BILL ANALYSIS S.B. 1622 By: Sims Jurisprudence 4-27-95 Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND New case filings in the county court dockets of Bell County have steadily increased, and the caseload of each court is continuing to escalate. A court has not been created in Ball County for 16 years. Since that time, the county's population has increased by a third, and new case filings in the county court dockets have jumped from about 5300 to more than 11,000 in those 16 years. The caseload per judge in the county courts is much higher in Bell County than in neighboring counties. For new county cases filed in 1994, Bell County averages 5522 cases per judge compared to 2835 average for McLennan County, 2434 for Williamson County and 2740 for Coryell County. PURPOSE As proposed, S.B. 1622 creates the County Court at Law No. 3 of Bell 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 25.0161, Government Code, to include County Court at Law No. 3 in the list of county courts in Bell County. SECTION 2. Provides that the County Court at Law No. 3 of Bell County is created January 1, 1999, or on an earlier date determined by the commissioners court by an order entered on its minutes. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.