78(R) SB 1552 - Introduced version


                                                                                

78R4300 YDB-D

By:  Duncan                                                       S.B. No. 1552



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the creation and composition of county courts at law.             
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  (a)  Section 25.0451(a), Government Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
	(a)  Collin County has the following statutory county 
courts:                
		(1)  County Court at Law No. 1 of Collin County;                              
		(2)  County Court at Law No. 2 of Collin County;                              
		(3)  County Court at Law No. 3 of Collin County;                              
		(4)  County Court at Law No. 4 of Collin County; [and]       
		(5)  County Court at Law No. 5 of Collin County; and                   
		(6)  County Court at Law No. 6 of Collin County.                       
	(b)  The County Court at Law No. 6 of Collin County is created 
and this section takes effect January 1, 2005.
	SECTION 2.  (a)  Section 25.0481, Government Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 25.0481.  COMAL COUNTY.  Comal County has the following
[one] statutory county courts:
		(1)  [court, the] County Court at Law No. 1 of Comal 
County; and
		(2)  County Court at Law No. 2 of Comal County.                        
	(b)  The County Court at Law No. 2 of Comal County is created 
and this section takes effect September 1, 2003.
	SECTION 3.  (a)  Subchapter C, Chapter 25, Government Code, 
is amended by adding Sections 25.2011 and 25.2012 to read as 
follows:
	Sec. 25.2011.  ROCKWALL COUNTY.  Rockwall County has one 
statutory county court, the County Court at Law of Rockwall County.
	Sec. 25.2012.  ROCKWALL COUNTY COURT AT LAW PROVISIONS.  (a)  
In addition to the jurisdiction provided by Section 25.0003 and 
other law, and except as limited by Subsection (b), a county court 
at law in Rockwall County has, concurrent with the district court, 
the jurisdiction provided by the constitution and general law for 
district courts.
	(b)  A county court at law does not have general supervisory 
control or appellate review of the commissioners court or 
jurisdiction of:
		(1)  felony cases involving capital murder;                            
		(2)  suits on behalf of the state to recover penalties 
or escheated property;
		(3)  misdemeanors involving official misconduct; or                    
		(4)  contested elections.                                              
	(c)  The district clerk serves as clerk of a county court at 
law except that the county clerk serves as clerk of the county court 
at law in matters of mental health, the probate and criminal 
misdemeanor docket, and all civil matters in which the county court 
at law does not have concurrent jurisdiction with the district 
court.
	(d)  Jurors regularly impaneled for the week by the district 
courts may, at the request of the judge of a county court at law, be 
made available by the district judge in the numbers requested and 
shall serve for the week or until released in the county court at 
law.
	(e)  A county court at law may summon jurors through the 
county clerk for service in the county court at law in the manner 
provided by the laws governing the drawing, selection, and service 
of jurors for county courts.  Jurors summoned shall be paid in the 
same manner and at the same rate as jurors for district courts in 
Rockwall County.  By order of the judge of a county court at law, 
jurors summoned to the county court at law may be transferred to the 
district court for service in noncapital felony cases.
	(f)  Notwithstanding Sections 74.091 and 74.0911, a district 
judge serves as the local administrative judge for the district and 
statutory county courts in Rockwall County.  The judges of district 
courts shall elect a district judge as local administrative judge 
for a term of not more than two years.  The local administrative 
judge may not be elected on the basis of rotation or seniority.
	(g)  When administering a case for the county court at law, 
the district clerk shall charge civil fees and court costs as if the 
case had been filed in the district court.  In a case of concurrent 
jurisdiction, the case shall be assigned to either the district 
court or the county court at law in accordance with local 
administrative rules established by the local administrative 
judge.
	(h)  The judge of the county court at law shall appoint an 
official court reporter for the court and shall set the official 
court reporter's annual salary, subject to approval by the county 
commissioners court.  The official court reporter of the county 
court at law shall take an oath or affirmation as an officer of the 
court.  The official court reporter holds office at the pleasure of 
the judge of the court and shall be provided a private office in 
close proximity to the court.  The official court reporter is 
entitled to all rights and benefits afforded all other county 
employees.
	(i)  With the approval of the county commissioners court and 
through the county budget process, the judge of the county court at 
law shall hire a staff.  The staff of the judge of the county court 
at law consists of a court coordinator and a bailiff.  Court 
personnel employed under this subsection are entitled to receive a 
salary set by the commissioners court and other employment benefits 
received by county employees.
	(j)  Not later than one year after the date of appointment, 
the bailiff of a county court at law must obtain a peace officer 
license under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, from the Commission 
on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education.  The sheriff of 
Rockwall County shall deputize the bailiff of a county court at law.  
The bailiff of a county court at law is subject to the training and 
continuing education requirements of a sheriff's deputy of the 
county.  The sheriff shall remove from office a bailiff who does not 
receive a peace officer license within one year of appointment as 
required by this subsection.
	(k)  The judge of a county court at law must be a United 
States citizen at the time of appointment or election.
	(l)  The judge of a county court at law shall diligently 
discharge the duties of the office on a full-time basis and may not 
engage in the private practice of law.
	(m)  In matters of concurrent jurisdiction, the judge of a 
county court at law and the district judge may exchange benches, 
transfer cases subject to acceptance, assign each other to hear 
cases, and otherwise manage their respective dockets under local 
administrative rules.
	(n)  The judge of a county court at law has the same judicial 
immunity as a district judge.
	(b)  The County Court at Law of Rockwall County is created 
and this section takes effect September 1, 2003.
	SECTION 4.  Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this 
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.