Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.

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         By:  Brown                                   S.B. No. 1348

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

                                       AN ACT

 1-1     relating to the transfer of a case to a statutory probate court.

 1-2           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-3           SECTION 1.  Section 5B, Texas Probate Code, is amended to

 1-4     read as follows:

 1-5           Sec. 5B.  TRANSFER OF PROCEEDING.  (a)  A judge of a

 1-6     statutory probate court on the motion of a party to the action or

 1-7     on the motion of a person interested in an estate, may transfer to

 1-8     his court from a district, county, or statutory court a cause of

 1-9     action appertaining to or incident to an estate pending in the

1-10     statutory probate court and may consolidate the transferred cause

1-11     of action with the other proceedings in the statutory probate court

1-12     relating to that estate; provided, however, the transfer may be

1-13     made only if, after the statutory probate court judge grants the

1-14     motion to transfer the cause of action, the district, county, or

1-15     statutory court from which the cause of action is to be

1-16     transferred:

1-17                 (1)  gives notice to all parties to the cause of action

1-18     of the motion to transfer the cause of action;

1-19                 (2)  holds a hearing regarding the motion to transfer

1-20     the cause of action; and

1-21                 (3)  determines that the transfer of the cause of

1-22     action is in the best interest of justice.

1-23           (b)  In the event that a cause of action is transferred

 2-1     pursuant to Subsection (a), the judge of the transferring court

 2-2     shall order the clerk of the transferring court to make and deliver

 2-3     to the clerk of the statutory probate court a copy of the file for

 2-4     a cause of action transferred as provided by this section.  The

 2-5     movant shall pay all court costs of the transfer.

 2-6           SECTION 2.  Section 608, Texas Probate Code, is amended to

 2-7     read as follows:

 2-8           Sec. 608.  TRANSFER OF GUARDIANSHIP PROCEEDING.  (a)  A judge

 2-9     of a statutory probate court on the motion of a party to the action

2-10     or of a person interested in a guardianship, may transfer to the

2-11     judge's court from a district, county, or statutory court a cause

2-12     of action appertaining to or incident to a guardianship estate that

2-13     is pending in the statutory probate court and may consolidate the

2-14     transferred cause of action with the other proceedings in the

2-15     statutory probate court relating to the guardianship estate;

2-16     provided, however, the transfer may be made only if, after the

2-17     statutory probate court judge grants the motion to transfer the

2-18     cause of action, the district, county, or statutory court from

2-19     which the cause of action is to be transferred:

2-20                 (1)  gives notice to all parties to the cause of action

2-21     of the motion to transfer the cause of action;

2-22                 (2)  holds a hearing regarding the motion to transfer

2-23     the cause of action; and

2-24                 (3)  determines that the transfer of the cause of

2-25     action is in the best interest of justice.

 3-1           (b)  In the event that a cause of action is transferred

 3-2     pursuant to Subsection (a), the judge of the transferring court

 3-3     shall order the clerk of the transferring court to make and deliver

 3-4     to the clerk of the statutory probate court a copy of the file for

 3-5     a cause of action transferred as provided by this section.  The

 3-6     movant shall pay all court costs of the transfer.

 3-7           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and

 3-8     applies to a motion to transfer a cause of action filed on or after

 3-9     that date.  A motion to transfer a cause of action filed before the

3-10     effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the

3-11     time the motion was filed and that law is continued in effect for

3-12     that purpose.

3-13           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

3-14     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

3-15     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

3-16     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-17     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.