1-1     By:  Wentworth                                         S.B. No. 970

 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed March 5, 1997; March 10, 1997, read

 1-3     first time and referred to Committee on Jurisprudence;

 1-4     April 9, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 7,

 1-5     Nays 0; April 9, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to certain district courts in Bexar County.

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

1-10           SECTION 1.  Subsection (d), Section 24.139, Government Code,

1-11     is amended to read as follows:

1-12           (d)  The 144th, 175th, 186th, 187th, 226th, 227th, [289th,]

1-13     and 290th district courts shall give preference to criminal cases.

1-14     The terms of those courts begin on the first Mondays in January

1-15     and[, March, May,] July[, September, and November].  Each term

1-16     continues until the court has disposed of the business for that

1-17     term.

1-18           SECTION 2.  Subsection (c), Section 24.466, Government Code,

1-19     is amended to read as follows:

1-20           (c)  The terms of the 289th District Court begin on the first

1-21     Mondays in January and[, March, May,] July[, September, and

1-22     November].  Each term continues until the court has disposed of the

1-23     business for that term.

1-24           SECTION 3.  Sections 24.366(c), 24.404(c), 24.405(c), and

1-25     24.467(c), Government Code, are repealed.

1-26           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-27           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-28     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-29     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-30     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-31     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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