| 1 | | - | By: Paddie (Senate Sponsor - Eltife) H.B. No. 4199 |
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| 2 | | - | (In the Senate - Received from the House May 18, 2015; |
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| 3 | | - | May 18, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on |
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| 4 | | - | Administration; May 21, 2015, reported favorably by the following |
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| 5 | | - | vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 21, 2015, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | | - | Click here to see the committee vote |
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| 1 | + | H.B. No. 4199 |
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| 10 | 4 | | AN ACT |
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| 11 | 5 | | relating to the Harrison County Court at Law. |
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| 12 | 6 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 13 | 7 | | SECTION 1. Section 25.1042, Government Code, is amended by |
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| 14 | 8 | | amending Subsections (a), (d), and (g) and adding Subsection (h) to |
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| 15 | 9 | | read as follows: |
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| 16 | 10 | | (a) In addition to the jurisdiction provided by Section |
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| 17 | 11 | | 25.0003 and other law, a county court at law in Harrison County has |
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| 18 | 12 | | concurrent jurisdiction with the district court, on assignment of a |
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| 19 | 13 | | district judge presiding in Harrison County, in: |
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| 20 | 14 | | (1) family law cases and proceedings; |
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| 21 | 15 | | (2) felony cases other than capital murder cases; and |
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| 22 | 16 | | (3) civil cases. |
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| 23 | 17 | | (d) A party to a case assigned under Subsection (a) may |
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| 24 | 18 | | request a jury of 12 persons if the party makes the request not |
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| 25 | 19 | | later than the 30th day before the trial date. Except as provided by |
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| 26 | 20 | | Subsection (h), a [A] party who does not make a timely request under |
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| 27 | 21 | | this subsection waives the right to request a 12-person jury and the |
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| 28 | 22 | | case will proceed with a six-person jury. |
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| 29 | 23 | | (g) The criminal district attorney is entitled to the same |
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| 30 | 24 | | fees prescribed by law for prosecutions in the county court, except |
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| 31 | 25 | | that in cases assigned under Subsection (a), the criminal district |
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| 32 | 26 | | attorney is entitled to the same fees prescribed by law for |
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| 33 | 27 | | prosecutions in a district court. |
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| 34 | 28 | | (h) A jury must be composed of 12 members in: |
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| 35 | 29 | | (1) any civil case pending in which the amount in |
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| 36 | 30 | | controversy is $200,000 or more; and |
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| 37 | 31 | | (2) any felony case. |
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| 38 | 32 | | SECTION 2. Section 25.1042(a), Government Code, as amended |
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| 39 | 33 | | by this Act, and Section 25.1042(h), Government Code, as added by |
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| 40 | 34 | | this Act, apply only to an action filed on or after the effective |
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| 41 | 35 | | date of this Act. An action filed before the effective date of this |
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| 42 | 36 | | Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the action was |
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| 43 | 37 | | filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 44 | 38 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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| 45 | | - | * * * * * |
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| 39 | + | ______________________________ ______________________________ |
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| 40 | + | President of the Senate Speaker of the House |
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| 41 | + | I certify that H.B. No. 4199 was passed by the House on May |
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| 42 | + | 15, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 138, Nays 1, 2 present, not |
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| 43 | + | voting. |
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| 44 | + | ______________________________ |
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| 45 | + | Chief Clerk of the House |
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| 46 | + | I certify that H.B. No. 4199 was passed by the Senate on May |
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| 47 | + | 26, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. |
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| 48 | + | ______________________________ |
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| 49 | + | Secretary of the Senate |
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| 50 | + | APPROVED: _____________________ |
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| 51 | + | Date |
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| 52 | + | _____________________ |
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| 53 | + | Governor |
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