Monitoring the Session

HB 1031

Morales Bill Ends Commissioners’ Veto Over Court Staff Pay

Died in committee

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Rep. Eddie MoralesDHouse 74

Initial review · graded Oct 20, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to the compensation paid to certain county and precinct officers and employees.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Judges set the pay for their coordinators and administrators. The county funds whatever is reasonable.

The bill lets judges set the pay for their own court coordinators and court administrators without needing approval from the county commissioners court. It touches county judges, the staff who run their court calendars and offices, and the county commissioners who write the budget. On the ground, commissioners lose their veto over these salaries and must fund whatever reasonable pay the judges decide, starting September 1, 2025.

Labels

Labels: NEVER GOT A HEARING. Filed Nov 12, 2024 and referred to the House Intergovernmental Affairs subcommittee on County & Regional Government. No public hearing. The bill died.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB1031 · 2024-11-12

SOLD BY

Rep. Eddie MoralesDHouse 74

ITEM

relating to the compensation paid to certain county and precinct officers and employees.

WHAT IT DOES

Judges set the pay for their coordinators and administrators. The county funds whatever is reasonable.

The bill lets judges set the pay for their own court coordinators and court administrators without needing approval from the county commissioners court. It touches county judges, the staff who run their court calendars and offices, and the county commissioners who write the budget. On the ground, commissioners lose their veto over these salaries and must fund whatever reasonable pay the judges decide, starting September 1, 2025.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No fiscal note in the loaded record.

HISTORY

  1. Filed
  2. Read first time
  3. Referred to s/c on County & Regional Government by Speaker
FILED UNDER

GOVERNMENT GROWTH UNDER A CONSERVATIVE BANNER

THE TEXT

…“commissioners court of the county shall provide through the county's budget process the [ necessary ] funding necessary to pay the compensation determined under”…

Bill text, introduced version (I)

The bill changes how government pay is set by letting judges fix court staff salaries and requiring counties to pay them, removing the elected commissioners' approval step.

No flags

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Eddie Morales

Donors

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$101KLegacy 44$100KTexas REALTORS Political Action Committee$57K

Not tied to this bill.

Sources

The author's campaign account only. Own money and internal transfers are separate on the member page.

Derived itemized flow · Oct 27, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$101,077.16

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$101,077.16

Cash
$80,000.00
Paid by others
$21,077.16
Total
$101,077.16
mailers $21,077.16

Also funds 137 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 24, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Oct 27, 2024 to Oct 1, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100983216, 101059340, 101067651, 101071574.

Legacy 44$100,000.00

Legacy 44

$100,000.00

Cash
$30,000.00
Paid by others
$70,000.00
Total
$100,000.00
digital $70,000.00

Also funds 33 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Oct 21, 2024 to Oct 20, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Oct 29, 2024 to Sep 21, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100983216, 101067651.

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee$56,517.22

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee

$56,517.22

Cash
$37,500.00
Paid by others
$19,017.22
Total
$56,517.22
mail $18,992.22grassroots $25.00

Also funds 140 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 2, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Nov 2, 2024 to Sep 2, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100983216, 101031005, 101067651.

Money

Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.

×

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$101,077.16

Cash
$80,000.00
Paid by others
$21,077.16
Total
$101,077.16
mailers $21,077.16

Also funds 137 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 24, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Oct 27, 2024 to Oct 1, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100983216, 101059340, 101067651, 101071574.

×

Legacy 44

$100,000.00

Cash
$30,000.00
Paid by others
$70,000.00
Total
$100,000.00
digital $70,000.00

Also funds 33 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Oct 21, 2024 to Oct 20, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Oct 29, 2024 to Sep 21, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100983216, 101067651.

×

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee

$56,517.22

Cash
$37,500.00
Paid by others
$19,017.22
Total
$56,517.22
mail $18,992.22grassroots $25.00

Also funds 140 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 2, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Nov 2, 2024 to Sep 2, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100983216, 101031005, 101067651.

Votes

No floor vote loaded for this bill.

Fiscal

No fiscal note in the loaded record.

How this was graded

Analysis of text version I by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 20, 2026, against the published rubric.

Sources

Texas House · Filed Nov 12, 2024

03/07/2025 H Referred to s/c on County & Regional Government by Speaker: Mar 7 2025 2:33PM

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:19 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

House committee · Intergovernmental Affairs · Final status: Died in committee

Subjects

County Government--Finance

Courts--District

Courts--Judges

Salaries & Expenses

Text

The text as introduced · 264 words

89R1608 TSS-D

By: Morales of Maverick
H.B. No. 1031

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the compensation paid to certain county and precinct

officers and employees.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 74.104, Government Code, is amended to

read as follows:

Sec. 74.104. COMPENSATION. (a) The judges shall determine

reasonable compensation for the court coordinators[ , subject to

approval of the commissioners court ].

(b) The [ Upon approval by the commissioners court of the

position and compensation, the ] commissioners court of the county

shall provide through the county's budget process the [ necessary ]

funding necessary to pay the compensation determined under

Subsection (a) [ through the county's budget process ]. County funds

may be supplemented in whole or part through public or private

grants.

SECTION 2. Section 75.401(d), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(d) A court administrator is entitled to reasonable

compensation, as determined by the judges served [ and in the salary

range for the position, as set by the commissioners court in the

annual budget ].

SECTION 3. Section 152.011, Local Government Code, is

amended to read as follows:

Sec. 152.011. AMOUNT SET BY COMMISSIONERS COURT. Except as

provided by Sections 74.104 and 75.401, Government Code, the [ The ]

commissioners court of a county shall set the amount of the

compensation, office and travel expenses, and all other allowances

and costs for county and precinct officers and employees who are

paid wholly from county funds.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.