Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1278 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R11022 SRS-F
2	2	By: Campbell S.B. No. 1278
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the creation of a judicial district composed of Kendall
8	8	County, the composition of the 216th Judicial District, the
9	9	creation of a criminal district attorney of Kendall County, and the
10	10	abolishment of the County Court at Law of Kendall County and the
11	11	office of county attorney of Kendall County.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 24.275, Government Code, is amended to
14	14	read as follows:
15	15	Sec. 24.275. 216TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT (GILLESPIE[,
16	16	KENDALL,] AND KERR COUNTIES). The 216th Judicial District is
17	17	composed of Gillespie[, Kendall,] and Kerr counties.
18	18	SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 24, Government Code, is
19	19	amended by adding Section 24.591 to read as follows:
20	20	Sec. 24.591. 451ST JUDICIAL DISTRICT (KENDALL COUNTY). (a)
21	21	The 451st Judicial District is composed of Kendall County.
22	22	(b) In addition to the other jurisdiction provided by law,
23	23	the 451st District Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the
24	24	County Court of Kendall County in all civil and criminal matters
25	25	over which the county court would have original or appellate
26	26	jurisdiction, including probate matters and proceedings under
27	27	Subtitle C, Title 7, Health and Safety Code.
28	28	(c) All civil and criminal matters within the concurrent
29	29	jurisdiction of the county and district courts must be filed with
30	30	the county clerk in the county court. The county clerk serves as
31	31	the clerk of the district court for those matters.
32	32	SECTION 3. Section 44.001, Government Code, is amended to
33	33	read as follows:
34	34	Sec. 44.001. ELECTION. The voters of each of the following
35	35	counties elect a criminal district attorney: Anderson, Austin,
36	36	Bastrop, Bexar, Bowie, Brazoria, Caldwell, Calhoun, Cass, Collin,
37	37	Comal, Dallas, Deaf Smith, Denton, Eastland, Fannin, Galveston,
38	38	Grayson, Gregg, Harrison, Hays, Hidalgo, Jackson, Jasper,
39	39	Jefferson, Kaufman, Kendall, Lubbock, McLennan, Madison, Navarro,
40	40	Newton, Panola, Polk, Randall, Rockwall, San Jacinto, Smith,
41	41	Tarrant, Taylor, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt, Victoria, Walker,
42	42	Waller, Wichita, Wood, and Yoakum.
43	43	SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 44, Government Code, is
44	44	amended by adding Section 44.230 to read as follows:
45	45	Sec. 44.230. KENDALL COUNTY. (a) The criminal district
46	46	attorney of Kendall County must meet the following qualifications:
47	47	(1) be at least 30 years old;
48	48	(2) have been a practicing attorney in this state for
49	49	at least five years; and
50	50	(3) have been a resident of Kendall County for at least
51	51	one year before election or appointment.
52	52	(b) The criminal district attorney has all the powers,
53	53	duties, and privileges in Kendall County that are conferred by law
54	54	on county and district attorneys in the various counties and
55	55	districts.
56	56	(c) The criminal district attorney shall attend each term
57	57	and session of the district and inferior courts of Kendall County,
58	58	except municipal courts, held for the transaction of criminal
59	59	business and shall exclusively represent the state in all criminal
60	60	matters before those courts.
61	61	(d) The criminal district attorney shall represent Kendall
62	62	County in any court in which the county has pending business. This
63	63	subsection does not require the criminal district attorney to
64	64	represent the county in a delinquent tax suit or condemnation
65	65	proceeding and does not prevent the county from retaining other
66	66	legal counsel in a civil matter at any time it considers appropriate
67	67	to do so.
68	68	(e) The criminal district attorney shall collect the fees,
69	69	commissions, and perquisites that are provided by law for similar
70	70	services rendered by a district or county attorney.
71	71	(f) The criminal district attorney is entitled to receive in
72	72	equal monthly installments compensation from the state equal to the
73	73	amount paid by the state to district attorneys. The state
74	74	compensation shall be paid by the comptroller as appropriated by
75	75	the legislature. The Commissioners Court of Kendall County shall
76	76	pay the criminal district attorney an additional amount so that the
77	77	total compensation of the criminal district attorney equals at
78	78	least 90 percent of the total salary paid to the judge of the 451st
79	79	District Court in Kendall County. The compensation paid by the
80	80	county shall be paid in semiweekly or bimonthly installments, as
81	81	determined by the commissioners court.
82	82	(g) The criminal district attorney or the Commissioners
83	83	Court of Kendall County may accept gifts and grants from any
84	84	individual, partnership, corporation, trust, foundation,
85	85	association, or governmental entity for the purpose of financing or
86	86	assisting effective prosecution, crime prevention or suppression,
87	87	rehabilitation of offenders, substance abuse education, treatment
88	88	and prevention, or crime victim assistance programs in Kendall
89	89	County. The criminal district attorney shall account for and
90	90	report to the commissioners court all gifts or grants accepted
91	91	under this subsection.
92	92	(h) The criminal district attorney, for the purpose of
93	93	conducting affairs of the office, may appoint a staff composed of
94	94	assistant criminal district attorneys, investigators,
95	95	stenographers, clerks, and other personnel that the commissioners
96	96	court may authorize. The salary of a staff member is an amount
97	97	recommended by the criminal district attorney and approved by the
98	98	commissioners court. The commissioners court shall pay the
99	99	salaries of the staff in equal semiweekly or bimonthly installments
100	100	from county funds.
101	101	(i) The criminal district attorney shall, with the advice
102	102	and consent of the commissioners court, designate one or more
103	103	individuals to act as an assistant criminal district attorney with
104	104	exclusive responsibility for assisting the commissioners court. An
105	105	individual designated as an assistant criminal district attorney
106	106	under this subsection must have extensive experience in
107	107	representing public entities and knowledge of the laws affecting
108	108	counties, including the open meetings and open records laws under
109	109	Chapters 551 and 552.
110	110	(j) Kendall County is entitled to receive from the state an
111	111	amount equal to the amount provided in the General Appropriations
112	112	Act to district attorneys for the payment of staff salaries and
113	113	office expenses.
114	114	(k) The legislature may provide for additional staff
115	115	members to be paid from state funds if it considers supplementation
116	116	of the criminal district attorney's staff to be necessary.
117	117	(l) The criminal district attorney and assistant criminal
118	118	district attorney may not engage in the private practice of law or
119	119	receive a fee for the referral of a case.
120	120	(m) A vacancy in the office of criminal district attorney is
121	121	filled by appointment by the Commissioners Court of Kendall County.
122	122	The appointee holds office until the next general election.
123	123	SECTION 5. Section 46.002, Government Code, is amended to
124	124	read as follows:
125	125	Sec. 46.002. PROSECUTORS SUBJECT TO CHAPTER. This chapter
126	126	applies to the state prosecuting attorney, all county prosecutors,
127	127	and the following state prosecutors:
128	128	(1) the district attorneys for Kenedy and Kleberg
129	129	Counties and for the 1st, 2nd, 8th, 9th, 18th, 21st, 23rd, 25th,
130	130	26th, 27th, 29th, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 34th, 35th, 36th, 38th, 39th,
131	131	42nd, 43rd, 46th, 47th, 49th, 50th, 51st, 52nd, 53rd, 63rd, 64th,
132	132	66th, 69th, 70th, 76th, 79th, 81st, 83rd, 84th, 85th, 88th, 90th,
133	133	97th, 100th, 105th, 106th, 109th, 110th, 112th, 118th, 119th,
134	134	123rd, 142nd, 143rd, 145th, 156th, 159th, 173rd, 196th, 198th,
135	135	216th, 220th, 229th, 235th, 253rd, 258th, 259th, 266th, 268th,
136	136	271st, 286th, 287th, 329th, 344th, 349th, 355th, 369th, 452nd, and
137	137	506th judicial districts;
138	138	(2) the criminal district attorneys for the counties
139	139	of Anderson, Austin, Bastrop, Bexar, Bowie, Brazoria, Caldwell,
140	140	Calhoun, Cass, Collin, Comal, Dallas, Deaf Smith, Denton, Eastland,
141	141	Fannin, Galveston, Grayson, Gregg, Harrison, Hays, Hidalgo,
142	142	Jasper, Jefferson, Kaufman, Kendall, Lubbock, McLennan, Madison,
143	143	Navarro, Newton, Panola, Polk, Randall, Rockwall, San Jacinto,
144	144	Smith, Tarrant, Taylor, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt, Victoria, Walker,
145	145	Waller, Wichita, Wood, and Yoakum; and
146	146	(3) the county attorneys performing the duties of
147	147	district attorneys in the counties of Andrews, Callahan, Cameron,
148	148	Castro, Colorado, Crosby, Ellis, Falls, Freestone, Gonzales,
149	149	Lamar, Lamb, Lampasas, Lavaca, Lee, Limestone, Marion, Milam,
150	150	Morris, Ochiltree, Oldham, Orange, Rains, Red River, Robertson,
151	151	Rusk, Swisher, Terry, Webb, and Willacy.
152	152	SECTION 6. The office of county attorney of Kendall County
153	153	is abolished.
154	154	SECTION 7. Sections 25.1321 and 25.1322, Government Code,
155	155	are repealed, and the County Court at Law of Kendall County is
156	156	abolished on the date the 451st District Court is created.
157	157	SECTION 8. On the date the 451st District Court is created,
158	158	all cases from Kendall County pending in the 216th District Court
159	159	are transferred to the 451st District Court. On the date the County
160	160	Court at Law of Kendall County is abolished, all cases pending in
161	161	the court are transferred to the 451st District Court. When a case
162	162	is transferred from one court to another as provided by this
163	163	section, all processes, writs, bonds, recognizances, or other
164	164	obligations issued from the transferring court are returnable to
165	165	the court to which the case is transferred as if originally issued
166	166	by that court. The obligees in all bonds and recognizances taken in
167	167	and for a court from which a case is transferred and all witnesses
168	168	summoned to appear in a court from which a case is transferred are
169	169	required to appear before the court to which a case is transferred
170	170	as if originally required to appear before the court to which the
171	171	transfer is made.
172	172	SECTION 9. Notwithstanding Section 41.010, Government
173	173	Code, the initial vacancy in the office of the criminal district
174	174	attorney of Kendall County shall be filled by election. The office
175	175	exists for purposes of the primary and general elections in 2016. A
176	176	vacancy after the initial vacancy is filled as provided by Section
177	177	12, Article IV, Texas Constitution.
178	178	SECTION 10. Notwithstanding Section 24.026, Government
179	179	Code, the initial vacancy in the office of judge of the 451st
180	180	Judicial District shall be filled by election. The office exists
181	181	for purposes of the primary and general elections in 2016. A
182	182	vacancy after the initial vacancy is filled as provided by Section
183	183	28, Article V, Texas Constitution.
184	184	SECTION 11. The 451st Judicial District is created on the
185	185	effective date of this Act.
186	186	SECTION 12. This Act takes effect January 1, 2017.