82R5076 PMO-D
By: Estes S.B. No. 1218
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the statutory county courts in Wise County.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 25.2511, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 25.2511. WISE COUNTY. (a) Wise County has the
following [one] statutory county courts:
(1) [court, the] County Court at Law No. 1 of Wise
County; and
(2) County Court at Law No. 2 of Wise County.
(b) The County Court at Law No. 1 of Wise County sits in
Decatur.
(c) The County Court at Law No. 2 of Wise County sits in
Decatur or at another location in the county determined by the judge
of County Court at Law No. 2 of Wise County.
SECTION 2. Section 25.2512(a), Government Code, as amended
by Chapters 518 (S.B. 1491) and 746 (H.B. 66), Acts of the 72nd
Legislature, Regular Session, 1991, is reenacted and amended to
read as follows:
(a) In addition to the jurisdiction provided by Section
25.0003 and other law, and except as limited by Subsection (a-1), a
county court at law in Wise County has the [:
[(1) concurrent with the county court, the probate
jurisdiction provided by general law for county courts; and
[(2) concurrent] jurisdiction provided by the
constitution and by general law for [with the] district courts
[court in:
[(A) eminent domain cases;
[(B) civil cases in which the amount in
controversy exceeds $500, but does not exceed $100,000, excluding
interest and attorney's fees; and
[(C) family law cases and proceedings].
SECTION 3. Section 25.2512, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (a-1), (j), and (k) and amending Subsections (e)
and (h) to read as follows:
(a-1) A county court at law does not have jurisdiction of:
(1) civil cases in which the amount in controversy
exceeds $500,000, excluding interest and attorney's fees; or
(2) felony cases.
(e) In addition to the qualifications required by Section
25.0014, a regular judge of a county court at law must have the
qualifications of a district judge as required by Section 7,
Article V, Texas Constitution. A special judge of a county court at
law with the same qualifications as the regular judge may be
appointed in the manner provided by law for the appointment of a
special county judge. A special judge is entitled to the same rate
of compensation as the regular judge.
(h) The laws governing the drawing, selection, service, and
pay of jurors for county courts apply to a county court at law.
Jurors regularly impaneled for a week by the district court may, on
request of the judge of a county court at law, be made available and
shall serve for the week in a county court at law [Practice in a
county court at law is that prescribed by law for county courts].
(j) The jury in all civil or criminal matters shall be
composed of 12 members, except that in misdemeanor criminal cases
and any other cases in which the court has concurrent jurisdiction
with the county court the jury shall be composed of six members.
(k) A judge of a county court at law and a judge of a
district court or another county court at law with concurrent
jurisdiction may transfer cases between the courts in the same
manner judges of district courts transfer cases under Section
24.303.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made to the qualifications of
a judge of a statutory county court in Wise County by this Act apply
only to a judge elected or appointed on or after the effective date
of this Act. A judge elected or appointed before the effective date
of this Act is governed by the law as it existed immediately before
the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.