By Cuellar                                              H.B. No. 58
         76R1777 MLS-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the creation of a judicial district composed of Webb
 1-3     County.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 24, Government Code, is
 1-6     amended by adding Section 24.547 to read as follows:
 1-7           Sec. 24.547.  402ND JUDICIAL DISTRICT (WEBB COUNTY).  (a)
 1-8     The 402nd Judicial District is composed of Webb County.
 1-9           (b)  The 402nd District Court shall give preference to cases
1-10     involving family violence, cases under the Family Code, and cases
1-11     under the Health and Safety Code.
1-12           SECTION 2.  Section 24.151(f), Government Code, is amended to
1-13     read as follows:
1-14           (f)  In Webb County, the clerk of the district courts shall
1-15     file all civil cases, except tax suits, on the Clerk's Civil File
1-16     Docket and shall number the cases consecutively.  All tax suits
1-17     shall be assigned and docketed in the 49th  District Court.  All
1-18     cases involving family violence, all cases under the Family Code,
1-19     and all cases under the Health and Safety Code shall be assigned
1-20     and docketed in the 402nd District Court.  All other [Each] civil
1-21     cases [case, except tax suits,] shall be assigned and docketed  at
1-22     random by the district clerk according to the following
1-23     percentages:  49th District Court, 20 percent;  111th District
1-24     Court, 60 percent; and the 341st District Court, 20 percent.  The
 2-1     clerk shall keep a separate file docket, known as the Clerk's
 2-2     Criminal File Docket, for criminal cases and a separate file
 2-3     docket, known as the Clerk's Tax Suit Docket, for tax suits.  [Each
 2-4     tax suit shall be assigned and docketed in the 49th District
 2-5     Court.]  The clerk shall number the cases on the Clerk's Tax Suit
 2-6     Docket consecutively with a separate series of numbers and shall
 2-7     number the cases on the Clerk's Criminal File Docket consecutively
 2-8     with a separate series of numbers.
 2-9           SECTION 3.  The 402nd Judicial District is created and this
2-10     Act takes effect January 1, 2001.
2-11           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
2-12     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-13     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-14     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-15     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.