Although the House and Senate Interim Study Charges have not been released, other independent studies on county issues are underway. The Supreme Court Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families has instituted a study of legal representation in Child Protective Services cases. The study will focus on the quality of legal representation in these cases. The study will include a review of the costs of court-appointed representation in CPS cases for both parents and children. Court coordinators will receive a questionnaire requesting information on the methods and amounts of attorney payments. Please encourage your court coordinator to complete and return the questionnaire.
House Bill 2275, adopted by the 81st Legislature, created the Task Force on Uniform County Subdivision Regulation. The Task Force will be staffed by the Texas Water Development Board and will review current county subdivision regulation statutes and submit recommendations to the next legislative session. Hays County Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe, Trinity County Judge Mark Evans, and other county officials will serve on the Task Force. Meetings will be conducted around the state; the initial meeting was scheduled for Nov. 18th in Austin.
For more information, please call me at 1-800-733-0699.
