1-1     By:  Shapleigh                                         S.B. No. 683
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed February 13, 2001; Februry 14, 2001,
 1-3     read first time and referred to Committee on Jurisprudence;
 1-4     April 3, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 6,
 1-5     Nays 0; April 3, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to the creation of additional statutory county courts in
 1-9     El Paso County and to the administration, jurisdiction, and
1-10     operation of statutory and district courts in that county.
1-11           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12           SECTION 1.  Subsection (a), Section 25.0731, Government Code,
1-13     is amended to read as follows:
1-14           (a)  El Paso County has the following statutory county
1-15     courts:
1-16                 (1)  County Court at Law No. 1 of El Paso County,
1-17     Texas;
1-18                 (2)  County Court at Law No. 2 of El Paso County,
1-19     Texas;
1-20                 (3)  County Court at Law No. 3 of El Paso County,
1-21     Texas;
1-22                 (4)  County Court at Law No. 4 of El Paso County,
1-23     Texas;
1-24                 (5)  County Court at Law No. 5 of El Paso County,
1-25     Texas;
1-26                 (6)  County Court at Law No. 6 of El Paso County,
1-27     Texas; [and]
1-28                 (7)  County Court at Law No. 7 of El Paso County,
1-29     Texas;
1-30                 (8)  County Criminal Court at Law No. 1 of El Paso
1-31     County, Texas; and
1-32                 (9)  County Criminal Court at Law No. 2 of El Paso
1-33     County, Texas.
1-34           SECTION 2.  Section 25.0732, Government Code, is amended by
1-35     adding Subsections (w), (x), (y), (z), and (aa) to read as follows:
1-36           (w)  In matters of concurrent jurisdiction, a judge of a
1-37     statutory county court in El Paso County and a judge of a district
1-38     court or another statutory county court in El Paso County may
1-39     transfer  cases between the courts in the same manner judges of
1-40     district courts transfer cases under Section 24.303.
1-41           (x)  A judge of a statutory county court in El Paso County
1-42     and a judge of a district court in El Paso County may exchange
1-43     benches and may sit and act for each other in any matter pending
1-44     before the court.
1-45           (y)  The El Paso Council of Judges shall order the transfer
1-46     of criminal misdemeanor cases to the County Criminal Courts at Law
1-47     No. 1 and No. 2 from time to time to equalize the criminal
1-48     misdemeanor dockets of the statutory county courts for the
1-49     efficient operation of the court system and the effective
1-50     administration of justice.
1-51           (z)  The County Criminal Courts at Law No. 1 and No. 2 shall
1-52     give preference to criminal law matters.
1-53           (aa)  The County Criminal Court at Law No. 1 has exclusive
1-54     jurisdiction over environmental offenses.
1-55           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect and the County Criminal
1-56     Court at Law No. 1 of El Paso County, Texas, and the County
1-57     Criminal Court at Law No. 2 of El Paso County, Texas, are created
1-58     January 1, 2002.
1-59                                  * * * * *