be signed by the chair or by at least 11 members of the council.  The attorney general may refuse to file an action if he certifies in writing that the action is without merit.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 480, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.  Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 148, Sec. 1.63, eff. Sept. 1, 1987;  Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 341, Sec. 2.05, eff. Sept. 1, 1995;  Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 79, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;  Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1408, Sec. 10, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Amended by: 
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1150 (S.B. 550), Sec. 54, eff. September 1, 2018.
Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 486 (H.B. 841), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2023.
Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 677 (H.B. 1182), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2023.