C.S.H.B. 2083 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2083 By: Campbell Urban Affairs Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Chapter 30 of the Government Code is entitled Municipal Courts of Record. Subchapter A, to be amended by C.S.H.B. 2083, is entitled General Law for Municipalities of Record and applies to all municipal courts of record in the state. The law in the past regarding courts of record required the judge to be an attorney or to have been a judge for five years in this state. When the laws regarding Municipal Courts of Record changed four years ago the five year requirement was omitted. The county court-at-law is a higher court than a municipal court, and it requires that a judge be either an attorney, or have served as a judge in this state for four years. C.S.H.B. 2083 changes the requirements for a Municipal Court judge to reflect the requirements for a county court-at-law judge. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY This bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 30.0006, Local Government Code, to allow for a judge who is not an attorney to serve as a municipal court judge if he has served as a judge for a court in Texas for four or more years. SECTION 2. Effective Date. EFFECTIVE DATE: September 1, 2003. COMPARISON OF SUBSTITUTE TO ORIGINAL C.S.H.B. 2083 modifies the original only to the extent of drafting style and clarity; there are no substantive changes.