| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the authority of certain contiguous municipalities to |
|
|
agree to extend municipal court jurisdiction. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 29.003(h), Government Code, is amended |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
(h) A municipality with a population of 1.325 [1.9] million |
|
|
or more and another municipality contiguous to that municipality |
|
|
may enter into an agreement providing concurrent jurisdiction for |
|
|
the municipal courts of either jurisdiction for all criminal cases |
|
|
arising from offenses under state law that are: |
|
|
(1) committed on the boundary of those municipalities |
|
|
or within 200 yards of that boundary; and |
|
|
(2) punishable by fine only. |
|
|
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
|
|
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
|
|
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
|
|
governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and |
|
|
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
|
|
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
|
|
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
|
|
before that date. |
|
|
SECTION 3. 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, 2015. |