1-1  By:  Uher (Senate Sponsor - Armbrister)                H.B. No. 824
    1-2        (In the Senate - Received from the House May 1, 1995;
    1-3  May 2, 1995, read first time and referred to Committee on
    1-4  Jurisprudence; May 16, 1995, reported favorably by the following
    1-5  vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 16, 1995, sent to printer.)
    1-6                         A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-7                                AN ACT
    1-8  relating to the creation of a statutory county court in Matagorda
    1-9  County.
   1-10        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
   1-11        SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 25, Government Code, is
   1-12  amended by adding Sections 25.1631 and 25.1632 to read as follows:
   1-13        Sec. 25.1631.  MATAGORDA COUNTY.  Matagorda County has one
   1-14  statutory county court, the County Court at Law of Matagorda
   1-15  County.
   1-16        Sec. 25.1632.  MATAGORDA COUNTY COURT AT LAW PROVISIONS.  (a)
   1-17  In addition to the jurisdiction provided by Section 25.0003 and
   1-18  other law, a county court at law in Matagorda County has:
   1-19              (1)  concurrent jurisdiction with the district court in
   1-20  family law cases and proceedings; and
   1-21              (2)  notwithstanding any law granting exclusive
   1-22  jurisdiction to the district court, concurrent jurisdiction with
   1-23  the district court in criminal cases.
   1-24        (b)  A county court at law has concurrent jurisdiction with
   1-25  the justice court in all criminal matters prescribed by law for
   1-26  justice courts.  This subsection does not affect the right of
   1-27  appeal to a county court at law from a justice court where the
   1-28  right of appeal to the county court exists by law.
   1-29        (c)  The district clerk serves as clerk of a county court at
   1-30  law in matters of concurrent jurisdiction with the district court,
   1-31  and the county clerk shall serve as clerk of a county court at law
   1-32  in all other cases.  The commissioners court shall provide the
   1-33  deputy clerks, bailiffs, and other personnel necessary to operate a
   1-34  county court at law.
   1-35        (d)  A person sitting in the capacity of a county court at
   1-36  law judge in Matagorda County may not sit as an assigned judge in
   1-37  Bexar, Dallas, Ector, Fort Bend, Harris, Jefferson, Lubbock,
   1-38  Midland, Tarrant, or Travis County.
   1-39        SECTION 2.  Notwithstanding Section 25.1631, Government Code,
   1-40  as added by this Act, the County Court at Law of Matagorda County
   1-41  is created January 1, 1998, or on an earlier date determined by the
   1-42  commissioners court by an order entered in its minutes.
   1-43        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
   1-44  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   1-45  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   1-46  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   1-47  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
   1-48                               * * * * *