BILL ANALYSIS


                                                     C.S.S.B. 316
                                                        By: Lucio
                                                    Jurisprudence
                                                         02-07-95
                                   Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND

The district courts in Cameron County handle cases dealing with
juvenile and family law matters.  These cases tend to be time
consuming, and the dockets of the district courts and the county
courts in Cameron County are extremely overcrowded.  As of the end
of the last fiscal year, the county courts have a backlog of nearly
11,000 cases pending.  The backlog has increased by 2,324 cases
over the last year.

PURPOSE

As proposed, C.S.S.B. 316 creates an additional statutory court of
law in Cameron County. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or
agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 25.0331(a), Government Code, to provide
that Cameron County has three, rather than two, statutory county
courts.

SECTION 2. Amends Section 25.0332(a), Government Code, to provide
that a Cameron County court at law (court) has concurrent
jurisdiction with the district court in family law cases and
juvenile matters, rather than concurrent jurisdiction with probate
jurisdiction provided by general law for county courts and civil
cases involving specified amounts of money.

SECTION 3. Amends Section 25.0332, Government Code, by adding
Subsection (b), to authorize the district court to transfer to a
county court any family law case or proceeding, any juvenile
matter, or any civil action over which the county court has
jurisdiction.

SECTION 4. Amends Section 25.0332(j), Government Code, to provide
that the district clerk serves as clerk of a county court at law
for family law cases and proceedings and juvenile matters, and the
county clerk serves as clerk for all other cases.

SECTION 5. Amends Section 25.0332(k), Government Code, to provide
that the county sheriff serves the other county courts at law,
rather than just the Cameron County Court at Law No. 2.

SECTION 6. Effective date: September 1, 1995.

SECTION 7. Emergency clause.