By:  D. Jones                                         H.B. No. 1350
       73R5498 JSA-D
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to abolishing certain district courts, creating additional
    1-3  district courts, and the election of district court judges in
    1-4  Travis County.
    1-5        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-6        SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 24, Government Code, is
    1-7  amended by adding Section 24.0015 to read as follows:
    1-8        Sec. 24.0015.  RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT OF JUDGES.  A district
    1-9  judge elected by place from an area that is less than the entire
   1-10  judicial district may, but need not, be a resident of the area from
   1-11  which elected.
   1-12        SECTION 2.  Effective January 1, 1995, Subchapter C, Chapter
   1-13  24, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 24.531 to read as
   1-14  follows:
   1-15        Sec. 24.531.  386TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT (TRAVIS COUNTY).  (a)
   1-16  The 386th Judicial District is composed of Travis County.
   1-17        (b)  The district has six judges who are elected from places
   1-18  as provided by Subsection (c).
   1-19        (c)  One judge shall be elected for each of the following
   1-20  places:
   1-21  __________________________________________________________________
   1-22  __________________________________________________________________
   1-23  __________________________________________________________________
   1-24        SECTION 3.  Effective January 1, 1997, Sections 24.531(b) and
    2-1  (c), Government Code, as added by Section 2 of this Act, are
    2-2  amended to read as follows:
    2-3        (b)  The district has 13 <six> judges who are elected from
    2-4  places as provided by Subsection (c).
    2-5        (c)  One judge shall be elected for each of the following
    2-6  places:
    2-7  __________________________________________________________________
    2-8  __________________________________________________________________
    2-9  __________________________________________________________________
   2-10        SECTION 4.  (a)  Effective January 1, 1995, Sections  24.248,
   2-11  24.380, 24.427, 24.438, 24.476, and 24.477, Government Code, are
   2-12  repealed.
   2-13        (b)  A judicial district created by a section of the
   2-14  Government Code that is repealed by Subsection (a) of this section
   2-15  is abolished January 1, 1995.
   2-16        SECTION 5.  (a)  Effective January 1, 1997, Sections 24.155,
   2-17  24.200, 24.228, 24.264, 24.379, 24.491, and 24.499, Government
   2-18  Code, are repealed.
   2-19        (b)  A judicial district created by a section of the
   2-20  Government Code that is repealed  by Subsection (a) of this section
   2-21  is abolished January 1, 1997.
   2-22        SECTION 6.  (a)  The judicial offices created by Section 2 of
   2-23  this Act exist for purposes of the primary and general elections
   2-24  for state and county officers in 1994.
   2-25        (b)  Not later than December 15, 1994, the judge of a
   2-26  district court that is abolished by Section 4 of this Act shall
   2-27  transfer all cases pending in the court to another district court
    3-1  in the county.  The court to which the cases are transferred may
    3-2  not be a court that is abolished by Section 4 of this Act.
    3-3        (c)  The judicial offices created by Section 3 of this Act
    3-4  exist for purposes of the primary and general elections for state
    3-5  and county officers in 1996.
    3-6        (d)  Not later than December 15, 1996, the judge of a
    3-7  district court that is abolished by Section 5 of this Act shall
    3-8  transfer all cases pending in the court to the district court in
    3-9  the county that is created by Section 2 of this Act.
   3-10        (e)  When a case is transferred from one court to another as
   3-11  provided by Subsection (b) or (d) of this section, all processes,
   3-12  writs, bonds, recognizances, or other obligations issued from the
   3-13  transferring court are returnable to the court to which the case is
   3-14  transferred as if originally issued by that court.  The obligees in
   3-15  all bonds and recognizances taken in and for a court from which a
   3-16  case is transferred, and all witnesses summoned to appear in a
   3-17  court from which a case is transferred, are required to appear
   3-18  before the court to which a case is transferred as if originally
   3-19  required to appear before the court to which the transfer is made.
   3-20        SECTION 7.  (a)  Sections 2, 3, 4(a), and 5(a) of this Act
   3-21  take effect as provided by those sections.
   3-22        (b)  Sections 1, 4(b), 5(b), and 6 of this Act take effect
   3-23  September 1, 1993.
   3-24        SECTION 8.  The importance of this legislation and the
   3-25  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   3-26  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   3-27  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
    4-1  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.