| 1 | 1 | | By: Eltife S.B. No. 1806 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | (Paddie) |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | relating to the Harrison County Court at Law. |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Section 25.1042, Government Code, is amended by |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | adding Subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), and (f) to read as follows: |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | (a) In addition to the jurisdiction provided by Section |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | 25.0003 and other law, a county court at law in Harrison County has |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | concurrent jurisdiction with the district court, on assignment of a |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | district judge presiding in Harrison County, in family law cases |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | and proceedings. |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | (b) Assignment and transfer of cases under Subsection (a) is |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | at the discretion of the judge of the district court making the |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | assignment. Assignment or transfer from a county court at law to a |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | district court is governed by Section 74.121(b)(1). |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | (c) The district clerk serves as clerk of a county court at |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | law in cases assigned under Subsection (a), and the county clerk |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | serves as clerk of the court in all other cases. |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | (d) A party to a case assigned under Subsection (a) may |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | request a jury of 12 persons if the party makes the request not |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | later than the 30th day before the trial date. A party who does not |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | make a timely request under this subsection waives the right to |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | request a 12-person jury and the case will proceed with a six-person |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | jury. |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | (f) In matters of concurrent jurisdiction, a district judge |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | presiding in Harrison County may transfer cases from the district |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | court to a county court at law in Harrison County in the same manner |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | judges of district courts transfer cases under Section 24.003. |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply to an |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | action filed on or after the effective date of this Act or pending |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | on the effective date of this Act. |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2015. |
|---|