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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the jurisdiction of the 411th District Court and of the |
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County Court at Law of Polk County. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 24.553, Government Code, is amended by |
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adding Subsection (c) to read as follows: |
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(c) The 411th District Court has concurrent jurisdiction in |
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Polk County with the county court over all misdemeanor cases over |
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which the county court has jurisdiction under the constitution and |
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laws of this state. Cases in the concurrent misdemeanor |
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jurisdiction may be filed in either court, and all cases of |
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concurrent misdemeanor jurisdiction may be transferred between the |
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411th District Court and the county court. A case may not be |
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transferred from one court to another without the consent of the |
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judge of the court to which it is transferred, and a case may not be |
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transferred unless it is within the jurisdiction of the court to |
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which it is transferred. |
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SECTION 2. Sections 25.1892(a) and (e), Government Code, |
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are amended to read as follows: |
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(a) In addition to the jurisdiction provided by Section |
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25.0003 and other law, a county court at law in Polk County has |
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concurrent [civil] jurisdiction with the district court in: |
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(1) cases and proceedings involving the collection of |
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delinquent taxes, penalties, interest, and costs and the |
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foreclosure of tax liens; [and] |
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(2) family law cases and proceedings; and |
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(3) felony cases to conduct arraignments and pre-trial |
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hearings and to accept guilty pleas. |
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(e) The district clerk serves as clerk of a county court at |
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law in cases of concurrent jurisdiction with the district court |
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[enumerated in Subsection (a)(2)], and the county clerk serves as |
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clerk in all other cases. [The district clerk shall establish a |
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separate docket for a county court at law.] |
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SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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a case filed or proceeding commenced on or after the effective date |
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of this Act. A case filed or proceeding commenced before the |
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effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the |
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date the case was filed or the proceeding was commenced, and the |
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former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |