HB745 - Relating to an exemption from jury service for certain crime victims or close relatives of deceased crime victims.

  89R21869 BCH-F     By: Vasut, et al. H.B. No. 745       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to an exemption from jury service for certain crime   victims or close relatives of deceased crime victims.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 62.106(a), Government Code, is amended   to read as follows:          (a)  A person qualified to serve as a petit juror may   establish an exemption from jury service if the person:                (1)  is over 75 years of age;                (2)  has legal custody of a child younger than 12 years   of age and the person's service on the jury requires leaving the   child without adequate supervision;                (3)  is a student of a public or private secondary   school;                (4)  is a person enrolled and in actual attendance at an   institution of higher education;                (5)  is an officer or an employee of the senate, the   house of representatives, or any department, commission, board,   office, or other agency in the legislative branch of state   government;                (6)  is summoned for service in a county with a   population of at least 200,000, unless that county uses a jury plan   under Section 62.011 and the period authorized under Section   62.011(b)(5) exceeds two years, and the person has served as a petit   juror in the county during the 24-month period preceding the date   the person is to appear for jury service;                (7)  is the primary caretaker of a person who is unable   to care for himself or herself;                (8)  except as provided by Subsection (b), is summoned   for service in a county with a population of at least 250,000 and   the person has served as a petit juror in the county during the   three-year period preceding the date the person is to appear for   jury service; [ or ]                (9)  is a member of the United States military forces   serving on active duty and deployed to a location away from the   person's home station and out of the person's county of residence ;   or                 (10)     is a victim or close relative of a deceased victim   of a crime, as those terms are defined by Article 56A.001, Code of   Criminal Procedure, who:                       (A)     testified in a court proceeding relating to   the offense of which the person or the person's deceased close   relative was a victim; and                       (B)     would suffer severe anxiety or   post-traumatic stress as a result of attending a court proceeding .          SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only   to an exemption from jury service for a person who is summoned to   appear for service on or after the effective date of this Act. An   exemption from jury service for a person who is summoned to appear   for service before the effective date of this Act is covered by the   law in effect when the person was summoned, and that law is   continued in effect for that purpose.          SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.