75R12927 MWV-D                           

         By Thompson                                           H.B. No. 2837

         Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2837:

         By Thompson                                       C.S.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.  Section 25.0005(e), Government Code, is amended

 1-6     to read as follows:

 1-7           (e)  A county is not required to meet the salary requirements

 1-8     of Subsection (a) for a particular court if:

 1-9                 (1)  not later than September 1 of the year in which

1-10     the county initially begins collecting fees and costs under Section

1-11     51.702, the county increases the salary of each statutory county

1-12     court judge in the county to an amount that is at least $24,000

1-13     [$20,000] more than the salary the judge was entitled to on May 1

1-14     of that year;

1-15                 (2)  the county maintains the salary at the minimum

1-16     required by Subdivision (1);

1-17                 (3)  the county collects the fees and costs as provided

1-18     by Section 51.702;

1-19                 (4)  the court has at least the jurisdiction provided

1-20     by Section 25.0003; and

1-21                 (5)  except as provided by Subsection (f), the county

1-22     uses at least 50 percent of the amount the county receives each

1-23     state fiscal year under Section 25.0016 for salaries for the

1-24     statutory county court judges.

 2-1           SECTION 2.  Section 25.0015(a), Government Code, is amended

 2-2     to read as follows:

 2-3           (a)  Beginning on the first day of the state fiscal year, the

 2-4     state shall annually compensate each county that collects the

 2-5     additional fees and costs under Section 51.702 in an amount equal

 2-6     to $30,000 [$25,000] for each statutory county court judge in the

 2-7     county who:

 2-8                 (1)  does not engage in the private practice of law;

 2-9                 (2)  presides over a court with at least the

2-10     jurisdiction provided by Section 25.0003; and

2-11                 (3)  except as provided by Section 25.0005(d), is not

2-12     excluded from the application of Section 25.0003 or Section

2-13     25.0005.

2-14           SECTION 3.  Section 25.0016(c), Government Code, is amended

2-15     to read as follows:

2-16           (c)  In determining the amount deposited in the judicial fund

2-17     under Section 51.702 for a county that collects fees and costs as

2-18     provided by that section, the comptroller shall credit $40 [$30] of

2-19     each fee deposited in the judicial fund under Section 51.701 by

2-20     that county for cases assigned to a statutory county court as fees

2-21     deposited under Section 51.702.

2-22           SECTION 4.  Section 51.702(a), Government Code, is amended to

2-23     read as follows:

2-24           (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (g), in addition to all

2-25     other fees authorized or required by other law, the clerk of a

2-26     statutory county court shall collect a $40 [$30] filing fee in each

2-27     civil case filed in the court to be used for court-related purposes

 3-1     for the support of the judiciary.

 3-2           SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and

 3-3     applies only to a fee for a case filed on or after the effective

 3-4     date of this Act or to a salary payment made on or after the

 3-5     effective date of this Act.  A case filed or a salary payment made

 3-6     before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in

 3-7     effect at the time the case was filed or the salary payment was

 3-8     made, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.

 3-9           SECTION 6.  The importance of this legislation and the

3-10     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

3-11     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

3-12     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-13     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.