2021-046 Legislative Update - Municipal Court BillsDate: July 2, 2021 Report No. 2021-046
INFORMAL STAFF REPORT
TO MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT: State Legislative Update – Municipal Court Bills
BACKGROUND:
Of the bills relating to Municipal Court that were tracked by the City, 10 bills passed through both
houses of the legislature and were signed by the Governor. Of these, only one (1) will affect the
City of Denton operations and residents in a significant way.
DISCUSSION:
The following are bills that will significantly affect the City of Denton municipal Court, its
employees, or officers.
HB 1693 – Financial Responsibility
This bill:
(1) authorizes a justice or municipal court to access the financial responsibility verification
program to verify financial responsibility for the purpose of court proceedings; and
(2) requires the costs associated with accessing the verification program to be paid out of the
county treasury by order of the commissioners’ court or the municipal treasury by order of
the governing body of the municipality, as applicable.
As per best practices, the Presiding Judge requires that court staff verify vehicle insurance policies
either for dismissal purposes or for compliance with a prior court order requiring a defendant to
establish a new vehicle insurance policy. Under the current process, court staff is required to call
individual insurance agents to verify if a presented insurance card was active during the dates listed
on the card. Once that phone verification occurs, staff presents the case to the Judge for review.
These calls often require voice messages and call backs.
This bill grants access to the statewide insurance verification program. If not cost prohibitive to
obtain access, the clerks would instantly verify insurance through the program, reducing required
time for staff and for the defendant waiting on further instructions from the court.
The bill is effective immediately.
Additional Bills Requiring Only Minor Operational Changes
The following affect municipal court operations, defendants, or other Court stakeholders without
requiring significant operational adjustments from the City (all are effective September 1, 2021):
HB 80 – Municipal Court Fines: provides, when fines and costs are being imposed on a defendant
under the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services or in extended
foster care, that a municipal judge:
(1) may not require a defendant to pay any amount of fines and costs; and
Date: July 2, 2021 Report No. 2021-046
(2) may require the defendant to perform community services to discharge fines and costs if
the fines and costs are not waived.
HB 569 – Misdemeanor Fines: provides, among other things, that in imposing a fine and costs in
a case involving a misdemeanor punishable by a fine only, the justice or judge shall credit the
defendant for any time the defendant was confined in jail or prison while serving a sentence for
another offense at a rate of $150 for each day of confinement if that confinement occurred after
the commission of the misdemeanor.
HB 1071 – Animals in Court: allows a qualified facility dog or qualified therapy animal in certain
court proceedings.
HB 3774 – Municipal Court Pleas: provides, among many other things, that: a judge may not
accept a plea of guilty or plea of nolo contendere from a defendant in open court unless it appears
to the judge that the defendant is mentally competent, and the plea is free and voluntary.
SB 49 – Defendants with Mental Illness or Intellectual Disability: provides revisions to
criminal trial and sentencing procedures, including procedures for magistrates, relating to a
defendant who may have a mental illness or who may be a person with an intellectual disability,
makes revisions to competency restoration programs, and sets out provisions relating to outpatient
treatment program participation for civilly committed individuals.
CONCLUSION:
Staff will continue to update Council through the Friday Report of any relevant impacts from the
proposed legislation or its implementation.
STAFF CONTACT:
Tyler Atkinson
Presiding Judge, Municipal Court
Tyler.Atkinson@cityofdenton.com
Jamie Lindsay
Court Administrator
Jamie.Lindsay@cityofdenton.com
Ryan Adams
Customer Service & Public Affairs
Ryan.Adams@cityofdenton.com
Rachel Balthrop Mendoza
City Manager’s Office
Rachel.Mendoza@cityofdenton.com
REQUESTOR:
Staff Initiated