1-1 By: Thompson (Senate Sponsor - Wentworth) H.B. No. 538
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 2, 2001;
1-3 April 3, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
1-4 Jurisprudence; April 18, 2001, reported favorably by the following
1-5 vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; April 18, 2001, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to jurisdiction of statutory probate courts.
1-9 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-10 SECTION 1. Section 25.0022, Government Code, is amended by
1-11 amending Subsections (o)-(x) and adding Subsection (y) to read as
1-12 follows:
1-13 (o) A judge who has jurisdiction over a suit pending in one
1-14 county may, unless a party objects, conduct any of the judicial
1-15 proceedings except the trial on the merits in a different county.
1-16 (p) Except as otherwise provided by this section, the
1-17 salary, compensation, and expenses of a judge assigned under this
1-18 section are paid in accordance with state law.
1-19 (q) [(p)] The daily compensation of a former or retired
1-20 judge for purposes of this section is set at an amount equal to the
1-21 daily compensation of a judge of a statutory probate court in the
1-22 county in which the former or retired judge is assigned. A former
1-23 or retired judge assigned to a county that does not have a
1-24 statutory probate court shall be paid an amount equal to the daily
1-25 compensation of a judge of a statutory probate court in the county
1-26 where the assigned judge was last elected.
1-27 (r) [(q)] An assigned judge is entitled to receive
1-28 reasonable and necessary expenses for travel, lodging, and food.
1-29 The assigned judge shall furnish the presiding judge, for
1-30 certification, an accounting of those expenses with a statement of
1-31 the number of days the judge served.
1-32 (s) [(r)] The presiding judge shall certify to the county
1-33 judge in the county in which the assigned judge served:
1-34 (1) the expenses approved under Subsection (r) [(q)];
1-35 and
1-36 (2) a determination of the assigned judge's salary.
1-37 (t) [(s)] The county in which the assigned judge served
1-38 shall pay out of the general fund of the county:
1-39 (1) expenses certified under Subsection (s) [(q)] to
1-40 the assigned judge; and
1-41 (2) the salary certified under Subsection (s) [(q)] to
1-42 the county in which the assigned judge serves, or, if the assigned
1-43 judge is a former or retired judge, to the assigned judge.
1-44 (u) [(t)] In addition to all compensation and expenses
1-45 authorized by this section and other law, a judge who is assigned
1-46 to a court outside the county of the judge's residence is entitled
1-47 to receive $25 for each day or fraction of a day served. The
1-48 county in which the judge served shall pay the additional
1-49 compensation from the county's general fund on certification by the
1-50 presiding judge.
1-51 (v) [(u)] When required to attend an annual or special
1-52 meeting prescribed by this section, a judge is entitled to receive,
1-53 in addition to all other compensation allowed by law, actual and
1-54 necessary travel expenses incurred going to and returning from the
1-55 place of the meeting and actual and necessary expenses while
1-56 attending the meeting. On certification by the presiding judge,
1-57 the judge's county of residence shall pay the expenses from the
1-58 county's general fund.
1-59 (w) [(v)] The presiding judge may perform the acts necessary
1-60 to carry out the provisions of this section and to improve the
1-61 management of the statutory probate courts and the administration
1-62 of justice.
1-63 (x) [(w)] Chapter 74 and Subchapter I, Chapter 75, do not
1-64 apply to the assignment under this section of statutory probate
2-1 court judges.
2-2 (y) [(x)] To be eligible for assignment under this section a
2-3 former or retired judge of a statutory probate court must:
2-4 (1) not have been removed from office; and
2-5 (2) certify under oath to the presiding judge, on a
2-6 form prescribed by the state board of regional judges, that the
2-7 judge did not resign from office after having received notice that
2-8 formal proceedings by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct had
2-9 been instituted as provided in Section 33.022 and before the final
2-10 disposition of the proceedings.
2-11 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
2-12 * * * * *