Texas bill to increase jury pay faltered in state Senate

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - A bill to increase jury pay in the state of Texas died in the Senate this week.

House Bill 2014, aimed to increase the pay for the first day of jury service from $6 to $20, and from $40 to $58 on subsequent days. The bill passed on April 27, in the Texas House but faltered in the Senate.

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The bill maintained the same proportion between the state and county share of the reimbursement, requiring the state to reimburse counties $14 for each juror, versus currently no state share on day 1 and $52 for each juror, versus the current $34 reimbursement per juror for subsequent days.

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Harris County District Clerk Marilyn Burgess took office in 2019 and has been a major advocate for increasing jury pay.

"We require that ordinary citizens give us their time to make sure justice is served and, yet, we pay them just enough to buy a cup of coffee," District Clerk Burgess said.