1-1     By:  Thompson (Senate Sponsor - Wentworth)             H.B. No. 777
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House March 29, 1999;
 1-3     March 30, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Jurisprudence; April 15, 1999, reported favorably by the following
 1-5     vote:  Yeas 3, Nays 0; April 15, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to the jurisdiction of a statutory probate court in
 1-9     certain guardianship matters.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Section 607(b), Texas Probate Code, is amended to
1-12     read as follows:
1-13           (b)  In a proceeding in a statutory probate court or district
1-14     court, the phrases "appertaining to estates" and "incident to an
1-15     estate" in this chapter include the appointment of guardians, the
1-16     issuance of letters of guardianship, all claims by or against a
1-17     guardianship estate, all actions for trial of title to land and for
1-18     the enforcement of liens on the land, all actions for trial of the
1-19     right of property, and generally all matters relating to the
1-20     settlement, partition, and distribution of a guardianship estate.
1-21     A statutory probate court, in the exercise of its jurisdiction and
1-22     notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, may hear all
1-23     suits, actions, and applications filed against or on behalf of any
1-24     guardianship;  all such suits, actions, and applications are
1-25     appertaining to and incident to an estate.  In a situation in which
1-26     the  jurisdiction of a statutory probate court is concurrent with
1-27     that of a district court, a cause of action appertaining to or
1-28     incident to a guardianship estate shall be brought in a statutory
1-29     probate court rather than in the district court.
1-30           SECTION 2.  Section 607(e), Texas Probate Code, is amended to
1-31     read as follows:
1-32           (e)  Subsection [Subsections (c) and] (d) of this section
1-33     applies [apply] whether or not the matter is appertaining to or
1-34     incident to a guardianship estate.
1-35           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
1-36           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
1-37     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-38     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-39     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-40     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
1-41                                  * * * * *