By: Truitt (Senate Sponsor - Harris) H.B. No. 984

(In the Senate - Received from the House March 31, 2011; April 13, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on Jurisprudence; April 27, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; April 27, 2011, sent to printer.)

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 984 By: Harris

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to agreements between neighboring municipalities regarding jurisdiction of cases in municipal courts.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 29.003, Government Code, is amended by adding Subsection (i) to read as follows:

(i) A municipality may enter into an agreement with a contiguous municipality or a municipality with boundaries that are within one-half mile of the municipality seeking to enter into the agreement to establish concurrent jurisdiction of the municipal courts in the municipalities and provide original jurisdiction to a municipal court in which a case is brought as if the municipal court were located in the municipality in which the case arose, for:

(1) all cases in which either municipality has jurisdiction under Subsection (a); and

(2) cases that arise under Section 821.022, Health and Safety Code, or Section 25.094, Education Code.

SECTION 2. Article 4.14, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:

(g) A municipality may enter into an agreement with a contiguous municipality or a municipality with boundaries that are within one-half mile of the municipality seeking to enter into the agreement to establish concurrent jurisdiction of the municipal courts in the municipalities and provide original jurisdiction to a municipal court in which a case is brought as if the municipal court were located in the municipality in which the case arose, for:

(1) all cases in which either municipality has jurisdiction under Subsection (a); and

(2) cases that arise under Section 821.022, Health and Safety Code, or Section 25.094, Education Code.

SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to an offense committed or conduct that occurs on or after the effective date of an agreement to establish concurrent jurisdiction between municipalities authorized under Section 29.003(i), Government Code, as added by this Act, or under Article 4.14(g), Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act. An offense committed or conduct that occurs before that date is governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed or the conduct occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed or conduct occurs before the effective date of the agreement if any element of the offense or conduct occurs before that date.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2011.

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