The bill would amend the Government Code to create the 478th Judicial District of Bell County; 485th Judicial District of Tarrant County; 480th Judicial District of Williamson County; 481st Judicial District of Denton County; 482nd Judicial District of Harris County, which would be required to give preference to criminal cases; 483rd Judicial District of Hays County; 484th Judicial District of Cameron County, which would be required to give preference to juvenile matters; 474th Judicial District of McLennan County; 475th Judicial District of Smith County; 476th Judicial District of Hidalgo County.
The bill would amend the Government Code to create the Probate Court Number 2 of Denton County on January 1, 2022. The bill would give County Court at Law 2 of Denton County jurisdiction over all civil causes and proceedings, regardless of amount in controversy for eminent domain and direct and inverse condemnation cases.
The bill would amend the Government Code to increase the amount the state reimburses counties with statutory probate judges from $40,000 annually to an annual amount equal to 60 percent of the annual base salary of a district judge as set in the General Appropriations Act ($84,000).
The bill would create the Kendall County Court at Law on October 1, 2022, and would establish the court's jurisdiction and set the salary to be paid to the court's judge.
The bill would create County Court at Law No. 3 of McLennan County on the bill's effective date.
The bill would create County Court at Law No. 6 in Montgomery County on the bill's effective date.
The bill would modify the Reeves County Court at Law to provide that the court has jurisdiction in family law cases and proceedings.
The bill would create County Court at Law No. 2 of San Patricio County on January 1, 2023, add provisions for the clerk in the San Patricio County Courts at Law, and modify the jurisdiction of the San Patricio County Courts at Law to be consistent with general law for county courts at law.
The bill would provide that the Tarrant County Criminal Court No. 6 is to give preference to certain cases.
The bill would create County Court at Law No. 5 of Williamson County on October 1, 2022.
The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to prohibit a judge or justice from accepting a plea of guilty or nolo contendere unless the defendant appears mentally competent, and the plea is free and voluntary.
The bill would amend the Government Code to create the Brazoria County Criminal Magistrate Court. Under the bill's provisions, the commissioners court of Brazoria County, upon recommendation of the local administrative district judge, could appoint one or more full or part time criminal magistrate judges to preside over the court for a term designated by the commissioners court. The bill would also authorize the local administrative district judge to make the appointment if the commissioners court is prohibited by law from doing so. The bill would set out the qualifications, powers and duties, and salary of the judges, as well as operating procedures.
The bill would amend the Government Code to provide that the judges of a the district courts of Tom Green shall, with the consent and approval of the commissioners court of Tom Green County, jointly appoint the number of magistrates set by the commissioner's court under the bill's provisions.
The bill would amend the Government Code to allow the Office of Court Administration (OCA) to allow public access to view information or documents in the state court document database and to charge a reasonable fee for additional optional features in the database.
The bill would amend the Family Code to modify various duties of clerks related to the transferring of certain court files using the electronic filing system established under Government Code Section 72.031. The bill would amend the Government Code to require OCA to adopt rules prescribing the documents to be transferred between courts when a transfer of a case or proceeding is ordered under certain Family Code Sections.
The bill would amend the Family Code to require that, in a suit for dissolution of a marriage in which the court grants a divorce, the court shall state the date of the marriage in the decree of divorce.
The bill would amend the Government Code to give jurors an option to donate a specified amount of a person's daily jury reimbursement to a veterans county service office. The bill would place certain limitations on how the donations may be spent. The bill would also modify the amount a judge may spend on jury meals from $3 per meal to a reasonable amount.
The bill would amend the Government Code to permit a judge or magistrate of a district court or statutory county court authorized to hear criminal cases to be appointed to preside over a regional specialty court program in certain circumstances. The bill would also amend the Government Code to allow a veterans treatment court program to transfer responsibility for supervising the defendant's participation in the program to an adjacent county where the defendant works or resides and allows a court to place the defendant in a veterans treatment court program located in a county adjacent to the county where the defendant works or resides, if the county where the defendant is charged does not operate a veterans treatment court program.
The bill would amend the Government Code to clarify and add protective orders that must be included in the protective order registry maintained by OCA to include those issued by a court under Subchapter A, Chapter 7B, Code of Criminal Procedure. The bill would also require OCA to remove certain records of protective orders that have been vacated as detailed by the bill.
The bill would amend the Government Code to provides that the Ector County District Attorney is responsible for representing the state in all criminal matters, juvenile matters, and child termination suits involving CPS in Ector County.
The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to provide that a court reporter may comply with Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 13.6 by electronically filing with the trial court clerk, within a certain amount of time, the un-transcribed notes created by the court reporter using computer-aided software.
The bill would take effect September 1, 2021. The 480th Judicial District would be created on October 1, 2022. The 485th Judicial District would be created on January 1, 2022. The 483rd Judicial District of Hays County would be created on September 1, 2022. The 475th Judicial District of Smith County would be created January 1, 2023. The Kendall County Court at Law would be created October 1, 2022. The County Court of Law No. 2 of San Patricio County would be created January 1, 2023. The County Court at Law No. 5 of Williamson County would be created October 1, 2022.