1-1 By: Gallego, Thompson, Cuellar H.B. No. 804
1-2 (Senate Sponsor - Wentworth)
1-3 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 10, 1999;
1-4 May 10, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on Finance;
1-5 May 13, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 9,
1-6 Nays 0; May 13, 1999, sent to printer.)
1-7 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-8 AN ACT
1-9 relating to salaries and fees for services of certain prosecutors.
1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11 SECTION 1. Chapter 46, Government Code, is amended to read
1-12 as follows:
1-13 CHAPTER 46. PROFESSIONAL PROSECUTORS
1-14 Sec. 46.001. DEFINITIONS [DEFINITION]. In this chapter:
1-15 (1) "County prosecutor" means a constitutional county
1-16 attorney who does not have general felony jurisdiction and who is
1-17 not a state prosecutor.
1-18 (2) "Benchmark salary" means the salary that is
1-19 provided for a district judge in the General Appropriations Act.
1-20 (3) "State prosecutor"[, "prosecutor"] means a
1-21 district attorney, criminal district attorney, or county attorney
1-22 performing the duties of district attorney who serves in a district
1-23 or county listed in Section 46.002.
1-24 Sec. 46.002. Prosecutors Subject to Chapter. This chapter
1-25 applies to all county prosecutors and [only] to the following state
1-26 prosecutors:
1-27 (1) the district attorneys for the 2nd, 8th, 9th,
1-28 12th, 18th, 21st, 23rd, 26th, 27th, 29th, 32nd, 34th, 35th, 36th,
1-29 38th, 43rd, 47th, 49th, 50th, 51st, 52nd, 53rd, 63rd, 64th, 66th,
1-30 69th, 70th, 76th, 81st, 84th, 85th, 88th, 90th, 97th, 100th, 105th,
1-31 106th, 110th, 118th, 119th, 123rd, 142nd, 145th, 156th, 159th,
1-32 173rd, 196th, 198th, 216th, 220th, 229th, 235th, 253rd, 259th,
1-33 266th, 268th, 271st, 278th, 286th, 329th, 349th, and 355th judicial
1-34 districts;
1-35 (2) the criminal district attorneys for the counties
1-36 of Anderson, Austin, Bastrop, Bexar, Bowie, Brazoria, Caldwell,
1-37 Calhoun, Cass, Collin, Comal, Deaf Smith, Denton, Eastland,
1-38 Galveston, Gregg, Harrison, Hays, Hidalgo, Jasper, Jefferson,
1-39 Kaufman, Lubbock, McLennan, Madison, Navarro, Newton, Panola, Polk,
1-40 Randall, Rockwall, San Jacinto, Smith, Tarrant, Taylor, Tyler,
1-41 Upshur, Van Zandt, Victoria, Walker, Waller, Wichita, Wood, and
1-42 Yoakum; and
1-43 (3) the county attorneys performing the duties of
1-44 district attorneys in the counties of Andrews, Callahan, Cameron,
1-45 Castro, Colorado, Crosby, Ellis, Falls, Fannin, Freestone, Grayson,
1-46 Lamar, Lamb, Lampasas, Lee, Limestone, Marion, Milam, Morris,
1-47 Ochiltree, Orange, Red River, Robertson, Rusk, Terry, Webb, and
1-48 Willacy.
1-49 Sec. 46.003. COMPENSATION OF STATE PROSECUTORS. (a) Each
1-50 state prosecutor is entitled to receive from the state compensation
1-51 equal to the compensation that is provided for a district judge in
1-52 the General Appropriations Act.
1-53 (b) A commissioners court may supplement the state
1-54 prosecutor's state salary but may not pay the state prosecutor an
1-55 amount less than the compensation it pays its highest paid district
1-56 judge.
1-57 Sec. 46.0031. COMPENSATION OF COUNTY PROSECUTORS. (a)
1-58 Except as provided by Subsection (b), each county that has a county
1-59 prosecutor is entitled to receive from the state supplemental
1-60 salary compensation to be paid by the county to the county
1-61 prosecutor in an amount equal to the amount that is one-half of the
1-62 benchmark salary divided by the total number of counties served by
1-63 the state prosecutor, unless that formula would result in an amount
1-64 less than one-sixth of the benchmark salary, in which case the
2-1 county prosecutor is entitled to receive one-sixth of the benchmark
2-2 salary. A county with no county prosecutor is not entitled to
2-3 receive the salary supplement funds provided by this section.
2-4 (b) For a county with more than one state prosecutor who
2-5 serves that county, the supplemental salary compensation for the
2-6 county prosecutor is computed by:
2-7 (1) determining the amount of compensation as provided
2-8 by Subsection (a) in relation to each state prosecutor as if that
2-9 state prosecutor is the only state prosecutor who serves the
2-10 county;
2-11 (2) adding the amounts of compensation determined
2-12 under Subdivision (1); and
2-13 (3) setting the amount of compensation at the lesser
2-14 of:
2-15 (A) the sum of those amounts; or
2-16 (B) one-half of the benchmark rate.
2-17 (c) If the receipt of compensation under this section causes
2-18 the gross salary of a county prosecutor to exceed the benchmark
2-19 salary, or if any amount of the compensation is waived by the
2-20 prosecutor, the excess or waived amount shall be used for expenses
2-21 of the county prosecutor's office.
2-22 (d) At least annually the comptroller shall pay to the
2-23 salary fund of each county that is entitled to receive funds under
2-24 this section an amount authorized under this section to supplement
2-25 the salary of the county prosecutor.
2-26 (e) A county attorney who does not have criminal prosecution
2-27 duties or who has criminal prosecution duties only upon request of
2-28 the district attorney is entitled to receive from the state
2-29 supplemental salary compensation that is equal to one-half the
2-30 amount the county attorney would be eligible for under Subsection
2-31 (a) or (b). The remainder of the supplement shall be used for
2-32 expenses of the county attorney's office.
2-33 Sec. 46.004. EXPENSES. (a) Each state prosecutor is
2-34 entitled to receive not less than $22,500 a year from the state to
2-35 be used by the prosecutor to help defray the salaries and expenses
2-36 of the office. That money may not be used to supplement the
2-37 prosecutor's salary.
2-38 (b) Each state prosecutor shall submit annually to the
2-39 comptroller of public accounts a sworn account showing how this
2-40 money was spent during the year.
2-41 Sec. 46.005. Limitations on Law Practice. (a) A state
2-42 prosecutor may not engage in the private practice of law but may
2-43 complete all civil cases that are not in conflict with the interest
2-44 of any of the counties of the district in which the prosecutor
2-45 serves and that are pending in court before the prosecutor takes
2-46 office.
2-47 (b) A state prosecutor may not accept a fee from an attorney
2-48 to whom the prosecutor has referred a case.
2-49 (c) This section applies to a county prosecutor and any [an]
2-50 assistant of a prosecutor if, from all state and county funds
2-51 received, the county prosecutor or assistant receives a salary that
2-52 is equal to or more than 80 percent of the benchmark salary [paid
2-53 by the state to the prosecutor under this chapter].
2-54 (d) This section does not apply to a county prosecutor who
2-55 files with the county auditor an annual written waiver of the
2-56 amount of compensation that is equal to or exceeds 80 percent of
2-57 the benchmark salary. An amount waived under this subsection shall
2-58 be used for expenses of the county prosecutor's office.
2-59 (e) This section does not apply to a county prosecutor who,
2-60 before September 1, 1999, was paid in excess of the benchmark
2-61 salary by the county in which the prosecutor serves.
2-62 Sec. 46.006. Purpose; Duty of County. (a) It is the
2-63 purpose of this chapter to increase the effectiveness of law
2-64 enforcement in this state and to increase the funds available for
2-65 use in prosecution at both the felony and misdemeanor levels.
2-66 (b) The commissioners court in each county that has a
2-67 prosecutor subject to this chapter may not reduce the county [shall
2-68 provide the funds necessary to carry out the purpose of this
2-69 chapter and shall continue to provide] funds provided for the
3-1 salary or office of the prosecutor as a result [in an amount that
3-2 is equal to or greater than the amount] of the funds provided by
3-3 this chapter [for the office by the county on August 27, 1979.
3-4 This subsection does not apply to local supplementation to the
3-5 salary of the prosecutor].
3-6 Sec. 46.007. Ineligibility for Certain Other State Funds.
3-7 Subchapter C, Chapter 41, does not apply to a county if the county
3-8 is served by a state prosecutor who serves in a district or county
3-9 [prosecuting attorney] listed in Section 46.002.
3-10 SECTION 2. Section 45.280, Government Code, is amended to
3-11 read as follows:
3-12 Sec. 45.280. OLDHAM COUNTY. (a) The county attorney in
3-13 Oldham County shall represent the state in all matters pending
3-14 before the district court in Oldham County.
3-15 (b) The county attorney in Oldham County is entitled to be
3-16 compensated by the state in the manner and amount provided by
3-17 general law relating to the salary paid to district attorneys by
3-18 the state. Oldham County shall pay $28,500 of the county
3-19 attorney's total salary, and the state shall pay the remainder of
3-20 the salary.
3-21 (c) The county attorney in Oldham County is entitled to
3-22 receive from the state the amount provided in the General
3-23 Appropriations Act for the payment of staff salaries and office
3-24 expenses in single-county districts.
3-25 (d) If there is no county attorney in Oldham County, the
3-26 criminal district attorney of Deaf Smith County shall represent the
3-27 state in all matters pending before the district court in Oldham
3-28 County on appointment by the judge of the district court in Oldham
3-29 County.
3-30 [(b) Oldham County is entitled to receive an amount from the
3-31 state equal to 30 percent of the salary paid to a district attorney
3-32 by the state.]
3-33 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
3-34 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-35 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-36 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-37 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-38 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
3-39 * * * * *