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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the creation of an additional county court at law in |
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McLennan County and the operation of the county courts at law in |
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that county. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 25.1571, Government Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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Sec. 25.1571. MCLENNAN COUNTY. McLennan County has the |
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following statutory county courts: |
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(1) County Court at Law of McLennan County; [and] |
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(2) County Court at Law No. 2 of McLennan County; and |
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(3) County Court at Law No. 3 of McLennan County. |
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SECTION 2. Section 25.1572, Government Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsections (a), (d), and (i) and adding Subsection (e) to |
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read as follows: |
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(a) In addition to the jurisdiction provided by Section |
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25.0003 and other law, a county court at law in McLennan County has: |
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(1) concurrent jurisdiction with the district court in |
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state jail, third degree, and second degree felony cases on |
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assignment from a district judge presiding in McLennan County and |
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acceptance of the assignment by the judge of the county court at law |
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[and jurisdiction] to: |
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(A) conduct arraignments; |
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(B) [,] conduct pretrial hearings; |
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(C) [,] accept guilty pleas and conduct |
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sentencing; |
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(D) conduct jury trials and nonjury trials; |
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(E) [, and] conduct probation revocation |
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hearings; and |
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(F) conduct post-trial proceedings; and |
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(2) jurisdiction in: |
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(A) Class A and Class B misdemeanor cases; |
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(B) probate proceedings; |
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(C) disputes ancillary to probate, eminent |
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domain, condemnation, or landlord and tenant matters relating to |
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the adjudication and determination of land titles and trusts, |
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whether testamentary, inter vivos, constructive, resulting, or any |
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other class or type of trust, regardless of the amount in |
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controversy or the remedy sought; and |
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(D) appeals from the justice and municipal courts |
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[in felony cases]. |
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(d) A judge of a county court at law shall be paid a total |
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[an] annual salary set by the commissioners court in an amount that |
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is not less than $1,000 less than the annual salary received by a |
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district judge with equivalent years of service as a judge, as |
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provided under Section 25.0005, to be paid out of the county |
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treasury by the commissioners court [of not more than $20,000. Each |
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judge receives the same amount as salary. The salary shall be paid |
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out of the county treasury by the commissioners court]. |
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(e) The district clerk serves as clerk of a county court at |
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law in matters of concurrent jurisdiction with the district court, |
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and the county clerk serves as clerk of a county court at law in all |
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other matters. Each clerk shall establish a separate docket for a |
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county court at law. |
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(i) The official court reporter of a county court at law is |
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entitled to receive the same compensation and to be paid in the same |
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manner as the court reporters of the district courts in McLennan |
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County. |
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SECTION 3. The County Court at Law No. 3 of McLennan County |
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is created on the effective date of this Act. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |