HBA-SEB H.B. 323 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 323
By: Brown, Fred
Judicial Affairs
2/23/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Texas cities may own land and facilities located outside their city limits,
including parks, playgrounds, water plants, sewer plants,
electricity-generating facilities, and libraries.  Currently, cities have
the authority to adopt and enforce ordinances relating to acts committed at
these places, but county justice courts rather than municipal courts have
jurisdiction over criminal violations of those ordinances.  H.B. 323 gives
a municipality exclusive original jurisdiction in a criminal case that
occurs in a municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction if the case
involves the violation of a city ordinance and the activity is punishable
only by a fine.     

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 29.003(a), Government Code, to include municipal
property located in the municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction as
territory over which a municipal court is required to have exclusive
original jurisdiction in certain criminal cases.  Cases that fall under
that jurisdiction are those which arise under the municipality's ordinances
and are punishable by a fine of no more than $500 or no more than $2000 in
cases arising under a municipal ordinance governing fire safety, zoning, or
public health and sanitation. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 29.003(b), Government Code, to include criminal
cases that arise on municipal property within a municipality's
extraterritorial jurisdiction as cases over which a municipal court shares
concurrent jurisdiction with the justice court in the municipality's
precinct. 

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.
            Effective date:  upon passage.