Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1902 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R11524 YDB-F
2	2	By: Fallon S.B. No. 1902
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the creation of the office of criminal district
8	8	attorney of Cooke County, the abolition of the office of county
9	9	attorney in Cooke County, the application of the professional
10	10	prosecutors law to the district attorney for the 235th Judicial
11	11	District, and the compensation of a county auditor in certain
12	12	counties.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Section 44.001, Government Code, is amended to
15	15	read as follows:
16	16	Sec. 44.001. ELECTION. The voters of each of the following
17	17	counties elect a criminal district attorney: Anderson, Austin,
18	18	Bastrop, Bexar, Bowie, Brazoria, Caldwell, Calhoun, Cass, Collin,
19	19	Comal, Cooke, Dallas, Deaf Smith, Denton, Eastland, Fannin,
20	20	Galveston, Grayson, Gregg, Harrison, Hays, Hidalgo, Jackson,
21	21	Jasper, Jefferson, Kaufman, Kendall, Lubbock, McLennan, Madison,
22	22	Navarro, Newton, Panola, Polk, Randall, Rockwall, San Jacinto,
23	23	Smith, Tarrant, Taylor, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt, Victoria, Walker,
24	24	Waller, Wichita, Wood, and Yoakum.
25	25	SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 44, Government Code, is
26	26	amended by adding Section 44.149 to read as follows:
27	27	Sec. 44.149. COOKE COUNTY. (a) The criminal district
28	28	attorney of Cooke County must be at least 30 years of age and must
29	29	have been a practicing attorney in this state and in Cooke County
30	30	for at least five years. If a person meeting those qualifications
31	31	does not file as a candidate for the office on or before the 30th day
32	32	before the last day on which a person may file as a candidate in an
33	33	election to that office, the qualifications imposed by this
34	34	subsection do not apply to that election only.
35	35	(b) A vacancy in the elected office of criminal district
36	36	attorney is filled by appointment by the Commissioners Court of
37	37	Cooke County. The appointee holds office until the next general
38	38	election.
39	39	(c) The criminal district attorney shall attend each term
40	40	and session of the district courts and the county courts at law in
41	41	Cooke County and each term and session of the inferior courts of
42	42	Cooke County held for the transaction of criminal business and
43	43	shall exclusively represent the state in all criminal matters
44	44	before those courts.
45	45	(d) The criminal district attorney is entitled to receive
46	46	compensation from the state in the amount provided by the General
47	47	Appropriations Act for a district judge.
48	48	(e) The Commissioners Court of Cooke County may supplement
49	49	the salary of the criminal district attorney paid by the state but
50	50	may not pay a supplement to the criminal district attorney that is
51	51	an amount less than the supplement the county pays to the highest
52	52	paid district judge in the county.
53	53	(f) The criminal district attorney shall perform the duties
54	54	conferred by law on county and district attorneys in the various
55	55	counties and districts.
56	56	(g) The criminal district attorney shall collect the fees,
57	57	commissions, and perquisites that are provided by law for similar
58	58	services rendered by a district or county attorney.
59	59	(h) The criminal district attorney, for the purpose of
60	60	conducting the affairs of the criminal district attorney's office,
61	61	may appoint a staff composed of assistant criminal district
62	62	attorneys, investigators, stenographers, clerks, and other
63	63	personnel as the Commissioners Court of Cooke County may authorize.
64	64	The commissioners court shall pay the salaries of the staff in equal
65	65	monthly, bimonthly, biweekly, or weekly installments from the
66	66	officers' salary fund of the county.
67	67	(i) The criminal district attorney:
68	68	(1) shall, with the advice and consent of the
69	69	commissioners court, designate one or more individuals to act as
70	70	assistant criminal district attorney with responsibility for
71	71	assisting the commissioners court; and
72	72	(2) may designate an assistant to represent the
73	73	interests of the state in civil matters in Cooke County.
74	74	(j) The criminal district attorney may, subject to the
75	75	approval of the Commissioners Court of Cooke County, contract with
76	76	attorneys as special assistants to conduct specialized tasks as
77	77	needed.
78	78	SECTION 3. Effective January 1, 2021, Section 46.002,
79	79	Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
80	80	Sec. 46.002. PROSECUTORS SUBJECT TO CHAPTER. This chapter
81	81	applies to the state prosecuting attorney, all county prosecutors,
82	82	and the following state prosecutors:
83	83	(1) the district attorneys for Kenedy and Kleberg
84	84	Counties and for the 1st, 2nd, 8th, 9th, 18th, 21st, 23rd, 26th,
85	85	27th, 29th, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 34th, 35th, 36th, 38th, 39th, 42nd,
86	86	43rd, 46th, 47th, 49th, 50th, 51st, 52nd, 53rd, 63rd, 64th, 66th,
87	87	69th, 70th, 76th, 79th, 81st, 83rd, 84th, 85th, 88th, 90th, 97th,
88	88	100th, 105th, 106th, 109th, 110th, 112th, 118th, 119th, 123rd,
89	89	132nd, 142nd, 143rd, 145th, 156th, 159th, 173rd, 196th, 198th,
90	90	216th, 220th, 229th, 235th, 253rd, 258th, 259th, 266th, 268th,
91	91	271st, 286th, 287th, 329th, 344th, 349th, 355th, 369th, 452nd, and
92	92	506th judicial districts;
93	93	(2) the criminal district attorneys for the counties
94	94	of Anderson, Austin, Bastrop, Bexar, Bowie, Brazoria, Caldwell,
95	95	Calhoun, Cass, Collin, Comal, Cooke, Dallas, Deaf Smith, Denton,
96	96	Eastland, Fannin, Galveston, Grayson, Gregg, Harrison, Hays,
97	97	Hidalgo, Jasper, Jefferson, Kaufman, Kendall, Lubbock, McLennan,
98	98	Madison, Navarro, Newton, Panola, Polk, Randall, Rockwall, San
99	99	Jacinto, Smith, Tarrant, Taylor, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt,
100	100	Victoria, Walker, Waller, Wichita, Wood, and Yoakum; and
101	101	(3) the county attorneys performing the duties of
102	102	district attorneys in the counties of Andrews, Aransas, Callahan,
103	103	Cameron, Castro, Colorado, Crosby, Ellis, Falls, Freestone,
104	104	Gonzales, Guadalupe, Lamar, Lamb, Lampasas, Lavaca, Lee,
105	105	Limestone, Marion, Milam, Morris, Ochiltree, Oldham, Orange,
106	106	Rains, Red River, Robertson, Rusk, Swisher, Terry, Webb, and
107	107	Willacy.
108	108	SECTION 4. Section 152.032(d), Local Government Code, is
109	109	amended to read as follows:
110	110	(d) The amount of the compensation and allowances of a
111	111	county auditor in a county subject to this subsection may be set in
112	112	an amount that exceeds the limit established by Subsection (a) if
113	113	the compensation and allowances are approved by the commissioners
114	114	court of the county. This subsection applies only to:
115	115	(1) a county with a population of more than 108,000 and
116	116	less than 110,000;
117	117	(2) a county with a population of 120,000 or more,
118	118	excluding a county subject to Subsection (b);
119	119	(3) a county with a population of more than 1,000 and
120	120	less than 23,000 that borders the Gulf of Mexico;
121	121	(4) a county with a population of more than 11,000 and
122	122	less than 11,650; [and]
123	123	(5) a county that:
124	124	(A) borders a county with a population of more
125	125	than one million; and
126	126	(B) has a population of more than 36,000 and less
127	127	than 40,000; and
128	128	(6) a county with a population of less than 100,000
129	129	that borders Lake Ray Roberts.
130	130	SECTION 5. Effective January 1, 2021, the office of county
131	131	attorney of Cooke County is abolished.
132	132	SECTION 6. Notwithstanding Section 41.010, Government
133	133	Code, the initial vacancy in the office of criminal district
134	134	attorney of Cooke County on creation of the office shall be filled
135	135	by election. The office of criminal district attorney of Cooke
136	136	County exists only for the purposes of the primary and general
137	137	elections in 2020. The qualified voters of the county shall elect
138	138	the initial criminal district attorney of Cooke County at the
139	139	general election in 2020 for a four-year term beginning January 1,
140	140	2021. Thereafter the criminal district attorney of Cooke County
141	141	shall be elected for a four-year term as provided by Section 30,
142	142	Article V, Texas Constitution. A vacancy after the initial vacancy
143	143	is filled as provided by Section 12, Article IV, Texas
144	144	Constitution.
145	145	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect January 1, 2020.