By Gallego                                      H.B. No. 1658

      75R6249 MLS-F                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to salaries and fees for services of certain prosecutors.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Chapter 46, Government Code, is amended to read

 1-5     as follows:

 1-6                    CHAPTER 46.  PROFESSIONAL PROSECUTORS

 1-7           Sec. 46.001.  DEFINITIONS [DEFINITION].  In this chapter:

 1-8                 (1)  "County prosecutor" means a constitutional county

 1-9     attorney who does not have general felony jurisdiction and who is

1-10     not a state prosecutor.

1-11                 (2)  "Benchmark salary" means the salary that is

1-12     provided for a district judge in the General Appropriations Act.

1-13                 (3)  "State prosecutor"[, "prosecutor"] means a

1-14     district attorney, criminal district attorney, or county attorney

1-15     performing the duties of district attorney who serves in a district

1-16     or county listed in Section 46.002.

1-17           Sec. 46.002.  Prosecutors Subject to Chapter.  This chapter

1-18     applies to all county prosecutors and [only] to the following state

1-19     prosecutors:

1-20                 (1)  the district attorneys for the 2nd, 8th, 9th,

1-21     12th, 18th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 26th, 27th, 29th, 34th, 35th,

1-22     36th, 38th, 43rd, 47th, 49th, 51st, 52nd, 53rd, 63rd, 64th, 66th,

1-23     69th, 70th, 76th, 81st, 84th, 85th, 90th, 97th, 105th, 106th,

1-24     110th, 118th, 119th, 123rd, 142nd, 145th, 156th, 159th, 173rd,

 2-1     196th, 198th, 216th, 220th, 229th, 235th, 253rd, 259th, 266th,

 2-2     268th, 271st, 278th, 286th, 329th, 349th, and 355th judicial

 2-3     districts;

 2-4                 (2)  the criminal district attorneys for the counties

 2-5     of Anderson, Austin, Bastrop, Bexar, Bowie, Brazoria, Caldwell,

 2-6     Calhoun, Cass, Deaf Smith, Denton, Eastland, Galveston, Gregg,

 2-7     Harrison, Hays, Hidalgo, Jasper, Jefferson, Kaufman, Lubbock,

 2-8     McLennan, Navarro, Panola, Polk, Randall, Rockwall, San Jacinto,

 2-9     Smith, Tarrant, Taylor, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt, Victoria, Walker,

2-10     Waller, Wichita, Wood, and Yoakum; and

2-11                 (3)  the county attorneys performing the duties of

2-12     district attorneys in the counties of Andrews, Callahan, Cameron,

2-13     Castro, Ellis, Falls, Fannin, Freestone, Grayson, Lamar, Lamb,

2-14     Lampasas, Lee, Limestone, Marion, Milam, Morris, Ochiltree, Orange,

2-15     Red River, Robertson, Rusk, Terry, Webb, and Willacy.

2-16           Sec. 46.003.  COMPENSATION OF STATE PROSECUTORS.  (a)  Each

2-17     state prosecutor is entitled to receive from the state compensation

2-18     equal to the compensation that is provided for a district judge in

2-19     the General Appropriations Act.

2-20           (b)  A commissioners court may supplement the state

2-21     prosecutor's state salary but may not pay the state prosecutor an

2-22     amount less than the compensation it pays its highest paid district

2-23     judge.

2-24           Sec. 46.0031.  COMPENSATION OF COUNTY PROSECUTORS.  (a)

2-25     Except as provided by Subsection (b), each county prosecutor is

2-26     entitled to receive from the state supplemental compensation equal

2-27     to the amount that is one-half of the benchmark salary divided by

 3-1     the total number of counties served by the state prosecutor, unless

 3-2     that formula would result in an amount less than one-sixth of the

 3-3     benchmark salary, in which case the county prosecutor is entitled

 3-4     to receive one-sixth of the benchmark salary.  A county with no

 3-5     county prosecutor is not entitled to receive the salary supplement

 3-6     funds provided by this section.

 3-7           (b)  If more than one state prosecutor serves a county, a

 3-8     county prosecutor that serves that county is entitled to receive

 3-9     one-sixth of the benchmark salary.

3-10           (c)  If the receipt of compensation under this section causes

3-11     the gross salary of a county prosecutor to exceed the benchmark

3-12     salary, or if any amount of the compensation is waived by the

3-13     prosecutor, the excess or waived amount shall be used for expenses

3-14     of the county prosecutor's office.

3-15           Sec. 46.004.  Expenses.  (a)  Each state prosecutor is

3-16     entitled to receive not less than $22,500 a year from the state to

3-17     be used by the prosecutor to help defray the salaries and expenses

3-18     of the office.  That money may not be used to supplement the

3-19     prosecutor's salary.

3-20           (b)  Each state prosecutor shall submit annually to the

3-21     comptroller of public accounts a sworn account showing how this

3-22     money was spent during the year.

3-23           Sec. 46.005.  Limitations on Law Practice.  (a)  A state

3-24     prosecutor may not engage in the private practice of law but may

3-25     complete all civil cases that are not in conflict with the interest

3-26     of any of the counties of the district in which the prosecutor

3-27     serves and that are pending in court before the prosecutor takes

 4-1     office.

 4-2           (b)  A state prosecutor may not accept a fee from an attorney

 4-3     to whom the prosecutor has referred a case.

 4-4           (c)  This section applies to a county prosecutor and any [an]

 4-5     assistant of a prosecutor if, from all state and county funds

 4-6     received, the county prosecutor or assistant receives a salary that

 4-7     is equal to or more than 80 percent of the benchmark salary [paid

 4-8     by the state to the prosecutor under this chapter].

 4-9           (d)  This section does not apply to a county prosecutor who

4-10     files with the county auditor an annual written waiver of the

4-11     amount of compensation that is equal to or exceeds 80 percent of

4-12     the benchmark salary.  An amount waived under this subsection shall

4-13     be used for expenses of the county prosecutor's office.

4-14           (e)  This section does not apply to a county prosecutor who,

4-15     before September 1, 1997, was paid in excess of the benchmark

4-16     salary by the county in which the prosecutor serves.

4-17           Sec. 46.006.  Purpose; Duty of County.  (a)  It is the

4-18     purpose of this chapter to increase the effectiveness of law

4-19     enforcement in this state and to increase the funds available for

4-20     use in prosecution at both the felony and misdemeanor levels.

4-21           (b)  The commissioners court in each county that has a

4-22     prosecutor subject to this chapter may not reduce the county [shall

4-23     provide the funds necessary to carry out the purpose of this

4-24     chapter and shall continue to provide] funds provided for the

4-25     salary or office of the prosecutor as a result [in an amount that

4-26     is equal to or greater than the amount] of the funds provided by

4-27     this chapter [for the office by the county on August 27, 1979.

 5-1     This subsection does not apply to local supplementation to the

 5-2     salary of the prosecutor].

 5-3           Sec. 46.007.  Ineligibility for Certain Other State Funds.

 5-4     Subchapter C, Chapter 41, does not apply to a county if the county

 5-5     is served by a state prosecutor who serves in a district or county

 5-6     [prosecuting attorney] listed in Section 46.002.

 5-7           SECTION 2.  Section 152.032(a), Local Government Code, is

 5-8     amended to read as follows:

 5-9           (a)  The amount of the compensation and allowances of a

5-10     county auditor may not exceed the amount of the compensation and

5-11     allowances received from all county sources by the highest paid

5-12     elected county officer, other than a judge of a statutory county

5-13     court, whose salary and allowances are set by the commissioners

5-14     court.

5-15           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

5-16           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

5-17     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

5-18     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

5-19     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

5-20     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.