Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2566 Compare Versions

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1	1	81R34172 YDB-F
2	2	By: Deuell S.B. No. 2566
3	3	Substitute the following for S.B. No. 2566:
4	4	By: Hartnett C.S.S.B. No. 2566
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to jurisdiction of the county courts at law in Hunt County
10	10	and the composition and operation of the Hunt County Juvenile
11	11	Board.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Subsections (a), (b), and (d), Section 152.1221,
14	14	Human Resources Code, are amended to read as follows:
15	15	(a) The Hunt County Juvenile Board is composed of the county
16	16	judge, the district judges in Hunt County, and the judges [judge] of
17	17	the county courts [court] at law.
18	18	(b) The board shall designate a juvenile court judge to
19	19	serve as [is] the chairman of the board and its chief administrative
20	20	officer.
21	21	(d) Each judge on the board may [shall] appoint one citizen
22	22	to serve on the advisory council. Members of the advisory council
23	23	serve without compensation.
24	24	SECTION 2. Section 25.1182, Government Code, is amended to
25	25	read as follows:
26	26	Sec. 25.1182. HUNT COUNTY COURT AT LAW PROVISIONS. (a) In
27	27	addition to the jurisdiction provided by Section 25.0003 and other
28	28	law, and except as limited by Subsection (b), a county court at law
29	29	in Hunt County has, concurrent with the district courts, the
30	30	jurisdiction provided by the constitution and general law for
31	31	district courts.
32	32	(b) A county court at law's civil jurisdiction concurrent
33	33	with the district court in civil cases is limited to cases in which
34	34	the matter in controversy does not exceed $250,000. A county
35	35	court at law does not have general supervisory control or appellate
36	36	review of the commissioners court or jurisdiction of:
37	37	(1) felony cases involving capital murder;
38	38	(2) suits on behalf of the state to recover penalties
39	39	or escheated property;
40	40	(3) misdemeanors involving official misconduct; or
41	41	(4) contested elections [has the same terms of court
42	42	as the County Court of Hunt County].
43	43	(c) The county clerk serves as clerk of a county court at law
44	44	in matters of mental health, probate, and juvenile, for the
45	45	criminal misdemeanor docket, and all civil matters originally filed
46	46	in the county courts at law. The district clerk serves as clerk for
47	47	all other cases.
48	48	(d) Jurors regularly impaneled for the week by the district
49	49	courts may, at the request of a county court at law judge, be made
50	50	available by a district judge in the numbers requested and shall
51	51	serve for the week or until released by the county court at law [The
52	52	judge of a county court at law shall be paid an annual salary that is
53	53	at least $42,500, to be paid from the same fund and in the same
54	54	manner as the county judge. The judge is entitled to receive travel
55	55	expenses and necessary office expenses in the same manner as is
56	56	allowed the county judge].
57	57	(e) A county court at law may summon jurors through the
58	58	county clerk for service in the county court at law in the manner
59	59	provided by the laws governing the drawing, selection, and service
60	60	of jurors for county courts. Jurors summoned shall be paid in the
61	61	same manner and at the same rate as jurors for district courts in
62	62	Hunt County. By order of the judge of a county court at law, jurors
63	63	summoned to a county court at law may be transferred to the district
64	64	court for service in noncapital felony cases [The judge of a
65	65	county court at law shall diligently discharge the duties of his
66	66	office on a full-time basis and may not engage in the private
67	67	practice of law].
68	68	(f) Notwithstanding Sections 74.091 and 74.0911, a district
69	69	judge serves as the local administrative judge for the district and
70	70	county courts at law in Hunt County. The judges of the district
71	71	courts shall elect a district judge as local administrative judge
72	72	for a term of not more than two years [A special judge of a county
73	73	court at law with the same qualifications as the regular judge may
74	74	be appointed or elected in the manner provided by law for county
75	75	courts. If the judge of a county court at law is disqualified to try
76	76	a case pending in the judge's court, the parties or their attorneys
77	77	may agree on the selection of a special judge to try the case. A
78	78	special judge is entitled to receive $100 for each day served to be
79	79	paid out of the general fund of the county by the commissioners
80	80	court].
81	81	(g) When administering a case for a county court at law, the
82	82	district clerk shall charge civil fees and court costs as if the
83	83	case had been filed in the district court. In a case of concurrent
84	84	jurisdiction, the case shall be assigned to either the district
85	85	court or county court at law in accordance with local
86	86	administrative rules established by the local administrative
87	87	judge [The county sheriff shall, in person or by deputy, attend a
88	88	county court at law as required by the judge].
89	89	(h) The judge of a county court at law shall appoint an
90	90	official court reporter for the court and shall set the official
91	91	court reporter's annual salary, subject to approval by the county
92	92	commissioners court. The official court reporter of the county
93	93	court at law shall take an oath or affirmation as an officer of the
94	94	court. The official court reporter holds office at the pleasure of
95	95	the judge of the court and shall be provided a private office in
96	96	close proximity to the court. The official court reporter is
97	97	entitled to all rights and benefits afforded all other county
98	98	employees [Practice in a county court at law is that prescribed by
99	99	law for county courts].
100	100	(i) With the approval of the county commissioners court and
101	101	through the county budget process, the judge of a county court at
102	102	law shall hire a staff. The staff of the judge of a county court at
103	103	law consists of a court coordinator and a bailiff. Court personnel
104	104	employed under this subsection are entitled to receive a salary set
105	105	by the commissioners court and other employment benefits received
106	106	by county employees [Section 25.0005(b) does not apply to a county
107	107	court at law in Hunt County].
108	108	(j) Not later than one year after the date of appointment,
109	109	the bailiff of a county court at law must have received a peace
110	110	officer license under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, from the
111	111	Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education. The
112	112	sheriff of Hunt County shall deputize the bailiff of a county court
113	113	at law. The bailiff of a county court at law is subject to the
114	114	training and continuing education requirements of a sheriff's
115	115	deputy of the county. The sheriff shall remove from office a
116	116	bailiff who does not receive a peace officer license within one year
117	117	of appointment as required by this subsection.
118	118	(k) The judge of a county court at law must be a United
119	119	States citizen at the time of appointment or election.
120	120	(l) The judge of a county court at law shall diligently
121	121	discharge the duties of the office on a full-time basis and may not
122	122	engage in the private practice of law.
123	123	(m) In matters of concurrent jurisdiction, the judge of a
124	124	county court at law and the district judge may exchange benches,
125	125	transfer cases subject to acceptance, request that the local
126	126	administrative judge assign each other to hear cases, and otherwise
127	127	manage their respective dockets under local administrative rules.
128	128	(n) The judge of a county court at law has the same judicial
129	129	immunity as a district judge.
130	130	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.