1-1     By:  Fraser                                           S.B. No. 1875
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed April 19, 1999; April 20, 1999, read
 1-3     first time and referred to Committee on Intergovernmental
 1-4     Relations; May 13, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote:
 1-5     Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 13, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to the creation of the County Court at Law of Brown
 1-9     County.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 25, Government Code, is
1-12     amended by adding Sections 25.0271 and 25.0272 to read as follows:
1-13           Sec. 25.0271.  BROWN COUNTY.  Brown County has one statutory
1-14     county court, the County Court at Law of Brown County.
1-15           Sec. 25.0272.  BROWN COUNTY COURT AT LAW PROVISIONS.  (a)  In
1-16     addition to the jurisdiction provided by Section 25.0003 and other
1-17     law, a county court at law of Brown County has concurrent
1-18     jurisdiction with the district court in:
1-19                 (1)  family law cases and proceedings; and
1-20                 (2)  felony criminal cases.
1-21           (b)  The commissioners court by order entered of record shall
1-22     set at least two terms of court each year for each county court at
1-23     law.
1-24           (c)  A judge of a county court at law may not engage in the
1-25     private practice of law.
1-26           (d)  The salary of a judge of a county court at law shall be
1-27     set by the commissioners court in accordance with law and shall be
1-28     paid out of the county treasury on orders from the commissioners
1-29     court.
1-30           (e)  A special judge of a county court at law may be
1-31     appointed in the manner provided by law for the appointment of a
1-32     special county judge.  A special judge must have the same
1-33     qualifications and is entitled to the same rate of compensation as
1-34     the regular judge.
1-35           (f)  The district clerk serves as the clerk of a county court
1-36     at law in matters in which the county court at law has concurrent
1-37     jurisdiction with the district court.  The county clerk serves as
1-38     the clerk of a county court at law in all other matters.
1-39           SECTION 2.  Notwithstanding Section 25.0271, Government Code,
1-40     as added by this Act, the County Court at Law of Brown County is
1-41     created January 1, 2001, or on an earlier date determined by the
1-42     commissioners court by an order  entered in its minutes.
1-43           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
1-44     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-45     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-46     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-47     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
1-48                                  * * * * *