73R7962 MWV-D
By Oakley H.B. No. 2861
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the creation of a statutory county court in Kaufman
1-3 County.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 25, Government Code, is
1-6 amended by adding Sections 25.1311 and 25.1312 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 25.1311. KAUFMAN COUNTY. Kaufman County has one
1-8 statutory county court, the County Court at Law of Kaufman County.
1-9 Sec. 25.1312. KAUFMAN COUNTY COURT AT LAW PROVISIONS. (a)
1-10 In addition to the jurisdiction provided by Section 25.0003 and
1-11 other law, a statutory county court in Kaufman County has, except
1-12 as limited by Subsection (b), the jurisdiction provided by the
1-13 constitution and general law for district courts.
1-14 (b) A statutory county court in Kaufman County does not have
1-15 general supervisory control or appellate review of the
1-16 commissioners court or jurisdiction of:
1-17 (1) felony cases involving capital murder;
1-18 (2) suits on behalf of the state to recover penalties
1-19 or escheated property;
1-20 (3) misdemeanors involving official misconduct; or
1-21 (4) contested elections.
1-22 (c) The district clerk serves as clerk of a statutory county
1-23 court except that the county clerk serves as clerk of the
1-24 statutory county court in matters of mental health, probate,
2-1 juvenile and criminal misdemeanor docket, and all civil matters in
2-2 which the statutory county court does not have concurrent
2-3 jurisdiction with the district court.
2-4 (d) Jurors regularly impaneled for the week by the district
2-5 courts may, at the request of a statutory county court judge, be
2-6 made available by the district judge in the numbers requested and
2-7 shall serve for the week or until released in the statutory county
2-8 court.
2-9 (e) A statutory county court may summon jurors through the
2-10 county clerk for service in the statutory county court in the
2-11 manner provided by the laws governing the drawing, selection, and
2-12 service of jurors for county courts. Jurors summoned shall be paid
2-13 in the same manner and at the same rate as jurors for district
2-14 courts in Kaufman County. By order of the judge of a statutory
2-15 county court, jurors summoned to the statutory county court may be
2-16 transferred to the district court for service in noncapital felony
2-17 cases.
2-18 (f) Notwithstanding Sections 74.091 and 74.0911, a district
2-19 judge serves as the local administrative judge for the district and
2-20 statutory county courts in Kaufman County. The judges of district
2-21 courts shall elect a district judge as local administrative judge
2-22 for a term of not more than two years. The local administrative
2-23 judge may not be elected on the basis of rotation or seniority.
2-24 (g) When administering a case for the statutory county
2-25 court, the district clerk shall charge civil fees and court costs
2-26 as if the case had been filed in the district court. In a case of
2-27 concurrent jurisdiction, the case shall be assigned to either the
3-1 district court or statutory county court in accordance with local
3-2 administrative rules established by the local administrative judge.
3-3 (h) The judge of the statutory county court shall appoint an
3-4 official court reporter for the court and shall set the official
3-5 court reporter's annual salary, subject to approval by the county
3-6 commissioners court. The official court reporter of the statutory
3-7 county court shall take an oath or affirmation as an officer of the
3-8 court, holds office at the pleasure of the judge of the court, and
3-9 shall be provided a private office in close proximity to the court.
3-10 The official court reporter is entitled to all rights and benefits
3-11 afforded all other county employees.
3-12 (i) With the approval of the county commissioners court and
3-13 through the county budget process, the judge of the statutory
3-14 county court shall hire a staff. The staff of the judge of the
3-15 statutory county court consists of a court coordinator and a
3-16 bailiff. Court personnel employed under this subsection are
3-17 entitled to receive a salary set by the commissioners court and
3-18 other employment benefits received by county employees.
3-19 (j) Not later than one year after the date of appointment,
3-20 the bailiff of a statutory county court must have received a peace
3-21 officer license under Chapter 415 from the Commission on Law
3-22 Enforcement Officer Standards and Education. The sheriff of
3-23 Kaufman County shall deputize the bailiff of a statutory county
3-24 court. The bailiff of a statutory county court is subject to the
3-25 training and continuing education requirements of a sheriff's
3-26 deputy of the county. The sheriff shall remove from office a
3-27 bailiff who does not receive a peace officer license within one
4-1 year of appointment as required by this subsection.
4-2 (k) The judge of a statutory county court must be a United
4-3 States citizen at the time of appointment or election.
4-4 (l) The judge of a statutory county court shall diligently
4-5 discharge the duties of the office on a full-time basis and may not
4-6 engage in the private practice of law.
4-7 (m) In matters of concurrent jurisdiction, the judge of a
4-8 statutory county court and the district judge may exchange benches,
4-9 transfer cases, subject to acceptance, assign each other to hear
4-10 cases, and otherwise manage their respective dockets under local
4-11 administrative rules.
4-12 (n) The judge of a statutory county court has the same
4-13 judicial immunity as a district judge.
4-14 SECTION 2. The County Court at Law of Kaufman County is
4-15 created and this Act takes effect January 1, 1995.
4-16 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
4-17 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-18 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-19 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-20 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.