85R7243 CAE-F
By: Bailes H.B. No. 2184
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the operation and administration of the Walker County
Court at Law.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 25.2382, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (g), (h), (i), and (k) and adding
Subsection (m) to read as follows:
(a) In addition to the jurisdiction provided by Section
25.0003 and other law, a county court at law in Walker County has
concurrent jurisdiction with the district court in[:
[(1)] family law cases and proceedings[; and
[(2) cases and proceedings involving justiciable
controversies and differences between spouses, between parents, or
between parent and child, or between any of these and third
persons].
(g) The district clerk serves as clerk of a county court at
law in family law cases and proceedings [the cases enumerated in
Subsections (a)(2)(B) and (C)], and the county clerk serves as
clerk of the court in all other matters. The commissioners court
may employ as many deputy sheriffs and bailiffs as are necessary to
serve a county court at law.
(h) The judge of a county court at law shall set the [may,
instead of appointing an] official court reporter's salary at an
amount that does not exceed the salary of an official court reporter
for a district court [reporter, contract for the services of a court
reporter under guidelines established by the commissioners court].
(i) Except as otherwise required by law, a jury in a county
court at law shall be composed of six members [If a family law case
is tried before a jury, the jury shall be composed of 12 members].
(k) All cases appealed from the justice courts and other
courts of inferior jurisdiction in the county shall be made
directly [direct] to a county court at law, unless otherwise
provided by law.
(m) The judge of a county court at law and a judge of a
district court may exchange benches and transfer cases with the
approval of the judges and in the same manner that judges of
district courts exchange benches and transfer cases under Section
24.003.
SECTION 2. Section 25.2382(e), Government Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.