By Thompson                                           H.B. No. 2837

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to certain filing fees and salaries of judges in the

 1-3     statutory county courts of certain counties.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Sections 25.0005(a) and (e), Government Code, are

 1-6     amended to read as follows:

 1-7           (a)  A statutory county court judge, other than a statutory

 1-8     county court judge who engages in the private practice of law or a

 1-9     judge in whose court fees and costs under Section 51.702 are not

1-10     collected, shall be paid a total annual salary set by the

1-11     commissioners court at an amount that is at least equal to the

1-12     amount that is $4,000 [$1,000] less than the total annual salary

1-13     received by a district judge in the county.  A district judge's or

1-14     statutory county court judge's total annual salary includes

1-15     contributions and supplements, paid by the state or a county, other

1-16     than contributions received as compensation under Section 74.051.

1-17           (e)  A county is not required to meet the salary requirements

1-18     of Subsection (a) for a particular court if:

1-19                 (1)  not later than September 1 of the year in which

1-20     the county initially begins collecting fees and costs under Section

1-21     51.702, the county increases the salary of each statutory county

1-22     court judge in the county to an amount that is at least:

1-23                       (A)  $20,000 more than the salary the judge was

1-24     entitled to on May 1 of  that year, if the county initially begins

 2-1     collecting fees and costs under Section 51.702 before January 1,

 2-2     1998, and is also at least $24,000 more than the salary the judge

 2-3     was entitled to on May 1, 1997; and

 2-4                       (B)  $24,000 more than the salary the judge was

 2-5     entitled to on May 1 of that year if the county initially begins

 2-6     collecting fees and costs under Section 51.702 on or after January

 2-7     1, 1998;

 2-8                 (2)  the county maintains the salary at the minimum

 2-9     required by Subdivision (1);

2-10                 (3)  the county collects the fees and costs as provided

2-11     by Section 51.702;

2-12                 (4)  the court has at least the jurisdiction provided

2-13     by Section 25.0003; and

2-14                 (5)  except as provided by Subsection (f), the county

2-15     uses at least 50 percent of the amount the county receives each

2-16     state fiscal year under Section 25.0016 for salaries for the

2-17     statutory county court judges.

2-18           SECTION 2.  Section 25.0015(a), Government Code, is amended

2-19     to read as follows:

2-20           (a)  Beginning on the first day of the state fiscal year, the

2-21     state shall annually compensate each county that collects the

2-22     additional fees and costs under Section 51.702 in an amount equal

2-23     to $30,000 [$25,000] for each statutory county court judge in the

2-24     county who:

2-25                 (1)  does not engage in the private practice of law;

2-26                 (2)  presides over a court with at least the

2-27     jurisdiction provided by Section 25.0003; and

 3-1                 (3)  except as provided by Section 25.0005(d), is not

 3-2     excluded from the application of Section 25.0003 or Section

 3-3     25.0005.

 3-4           SECTION 3.  Section 25.0016(c), Government Code, is amended

 3-5     to read as follows:

 3-6           (c)  In determining the amount deposited in the judicial fund

 3-7     under Section 51.702 for a county that collects fees and costs as

 3-8     provided by that section, the comptroller shall credit $40 [$30] of

 3-9     each fee deposited in the judicial fund under Section 51.701 by

3-10     that county for cases assigned to a statutory county court as fees

3-11     deposited under Section 51.702.

3-12           SECTION 4.  Section 51.702(a), Government Code, is amended to

3-13     read as follows:

3-14           (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (g), in addition to all

3-15     other fees authorized or required by other law, the clerk of a

3-16     statutory county court shall collect a $40 [$30] filing fee in each

3-17     civil case filed in the court to be used for court-related purposes

3-18     for the support of the judiciary.

3-19           SECTION 5.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this

3-20     section, this Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and applies only

3-21     to a fee for a case filed on or after the effective date of this

3-22     Act or to a salary payment made on or after the effective date of

3-23     this Act.  A case filed or a salary payment made before the

3-24     effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the

3-25     time the case was filed or the salary payment was made, and that

3-26     law is continued in effect for that purpose.

3-27           (b)  Section 1 of this Act takes effect January 1, 1998.

 4-1           SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect only if Senate Bill No.

 4-2     310, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, is

 4-3     enacted and becomes law.  If Senate Bill No. 310 does not become

 4-4     law, this Act does not take effect.

 4-5           SECTION 7.  The importance of this legislation and the

 4-6     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 4-7     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 4-8     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 4-9     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

4-10     and that this Act take effect and be in force according to its

4-11     terms, and it is so enacted.