| 1 | 1 | | 81R11123 CS-F |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | By: Homer H.B. No. 3710 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | relating to consideration of district court cases by judges of |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | certain constitutional county courts. |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 24, Government Code, is |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | amended by adding Section 24.023 to read as follows: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 24.023. DISTRICT COURT AGREEMENT WITH CERTAIN |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | CONSTITUTIONAL COUNTY COURTS. (a) A district court judge and a |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | county court judge may enter into a written agreement granting the |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | county court jurisdiction to hear: |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | (1) guilty pleas in felony cases; |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | (2) default judgments; |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | (3) uncontested civil cases in which a final judgment |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | will be entered; |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | (4) uncontested family law cases in which a final |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | judgment will be entered; and |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | (5) civil and family law cases where an agreed final |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | judgment will be entered. |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | (b) Subsection (a) applies only to a county: |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | (1) that has two or more district courts composed of |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | more than one county; |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | (2) that does not have a county court at law; and |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | (3) in which the county court retains original |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | misdemeanor jurisdiction, and the county court judge is granted |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | authority to consider those cases under the constitution or general |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | law. |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | (c) A county court judge who enters into an agreement under |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | Subsection (a) must be an attorney who is licensed to practice law |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | in this state and who meets the qualifications for holding the |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | office of district court judge. |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | (d) An agreement between a district court judge and a county |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | court judge under this section may provide that final judgments |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | must be approved by the district court judge. |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | (e) A county court judge has the same judicial immunity as |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | the district court judge when presiding over cases authorized by |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | this section. |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | (f) All pleadings, documents, records, and other papers |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | remain under the control of the district clerk. The district clerk |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | may establish a separate docket for the cases considered by the |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | county court judge. |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | (g) A county court judge who hears cases under this section |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | shall be paid an annual salary supplement from the state in the |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | amount of $30,000. |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | (h) To receive a supplement under Subsection (g), a county |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | court judge must file with the Office of Court Administration of the |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | Texas Judicial System a copy of the written agreement and an |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | affidavit stating that the county court judge is performing |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | judicial functions consistent with the agreement. The office of |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | court administration shall send the affidavit to the comptroller. |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | (i) The commissioners court in a county with a county court |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | judge who is entitled to receive a salary supplement under this |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | section may not reduce the county funds provided for the salary or |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | office of the county court judge as a result of the salary |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | supplement required by this section. |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
|---|