Primary Department: District Courts
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Richard Woods
Secondary Department: Choose an item.
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Financial Authorization
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MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable):
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable):
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable):
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): Choose an item.
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
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Request by the District Courts for approval to pay overtime to exempt and nonexempt District Courts staff required to work weekends and holidays to comply with Senate Bill 9 (SB9) of the 89th Texas Legislature, including retroactive payment for work performed by District Courts staff on weekends during the month of September 2025.
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Background and Discussion:
Senate Bill 9 (SB9) is an unfunded mandate that requires bail to be set within 48 hours of a defendant's arrest for offenses designated as SB9 cases. It went into effective on 9/1/25 and requires additional work to be performed by Criminal District Judges or their designated Visiting Judges on weekends and holidays. These new responsibilities require the administrative support of a Court Coordinator, technology technician, and interpreter. To incentive staff to volunteer for these nontraditional shifts, this request is to pay these support staff 1.5 times their regular hourly rates.
Expected Impact:
SB9 will require judicial officers and staff to work weekends and holidays to comply with the 48 hours hearing requirement.
Alternative Options:
There are no alternative options to comply with the requirements of SB9.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 1. Make Harris County safer and more just.
County Strategic Plan Objective: E: Increase efficiency across the legal system.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): Choose an item.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): Choose an item.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): Choose an item.
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Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Precinct(s): Countywide
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Request to Pay Staff Overtime for SB9 Work |
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Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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1000 - General Fund |
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Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
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Additional Positions Request |
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Total Personnel |
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Anticipated Court Date: 9/18/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 10/1/2025
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Richard Woods, Court Administrator
Attachments (if applicable):