1-1 By: Thompson (Senate Sponsor - Ellis) H.B. No. 2837
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 16, 1997;
1-3 May 16, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on
1-4 Jurisprudence; May 18, 1997, reported favorably by the following
1-5 vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 18, 1997, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to certain filing fees and salaries of judges in the
1-9 statutory county courts of certain counties.
1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11 SECTION 1. Sections 25.0005(a) and (e), Government Code, are
1-12 amended to read as follows:
1-13 (a) A statutory county court judge, other than a statutory
1-14 county court judge who engages in the private practice of law or a
1-15 judge in whose court fees and costs under Section 51.702 are not
1-16 collected, shall be paid a total annual salary set by the
1-17 commissioners court at an amount that is at least equal to the
1-18 amount that is $4,000 [$1,000] less than the total annual salary
1-19 received by a district judge in the county. A district judge's or
1-20 statutory county court judge's total annual salary includes
1-21 contributions and supplements, paid by the state or a county, other
1-22 than contributions received as compensation under Section 74.051.
1-23 (e) A county is not required to meet the salary requirements
1-24 of Subsection (a) for a particular court if:
1-25 (1) not later than September 1 of the year in which
1-26 the county initially begins collecting fees and costs under Section
1-27 51.702, the county increases the salary of each statutory county
1-28 court judge in the county to an amount that is at least:
1-29 (A) $20,000 more than the salary the judge was
1-30 entitled to on May 1 of that year, if the county initially begins
1-31 collecting fees and costs under Section 51.702 before January 1,
1-32 1998, and is also at least $24,000 more than the salary the judge
1-33 was entitled to on May 1, 1997; and
1-34 (B) $24,000 more than the salary the judge was
1-35 entitled to on May 1 of that year if the county initially begins
1-36 collecting fees and costs under Section 51.702 on or after January
1-37 1, 1998;
1-38 (2) the county maintains the salary at the minimum
1-39 required by Subdivision (1);
1-40 (3) the county collects the fees and costs as provided
1-41 by Section 51.702;
1-42 (4) the court has at least the jurisdiction provided
1-43 by Section 25.0003; and
1-44 (5) except as provided by Subsection (f), the county
1-45 uses at least 50 percent of the amount the county receives each
1-46 state fiscal year under Section 25.0016 for salaries for the
1-47 statutory county court judges.
1-48 SECTION 2. Section 25.0015(a), Government Code, is amended
1-49 to read as follows:
1-50 (a) Beginning on the first day of the state fiscal year, the
1-51 state shall annually compensate each county that collects the
1-52 additional fees and costs under Section 51.702 in an amount equal
1-53 to $30,000 [$25,000] for each statutory county court judge in the
1-54 county who:
1-55 (1) does not engage in the private practice of law;
1-56 (2) presides over a court with at least the
1-57 jurisdiction provided by Section 25.0003; and
1-58 (3) except as provided by Section 25.0005(d), is not
1-59 excluded from the application of Section 25.0003 or Section
1-60 25.0005.
1-61 SECTION 3. Section 25.0016(c), Government Code, is amended
1-62 to read as follows:
1-63 (c) In determining the amount deposited in the judicial fund
1-64 under Section 51.702 for a county that collects fees and costs as
2-1 provided by that section, the comptroller shall credit $40 [$30] of
2-2 each fee deposited in the judicial fund under Section 51.701 by
2-3 that county for cases assigned to a statutory county court as fees
2-4 deposited under Section 51.702.
2-5 SECTION 4. Section 51.702(a), Government Code, is amended to
2-6 read as follows:
2-7 (a) Except as provided by Subsection (g), in addition to all
2-8 other fees authorized or required by other law, the clerk of a
2-9 statutory county court shall collect a $40 [$30] filing fee in each
2-10 civil case filed in the court to be used for court-related purposes
2-11 for the support of the judiciary.
2-12 SECTION 5. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
2-13 section, this Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and applies only
2-14 to a fee for a case filed on or after the effective date of this
2-15 Act or to a salary payment made on or after the effective date of
2-16 this Act. A case filed or a salary payment made before the
2-17 effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the
2-18 time the case was filed or the salary payment was made, and that
2-19 law is continued in effect for that purpose.
2-20 (b) Section 1 of this Act takes effect January 1, 1998.
2-21 SECTION 6. This Act takes effect only if Senate Bill No.
2-22 310, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, is
2-23 enacted and becomes law. If Senate Bill No. 310 does not become
2-24 law, this Act does not take effect.
2-25 SECTION 7. The importance of this legislation and the
2-26 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-27 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-28 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-29 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
2-30 and that this Act take effect and be in force according to its
2-31 terms, and it is so enacted.
2-32 * * * * *