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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 Subsections (b) |
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and (e) to 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, and except as limited by Subsection (b), a |
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county court at law in McLennan County has concurrent jurisdiction |
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with the district court in: |
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(1) [third degree] felony cases [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 |
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(D) conduct jury trials on assignment of a |
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district judge presiding in McLennan County and acceptance of the |
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assignment by the judge of the county court at law; |
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(2) Class A and Class B misdemeanor cases; |
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(3) probate matters; |
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(4) disputes ancillary to probate, eminent domain, |
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condemnation, or landlord and tenant matters relating to the |
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adjudication and determination of land titles and trusts, whether |
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testamentary, inter vivos, constructive, resulting, or any other |
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class or type of trust, regardless of the amount in controversy or |
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the remedy sought; and |
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(5) appeals from the justice and municipal courts |
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[probation revocation hearings in felony cases]. |
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(b) A county court at law does not have jurisdiction in: |
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(1) suits on behalf of the state to recover penalties |
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or escheated property; |
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(2) felony cases involving capital murder; |
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(3) misdemeanors involving official misconduct; or |
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(4) contested elections. |
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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 base salary received by |
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a district judge with equivalent years of service as a judge [of not |
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more than $20,000]. A county court at law judge's salary and a |
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district judge's annual base salary do not include contributions |
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and supplements paid by the county [Each judge receives the same |
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amount as salary. The salary shall be paid out of the county |
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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 a salary set by the judge of the county court at |
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law with the approval of the commissioners court [the same |
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compensation and to be paid in the same manner as the court |
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reporters of the district courts in McLennan 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. |