1-1     By:  Thompson (Senate Sponsor - Ellis)                H.B. No. 1040

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 4, 1997;

 1-3     April 8, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on

 1-4     Jurisprudence; April 23, 1997, reported favorably by the following

 1-5     vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0; April 23, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to the salaries of statutory county court judges.

 1-9           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-10           SECTION 1.  Section 25.0005(e), Government Code, is amended

1-11     to read as follows:

1-12           (e)  A county is not required to meet the salary requirements

1-13     of Subsection (a) for a particular court if:

1-14                 (1)  not later than September 1 of the year in which

1-15     the county initially begins collecting fees and costs under Section

1-16     51.702, the county increases the salary of each statutory county

1-17     court judge in the county to an amount that is at least $20,000

1-18     more than the salary the judge was entitled to on May 1 of that

1-19     year;

1-20                 (2)  the county pays at least [maintains] the salary

1-21     [at the minimum] required by Subdivision (1);

1-22                 (3)  the county collects the fees and costs as provided

1-23     by Section 51.702;

1-24                 (4)  the court has at least the jurisdiction provided

1-25     by Section 25.0003;  and

1-26                 (5)  except as provided by Subsection (f), the county

1-27     uses at least 50 percent of the amount the county receives each

1-28     state fiscal year under Section 25.0016 for salaries for the

1-29     statutory county court judges.

1-30           SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-31     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-32     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-33     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-34     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

1-35     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

1-36     passage, and it is so enacted.

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