By:  Duncan                                                       S.B. No. 1724


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the jurisdiction of statutory county courts.                      
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 25.003, Government Code, is amended by 
adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
	(g)  In any suit filed in a statutory county court in which 
all plaintiffs do not affirmatively plead that they seek monetary 
relief aggregating $100,000 or less, excluding costs, pre-judgment 
interest, and attorneys' fees, any defendant may, within 30 days 
after being served, remove the case to a district court in the same 
county by filing a notice of removal in the statutory county court.
	SECTION 2.  The Supreme Court of Texas shall make rules as 
necessary to implement this Act.
	SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act applies only 
to an action filed on or after the effective date of this Act.  An 
action filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by 
the law in effect on the date the action was filed, and the former 
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.