1-1     By:  Clark (Senate Sponsor - Haywood)                 H.B. No. 2307
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 23, 2001;
 1-3     April 24, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Intergovernmental Relations; May 4, 2001, reported favorably by the
 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 4, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to the creation of a county court at law in Cooke County,
 1-9     to the jurisdiction of the County Court of Cooke County, and to an
1-10     exemption from certain judicial training and instruction for the
1-11     judge of the county court.
1-12           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-13           SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 25, Government Code, is
1-14     amended by adding Sections 25.0511 and 25.0512 to read as follows:
1-15           Sec. 25.0511.  COOKE COUNTY.  Cooke County has one statutory
1-16     county court, the County Court at Law of Cooke County.
1-17           Sec. 25.0512.  COOKE COUNTY COURT AT LAW PROVISIONS.  (a)  In
1-18     addition to meeting the qualifications of office in Section
1-19     25.0014, the judge of a county court at law in Cooke County must
1-20     meet the qualifications of office for a district judge provided by
1-21     Section 7, Article V, Texas Constitution.
1-22           (b)  The judge of a county court at law may not engage in the
1-23     private practice of law.
1-24           (c)  The judge of a county court at law shall be paid annual
1-25     compensation equal to the annual compensation, including all
1-26     supplements, paid from any public source to a district judge in the
1-27     county.  The salary of the judge of a county court at law shall be
1-28     paid in equal installments at least monthly.
1-29           (d)  The commissioners court, on proper request by the
1-30     appropriate official in charge of a department, may employ as many
1-31     additional assistant attorneys, deputy sheriffs, and deputy clerks
1-32     as are shown to the commissioners court's satisfaction to be
1-33     necessary to serve each county court at law.
1-34           (e)  A court officer appointed by the judge of a county court
1-35     at law shall be sworn by the judge by an oath in the general form
1-36     provided by law for appointed officials.  The judge shall modify
1-37     the oath to apply to the particular officer and duties or to
1-38     conform to any statutory oath required for the particular position.
1-39           (f)  An official court reporter of a county court at law may
1-40     be paid:
1-41                 (1)  annual compensation equal to the annual
1-42     compensation paid the official court reporters serving each
1-43     district court in Cooke County; and
1-44                 (2)  any longevity pay to which the reporter is
1-45     entitled under a county compensation program.
1-46           (g)  The laws governing the drawing, selection, service, and
1-47     pay of jurors for county courts apply to a county court at law.
1-48     Jurors regularly impaneled for a week by the district court may, on
1-49     request of the judge of a county court at law, be made available
1-50     and shall serve for the week in a county court at law.  The jury in
1-51     a county court at law is composed of six members.
1-52           (h)  Practice and procedure, appeals, and writs of error in a
1-53     county court at law are as prescribed by law for county courts,
1-54     except that practice and procedure, rules of evidence, and all
1-55     other matters pertaining to the conduct of trials and hearings in a
1-56     county court at law, other than the number of jurors, that involve
1-57     eminent domain cases and cases in which a district court and county
1-58     court at law have concurrent jurisdiction are governed by the laws
1-59     and rules pertaining to district courts.
1-60           (i)  The judges of each district court and county court at
1-61     law in Cooke County may enter joint local administrative orders
1-62     providing for the exchange of benches in cases in which a district
1-63     court and county court at law have concurrent jurisdiction.
1-64           SECTION 2.  Subchapter E, Chapter 26, Government Code, is
 2-1     amended by adding Section 26.149 to read as follows:  
 2-2           Sec. 26.149.  COOKE COUNTY.  (a)  The County Court of Cooke
 2-3     County does not have probate, guardianship, mental health,
 2-4     juvenile, civil, criminal, or appellate jurisdiction.
 2-5           (b)  The judge of the County Court of Cooke County is exempt
 2-6     from the judicial training and instruction required under Chapter
 2-7     22.
 2-8           SECTION 3.  The County Court at Law of Cooke County is
 2-9     created and this Act takes effect December 1, 2001.
2-10           SECTION 4.  (a)  The judge of the County Court of Cooke
2-11     County shall transfer any case that is pending in the county court
2-12     on the effective date of this Act over which the court loses
2-13     jurisdiction under this Act to the County Court at Law of Cooke
2-14     County.
2-15           (b)  When  a case is transferred as provided by Subsection
2-16     (a) of this section, all  processes,  writs, bonds, recognizances,
2-17     or other obligations issued from the transferring court are
2-18     returnable to the court to which the case is transferred as if
2-19     originally issued by that court.  The obligee in all bonds and
2-20     recognizances taken in and for a court from which a case is
2-21     transferred, and all witnesses summoned to appear in a court from
2-22     which a case is transferred, are required to appear before the
2-23     court to which a case is transferred as if originally required to
2-24     appear before the court to which the transfer is made.
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