81R34172 YDB-F
By: Deuell S.B. No. 2566
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 2566:
By: Hartnett C.S.S.B. No. 2566
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to jurisdiction of the county courts at law in Hunt County
and the composition and operation of the Hunt County Juvenile
Board.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsections (a), (b), and (d), Section 152.1221,
Human Resources Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The Hunt County Juvenile Board is composed of the county
judge, the district judges in Hunt County, and the judges [judge] of
the county courts [court] at law.
(b) The board shall designate a juvenile court judge to
serve as [is] the chairman of the board and its chief administrative
officer.
(d) Each judge on the board may [shall] appoint one citizen
to serve on the advisory council. Members of the advisory council
serve without compensation.
SECTION 2. Section 25.1182, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 25.1182. HUNT COUNTY COURT AT LAW PROVISIONS. (a) In
addition to the jurisdiction provided by Section 25.0003 and other
law, and except as limited by Subsection (b), a county court at law
in Hunt County has, concurrent with the district courts, the
jurisdiction provided by the constitution and general law for
district courts.
(b) A county court at law's civil jurisdiction concurrent
with the district court in civil cases is limited to cases in which
the matter in controversy does not exceed $250,000. A county
court at law does not have general supervisory control or appellate
review of the commissioners court or jurisdiction of:
(1) felony cases involving capital murder;
(2) suits on behalf of the state to recover penalties
or escheated property;
(3) misdemeanors involving official misconduct; or
(4) contested elections [has the same terms of court
as the County Court of Hunt County].
(c) The county clerk serves as clerk of a county court at law
in matters of mental health, probate, and juvenile, for the
criminal misdemeanor docket, and all civil matters originally filed
in the county courts at law. The district clerk serves as clerk for
all other cases.
(d) Jurors regularly impaneled for the week by the district
courts may, at the request of a county court at law judge, be made
available by a district judge in the numbers requested and shall
serve for the week or until released by the county court at law [The
judge of a county court at law shall be paid an annual salary that is
at least $42,500, to be paid from the same fund and in the same
manner as the county judge. The judge is entitled to receive travel
expenses and necessary office expenses in the same manner as is
allowed the county judge].
(e) A county court at law may summon jurors through the
county clerk for service in the county court at law in the manner
provided by the laws governing the drawing, selection, and service
of jurors for county courts. Jurors summoned shall be paid in the
same manner and at the same rate as jurors for district courts in
Hunt County. By order of the judge of a county court at law, jurors
summoned to a county court at law may be transferred to the district
court for service in noncapital felony cases [The judge of a
county court at law shall diligently discharge the duties of his
office on a full-time basis and may not engage in the private
practice of law].
(f) Notwithstanding Sections 74.091 and 74.0911, a district
judge serves as the local administrative judge for the district and
county courts at law in Hunt County. The judges of the district
courts shall elect a district judge as local administrative judge
for a term of not more than two years [A special judge of a county
court at law with the same qualifications as the regular judge may
be appointed or elected in the manner provided by law for county
courts. If the judge of a county court at law is disqualified to try
a case pending in the judge's court, the parties or their attorneys
may agree on the selection of a special judge to try the case. A
special judge is entitled to receive $100 for each day served to be
paid out of the general fund of the county by the commissioners
court].
(g) When administering a case for a county court at law, the
district clerk shall charge civil fees and court costs as if the
case had been filed in the district court. In a case of concurrent
jurisdiction, the case shall be assigned to either the district
court or county court at law in accordance with local
administrative rules established by the local administrative
judge [The county sheriff shall, in person or by deputy, attend a
county court at law as required by the judge].
(h) The judge of a county court at law shall appoint an
official court reporter for the court and shall set the official
court reporter's annual salary, subject to approval by the county
commissioners court. The official court reporter of the county
court at law shall take an oath or affirmation as an officer of the
court. The official court reporter holds office at the pleasure of
the judge of the court and shall be provided a private office in
close proximity to the court. The official court reporter is
entitled to all rights and benefits afforded all other county
employees [Practice in a county court at law is that prescribed by
law for county courts].
(i) With the approval of the county commissioners court and
through the county budget process, the judge of a county court at
law shall hire a staff. The staff of the judge of a county court at
law consists of a court coordinator and a bailiff. Court personnel
employed under this subsection are entitled to receive a salary set
by the commissioners court and other employment benefits received
by county employees [Section 25.0005(b) does not apply to a county
court at law in Hunt County].
(j) Not later than one year after the date of appointment,
the bailiff of a county court at law must have received a peace
officer license under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, from the
Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education. The
sheriff of Hunt County shall deputize the bailiff of a county court
at law. The bailiff of a county court at law is subject to the
training and continuing education requirements of a sheriff's
deputy of the county. The sheriff shall remove from office a
bailiff who does not receive a peace officer license within one year
of appointment as required by this subsection.
(k) The judge of a county court at law must be a United
States citizen at the time of appointment or election.
(l) The judge of a county court at law shall diligently
discharge the duties of the office on a full-time basis and may not
engage in the private practice of law.
(m) In matters of concurrent jurisdiction, the judge of a
county court at law and the district judge may exchange benches,
transfer cases subject to acceptance, request that the local
administrative judge assign each other to hear cases, and otherwise
manage their respective dockets under local administrative rules.
(n) The judge of a county court at law has the same judicial
immunity as a district judge.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.