85R8161 YDB-F
By: Lambert H.B. No. 4281
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the 1st Multicounty County Court at Law.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 25.2702, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (d), and (h) and adding Subsection (g) to
read as follows:
(a) In addition to the jurisdiction provided by Section
25.0003 and other law, the 1st Multicounty Court at Law has
concurrent jurisdiction with the district court in:
(1) family law cases and proceedings; and
(2) felony criminal cases.
(d) The judge of the county court at law shall appoint an
official court reporter. The judge may appoint a court
administrator to aid the judge in the performance of the judge's
duties. The [An] official court reporter and the court
administrator of the county court at law are [is] entitled to
receive the same salary and to be paid in the same manner as the
official court reporter and court administrator, respectively, of
the district court in the administrative county for the court [a
salary set by the commissioners courts in the counties the reporter
serves to be paid out of the county treasuries, either by salary or
by contract as set by the commissioners courts]. The clerk of the
court shall tax as costs, in each civil, criminal, and probate case
in which a record of any part of the evidence in the case is made by
the reporter, a stenographer's fee of $25. The fee shall be paid in
the same manner as other costs in the case. The clerk collects the
fee and pays it into the general funds of the counties.
(g) The judge of the county court at law is entitled to
travel expenses and necessary office expenses as authorized by the
commissioners court of the administrative county.
(h) Notwithstanding Section 74.121(b)(1), [in matters of
concurrent jurisdiction,] the judge of the 1st Multicounty Court at
Law and the judges of the district courts in Fisher, Mitchell, and
Nolan Counties may exchange benches and courtrooms and may transfer
cases between their dockets in the same manner that judges of
district courts exchange benches and transfer cases under Section
24.003.
SECTION 2. Section 3.07(b), Chapter 1182 (S.B. 1139), Acts
of the 84th Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, which amends
Section 25.2701, Government Code, is repealed.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.