86R11524 YDB-F
 
  By: Fallon S.B. No. 1902
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the creation of the office of criminal district
  attorney of Cooke County, the abolition of the office of county
  attorney in Cooke County, the application of the professional
  prosecutors law to the district attorney for the 235th Judicial
  District, and the compensation of a county auditor in certain
  counties.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 44.001, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 44.001.  ELECTION.  The voters of each of the following
  counties elect a criminal district attorney:  Anderson, Austin,
  Bastrop, Bexar, Bowie, Brazoria, Caldwell, Calhoun, Cass, Collin,
  Comal, Cooke, Dallas, Deaf Smith, Denton, Eastland, Fannin,
  Galveston, Grayson, Gregg, Harrison, Hays, Hidalgo, Jackson,
  Jasper, Jefferson, Kaufman, Kendall, Lubbock, McLennan, Madison,
  Navarro, Newton, Panola, Polk, Randall, Rockwall, San Jacinto,
  Smith, Tarrant, Taylor, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt, Victoria, Walker,
  Waller, Wichita, Wood, and Yoakum.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter B, Chapter 44, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 44.149 to read as follows:
         Sec. 44.149.  COOKE COUNTY. (a)  The criminal district
  attorney of Cooke County must be at least 30 years of age and must
  have been a practicing attorney in this state and in Cooke County
  for at least five years.  If a person meeting those qualifications
  does not file as a candidate for the office on or before the 30th day
  before the last day on which a person may file as a candidate in an
  election to that office, the qualifications imposed by this
  subsection do not apply to that election only.
         (b)  A vacancy in the elected office of criminal district
  attorney is filled by appointment by the Commissioners Court of
  Cooke County.  The appointee holds office until the next general
  election.
         (c)  The criminal district attorney shall attend each term
  and session of the district courts and the county courts at law in
  Cooke County and each term and session of the inferior courts of
  Cooke County held for the transaction of criminal business and
  shall exclusively represent the state in all criminal matters
  before those courts.
         (d)  The criminal district attorney is entitled to receive
  compensation from the state in the amount provided by the General
  Appropriations Act for a district judge.
         (e)  The Commissioners Court of Cooke County may supplement
  the salary of the criminal district attorney paid by the state but
  may not pay a supplement to the criminal district attorney that is
  an amount less than the supplement the county pays to the highest
  paid district judge in the county.
         (f)  The criminal district attorney shall perform the duties
  conferred by law on county and district attorneys in the various
  counties and districts.
         (g)  The criminal district attorney shall collect the fees,
  commissions, and perquisites that are provided by law for similar
  services rendered by a district or county attorney.
         (h)  The criminal district attorney, for the purpose of
  conducting the affairs of the criminal district attorney's office,
  may appoint a staff composed of assistant criminal district
  attorneys, investigators, stenographers, clerks, and other
  personnel as the Commissioners Court of Cooke County may authorize.  
  The commissioners court shall pay the salaries of the staff in equal
  monthly, bimonthly, biweekly, or weekly installments from the
  officers' salary fund of the county.
         (i)  The criminal district attorney:
               (1)  shall, with the advice and consent of the
  commissioners court, designate one or more individuals to act as
  assistant criminal district attorney with responsibility for
  assisting the commissioners court; and
               (2)  may designate an assistant to represent the
  interests of the state in civil matters in Cooke County.
         (j)  The criminal district attorney may, subject to the
  approval of the Commissioners Court of Cooke County, contract with
  attorneys as special assistants to conduct specialized tasks as
  needed.
         SECTION 3.  Effective January 1, 2021, Section 46.002,
  Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 46.002.  PROSECUTORS SUBJECT TO CHAPTER.  This chapter
  applies to the state prosecuting attorney, all county prosecutors,
  and the following state prosecutors:
               (1)  the district attorneys for Kenedy and Kleberg
  Counties and for the 1st, 2nd, 8th, 9th, 18th, 21st, 23rd, 26th,
  27th, 29th, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 34th, 35th, 36th, 38th, 39th, 42nd,
  43rd, 46th, 47th, 49th, 50th, 51st, 52nd, 53rd, 63rd, 64th, 66th,
  69th, 70th, 76th, 79th, 81st, 83rd, 84th, 85th, 88th, 90th, 97th,
  100th, 105th, 106th, 109th, 110th, 112th, 118th, 119th, 123rd,
  132nd, 142nd, 143rd, 145th, 156th, 159th, 173rd, 196th, 198th,
  216th, 220th, 229th, 235th, 253rd, 258th, 259th, 266th, 268th,
  271st, 286th, 287th, 329th, 344th, 349th, 355th, 369th, 452nd, and
  506th judicial districts;
               (2)  the criminal district attorneys for the counties
  of Anderson, Austin, Bastrop, Bexar, Bowie, Brazoria, Caldwell,
  Calhoun, Cass, Collin, Comal, Cooke, Dallas, Deaf Smith, Denton,
  Eastland, Fannin, Galveston, Grayson, Gregg, Harrison, Hays,
  Hidalgo, Jasper, Jefferson, Kaufman, Kendall, Lubbock, McLennan,
  Madison, Navarro, Newton, Panola, Polk, Randall, Rockwall, San
  Jacinto, Smith, Tarrant, Taylor, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt,
  Victoria, Walker, Waller, Wichita, Wood, and Yoakum; and
               (3)  the county attorneys performing the duties of
  district attorneys in the counties of Andrews, Aransas, Callahan,
  Cameron, Castro, Colorado, Crosby, Ellis, Falls, Freestone,
  Gonzales, Guadalupe, Lamar, Lamb, Lampasas, Lavaca, Lee,
  Limestone, Marion, Milam, Morris, Ochiltree, Oldham, Orange,
  Rains, Red River, Robertson, Rusk, Swisher, Terry, Webb, and
  Willacy.
         SECTION 4.  Section 152.032(d), Local Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (d)  The amount of the compensation and allowances of a
  county auditor in a county subject to this subsection may be set in
  an amount that exceeds the limit established by Subsection (a) if
  the compensation and allowances are approved by the commissioners
  court of the county.  This subsection applies only to:
               (1)  a county with a population of more than 108,000 and
  less than 110,000;
               (2)  a county with a population of 120,000 or more,
  excluding a county subject to Subsection (b);
               (3)  a county with a population of more than 1,000 and
  less than 23,000 that borders the Gulf of Mexico;
               (4)  a county with a population of more than 11,000 and
  less than 11,650; [and]
               (5)  a county that:
                     (A)  borders a county with a population of more
  than one million; and
                     (B)  has a population of more than 36,000 and less
  than 40,000; and
               (6)  a county with a population of less than 100,000
  that borders Lake Ray Roberts.
         SECTION 5.  Effective January 1, 2021, the office of county
  attorney of Cooke County is abolished.
         SECTION 6.  Notwithstanding Section 41.010, Government
  Code, the initial vacancy in the office of criminal district
  attorney of Cooke County on creation of the office shall be filled
  by election. The office of criminal district attorney of Cooke
  County exists only for the purposes of the primary and general
  elections in 2020. The qualified voters of the county shall elect
  the initial criminal district attorney of Cooke County at the
  general election in 2020 for a four-year term beginning January 1,
  2021. Thereafter the criminal district attorney of Cooke County
  shall be elected for a four-year term as provided by Section 30,
  Article V, Texas Constitution. A vacancy after the initial vacancy
  is filled as provided by Section 12, Article IV, Texas
  Constitution.
         SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2020.