73R6632 RJA-D
          By Cuellar of Webb                                    H.B. No. 2078
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to the organization and administration of the courts of
    1-3  appeals and to the election of justices of those courts.
    1-4        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Sections 22.201(b), (f), (g), (m), and (o),
    1-6  Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
    1-7        (b)  The First Court of Appeals District is composed of the
    1-8  counties of Austin, Brazoria, <Brazos,> Burleson, Chambers,
    1-9  Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Harris, Trinity, Walker,
   1-10  Waller, and Washington.
   1-11        (f)  The Fifth Court of Appeals District is composed of the
   1-12  counties of Collin, Dallas, Grayson, Hunt, and <Kaufman,>
   1-13  Rockwall<, and Van Zandt>.
   1-14        (g)  The Sixth Court of Appeals District is composed of the
   1-15  counties of Bowie, Camp, Cass, Delta, Fannin, Franklin, Gregg,
   1-16  Harrison, Hopkins, <Hunt,> Lamar, Marion, Morris, Panola, Rains,
   1-17  Red River, Rusk, Titus, Upshur, and Wood.
   1-18        (m)  The Twelfth Court of Appeals District is composed of the
   1-19  counties of Anderson, Cherokee, <Gregg,> Henderson, <Hopkins,>
   1-20  Houston, Kaufman, Nacogdoches, <Panola, Rains, Rusk,> Sabine, San
   1-21  Augustine, Shelby, Smith, and <Upshur,> Van Zandt<, and Wood>.
   1-22        (o)  The Fourteenth Court of Appeals District is composed of
   1-23  the counties of Austin, Brazoria, <Brazos,> Burleson, Chambers,
   1-24  Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Harris, Trinity, Walker,
    2-1  Waller, and Washington.
    2-2        SECTION 2.  Subchapter C, Chapter 22, Government Code, is
    2-3  amended by adding Section 22.229 to read as follows:
    2-4        Sec. 22.229.  ELECTION FROM PLACES.  (a)  The justices of
    2-5  each court of appeals district shall be elected by places within
    2-6  the district as provided by law.
    2-7        (b)  The legislature shall draw the boundaries of the places
    2-8  within each court of appeals district, designate the number of each
    2-9  place within the district, and designate the sequence in which each
   2-10  place in the district will appear on a ballot to be filled by
   2-11  partisan election by place.  The number of places within a district
   2-12  is equal to the number of justices provided by statute for the
   2-13  court of appeals in that district.  Each point within the district
   2-14  shall be within the area of one place.  If a justice is added to a
   2-15  court of appeals, the justice shall be elected from the entire
   2-16  district until the first general election following the next
   2-17  redistricting of the district into places.
   2-18        (c)  Any election of a justice governed by Chapter 202,
   2-19  Election Code, shall be a partisan election by place.
   2-20        (d)  To be eligible to serve as justice, the person at the
   2-21  time of election or appointment must reside within the boundary of
   2-22  the court of appeals district and may, but need not, be a resident
   2-23  of the area of the place for which the office is filled.
   2-24        (e)  For purposes of the Election Code, each partisan
   2-25  election by place of a justice is considered to be an election of a
   2-26  district office filled by the voters of more than one county.
   2-27        (f)  A justice elected to a place shall serve on the same
    3-1  court of appeals as the justice he or she immediately succeeds.
    3-2        (g)  Places within a court of appeals district shall be
    3-3  filled by partisan election by place in ascending numerical order
    3-4  from the smallest numbered to the largest numbered place.
    3-5        SECTION 3.  Subchapter C, Chapter 22, Government Code, is
    3-6  amended by adding Section 22.230 to read as follows:
    3-7        Sec. 22.230.  TRANSACTION OF BUSINESS.  A court of appeals
    3-8  may transact its business in any county in the court of appeals
    3-9  district as the court determines necessary and convenient.
   3-10        SECTION 4.  Sections 22.202(g), 22.203(b), 22.204(b),
   3-11  22.205(b), 22.206(b), 22.207(b), 22.209(b), 22.213(c), 22.214(c),
   3-12  and 22.215(c), Government Code, are repealed.
   3-13        SECTION 5.  Section 31.001, Government Code, is amended to
   3-14  read as follows:
   3-15        Sec. 31.001.  Authority For County Payment Of Compensation.
   3-16  The commissioners courts in the counties of each of the <14> courts
   3-17  of appeals districts may pay an amount not to exceed $15,000 a year
   3-18  to each of the justices of the courts of appeals residing within
   3-19  the court of appeals district that includes those counties.  The
   3-20  payment is for all judicial and administrative services performed
   3-21  by the justices.
   3-22        SECTION 6.  This Act does not affect the jurisdiction on
   3-23  appeal of any case from a county that is transferred by this Act to
   3-24  a different court of appeals district if the transcripts for the
   3-25  case were filed before the effective date of this Act in the
   3-26  appropriate court of appeals district.
   3-27        SECTION 7.  This Act does not affect the term of a justice of
    4-1  a court of appeals elected or appointed before the effective date
    4-2  of this Act.  Justices shall be elected from court of appeals
    4-3  districts as changed by this Act for each regular term that begins
    4-4  after the effective date and at each election held after the
    4-5  effective date to fill a vacancy in the office of justice of a
    4-6  court of appeals.
    4-7        SECTION 8.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
    4-8        SECTION 9.  The importance of this legislation and the
    4-9  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   4-10  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   4-11  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   4-12  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
   4-13                       COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1
   4-14  Amend H.B. 2078 on page 4, following Section 7 by inserting new
   4-15  Section 8 and 9 as follows and renumbering subsequent sections:
   4-16        "SECTION 8.  Subchapter C, Chapter 22, Government Code, is
   4-17  amended by adding a new Section 22.231 to read as follows:
   4-18        "Sec. 22.231.  INTERIM PROVISION.  This provision is
   4-19  necessary to assure continuity in the administration of justice and
   4-20  to provide for the orderly transition to the method of electing
   4-21  justices by place.  Chief justices and justices serving on their
   4-22  courts of appeal on the effective date of this Act may, at the end
   4-23  of their current term of office, at their option stand for election
   4-24  either by election in the entire court of appeals district or by an
   4-25  election by place.  Until a chief justice or justice covered by
   4-26  this section has been elected in an election by place, the chief
   4-27  justice or justice may not be identified with a specific place
    5-1  within the court of appeals district.
    5-2        SECTION 9.  Subchapter C, Chapter 22, Government Code, is
    5-3  amended by adding Section 22.232 to read as follows:
    5-4        "Section 22.232.  A person serving as chief justice of a
    5-5  court of appeals on the effective date of this Act continues to
    5-6  serve as chief justice until the person declines the office of
    5-7  chief justice in writing or vacates the office of justice of the
    5-8  courts of appeals."
    5-9                                                      Cuellar of Webb