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