By Thompson H.B. No. 1607 76R3347 RJA-D A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the assignment of a statutory probate court judge to 1-3 hear a contested probate matter. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. Section 5(b), Texas Probate Code, is amended to 1-6 read as follows: 1-7 (b) In those counties where there is no statutory probate 1-8 court, county court at law or other statutory court exercising the 1-9 jurisdiction of a probate court, all applications, petitions and 1-10 motions regarding probate and administrations shall be filed and 1-11 heard in the county court, except that in contested probate 1-12 matters, the judge of the county court may on his own motion (or 1-13 shall on the motion of any party to the proceeding, according to 1-14 the motion) request as provided by Section 25.0022, Government 1-15 Code, the assignment of a statutory probate court judge to hear the 1-16 contested portion of the proceeding, or transfer the contested 1-17 portion of the proceeding to the district court, which may then 1-18 hear contested matter as if originally filed in district court. If 1-19 the judge of the county court has not transferred a contested 1-20 probate matter to the district court at the time a party files a 1-21 motion for assignment of a statutory probate court judge, the 1-22 county judge shall grant the motion and may not transfer the matter 1-23 to district court unless the party withdraws the motion. A 1-24 statutory probate court judge assigned to a contested probate 2-1 matter as provided by this subsection has for that matter the 2-2 jurisdiction and authority granted to a statutory probate court by 2-3 Sections 5A and 5B of this code. The county court shall continue 2-4 to exercise jurisdiction over the management of the estate with the 2-5 exception of the contested matter until final disposition of the 2-6 contested matter is made by the assigned judge or the district 2-7 court. In contested matters transferred to the district court in 2-8 those counties, the district court, concurrently with the county 2-9 court, shall have the general jurisdiction of a probate court. 2-10 Upon resolution of all pending contested matters, the contested 2-11 portion of the probate proceeding shall be transferred by the 2-12 district court to the county court for further proceedings not 2-13 inconsistent with the orders of the district court. If a contested 2-14 portion of the proceeding is transferred to a district court under 2-15 this subsection, the clerk of the district court may perform in 2-16 relation to the transferred portion of the proceeding any function 2-17 a county clerk may perform in that type of contested proceeding. 2-18 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the 2-19 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-20 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-21 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-22 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 2-23 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 2-24 passage, and it is so enacted.