By: Paddie (Senate Sponsor - Eltife) H.B. No. 4199
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 18, 2015;
May 18, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on
Administration; May 21, 2015, reported favorably by the following
vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 21, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Harrison County Court at Law.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 25.1042, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (d), and (g) and adding Subsection (h) to
read as follows:
(a) In addition to the jurisdiction provided by Section
25.0003 and other law, a county court at law in Harrison County has
concurrent jurisdiction with the district court, on assignment of a
district judge presiding in Harrison County, in:
(1) family law cases and proceedings;
(2) felony cases other than capital murder cases; and
(3) civil cases.
(d) A party to a case assigned under Subsection (a) may
request a jury of 12 persons if the party makes the request not
later than the 30th day before the trial date. Except as provided by
Subsection (h), a [A] party who does not make a timely request under
this subsection waives the right to request a 12-person jury and the
case will proceed with a six-person jury.
(g) The criminal district attorney is entitled to the same
fees prescribed by law for prosecutions in the county court, except
that in cases assigned under Subsection (a), the criminal district
attorney is entitled to the same fees prescribed by law for
prosecutions in a district court.
(h) A jury must be composed of 12 members in:
(1) any civil case pending in which the amount in
controversy is $200,000 or more; and
(2) any felony case.
SECTION 2. Section 25.1042(a), Government Code, as amended
by this Act, and Section 25.1042(h), Government Code, as added by
this Act, apply only to an action filed on or after the effective
date of this Act. An action filed before the effective date of this
Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the action was
filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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