Bills › 88th General Assembly
Relating to the custody and control of courthouses and to physical facilities provided by a city or county to the district court
Sponsored by the Senate Government Oversight Committee
Topics:Courts & civil lawCities & counties
Same legislation: SSB 3098
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedJanuary 30, 2020
- Done: SubcommitteeJanuary 30, 2020
- Done: Senate committeeFebruary 26, 2020
- Done: Passes the SenateMarch 11, 202045–1
- Stopped: House committeeDied when the General Assembly ended
- Next: Passes the House
- Next: To the Governor
- Next: Signed into law
Died when the session ended The 2020 session adjourned on June 14, 2020, the General Assembly’s last regular session. Bills that didn’t pass both chambers died. What’s a funnel?
What’s in it
AI summary This bill changes how counties and cities manage courthouses and law libraries. It gives local governments more control over the security and access of these buildings and allows them to share court space with neighboring counties without needing permission from the state supreme court. Additionally, local officials will have the final say on whether their courthouse security is good enough, and courts cannot rule against those decisions.1
Read the official explanation
This bill relates to the custody and control of courthouses and to physical facilities provided by a city or county to the district court. Currently, the county auditor has general custody and control of the courthouse, subject to the direction of the county board of supervisors. The bill strikes the “general custody and control” provision and makes the county auditor the person who has custody and control of a courthouse, subject to the direction of the county board of supervisors. The bill provides that if a law library is provided in the county courthouse, the board of supervisors shall supervise and control the law library in a manner that aids judicial operations. 1303 provides that a county or city shall provide for the district court of the county with physical facilities, which in the judgment of the governing body are suitable for the district court. Furthermore, the Code section provides that if the county board of supervisors decides not to keep space for the district court, subject to the approval of the supreme court, the county may enter into an agreement with a contiguous county in the same judicial district to share costs in providing physical facilities for a district court. The bill provides that the physical facilities remain the sole property of the county or city and shall be subject to the exclusive control of the county or city, and that the county or city shall provide physical security for, and shall control physical access to, such facilities in a manner that aids judicial operations. The bill provides that the county board of supervisors or the city council’s determination of the adequacy and reasonableness of the security and accessibility of the physical facilities shall be nonjusticiable, and that a court does not have jurisdiction to hear a matter involving the adequacy or reasonableness of the facilities. The bill provides that a county board of supervisors does not need the approval of the supreme court to elect not to maintain court space and to enter into an agreement with a contiguous county to share court costs.
Senate subcommittee
Named January 30, 2020 (as SSB 3098). On February 17, 2020 it recommended passage.
Three legislators hear a bill first and recommend what the committee should do; it’s the best time to weigh in. How to take part
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88th General Assembly