HBA-BSM H.B. 3248 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3248 By: Hinojosa Judicial Affairs 3/29/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, Hidalgo County has four county courts at law with jurisdiction over civil as well as criminal matters. In recent years, the dockets of these courts have greatly increased. In particular, these courts find themselves devoting a larger portion of their time to criminal pretrial hearings and trials. House Bill 3248 creates a fifth county court at law in Hidalgo County which solely deals with criminal cases. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 3248 amends the Government Code to create the County Criminal Court at Law of Hidalgo County. The bill provides that a county criminal court at law in Hidalgo County has jurisdiction over all criminal causes and proceedings, original and appellate, prescribed by law for county courts. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2002.