Amend HB 79 (house committee printing) by striking page 58, line 22, through page 59, line 5 and substituting the following:

(b) Subject to Subsection (c), a judge of a court may not refer any civil case or portion of a civil case, including a trial on the merits, to an associate judge if a party files a written objection to the referral to the associate judge. For purposes of this subsection, a trial on the merits is any final adjudication from which an appeal may be taken to a court of appeals.

(c) A party must file an objection to the referral of a civil case or portion of a civil case to an associate judge not later than the 10th day after the date the party receives notice of the referral. If an objection is filed, the referring court shall hear the case or portion of the case.