| 1 | 1 | | 88R8218 JTZ-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Guillen H.B. No. 4048 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the creation of the 2nd Multicounty Court at Law in Bee, |
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| 8 | 8 | | Live Oak, and McMullen Counties. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter F, Chapter 25, Government Code, is |
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| 11 | 11 | | amended by adding Sections 25.2703 and 25.2704 to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 25.2703. 2ND MULTICOUNTY COURT AT LAW (BEE, LIVE OAK, |
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| 13 | 13 | | AND MCMULLEN COUNTIES). Bee, Live Oak, and McMullen Counties have a |
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| 14 | 14 | | multicounty statutory county court composed of those counties, the |
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| 15 | 15 | | 2nd Multicounty Court at Law. |
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| 16 | 16 | | Sec. 25.2704. 2ND MULTICOUNTY COURT AT LAW PROVISIONS. (a) |
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| 17 | 17 | | In addition to the jurisdiction provided by Section 25.0003 and |
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| 18 | 18 | | other law, the 2nd Multicounty Court at Law has concurrent |
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| 19 | 19 | | jurisdiction with the district courts, except in civil cases in |
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| 20 | 20 | | which the matter in controversy exceeds the amount provided by |
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| 21 | 21 | | Section 25.0003(c)(1). |
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| 22 | 22 | | (b) Bee County is the administrative county for the 2nd |
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| 23 | 23 | | Multicounty Court at Law. |
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| 24 | 24 | | (c) Bee, Live Oak, and McMullen Counties shall enter into an |
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| 25 | 25 | | interlocal agreement allocating the financial obligations of each |
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| 26 | 26 | | county in relation to the county court at law and the budget, |
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| 27 | 27 | | powers, and duties of the court and salaries of court personnel. |
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| 28 | 28 | | (d) If the counties served by the county court at law are |
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| 29 | 29 | | unable to reach an agreement under Subsection (c) before the first |
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| 30 | 30 | | day of the fiscal year for a county served by the court, each county |
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| 31 | 31 | | shall pay to the court's administrative county a share of the |
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| 32 | 32 | | court's administrative and operational costs for the fiscal year |
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| 33 | 33 | | based on the proportion of the court's caseload originating in the |
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| 34 | 34 | | county during the preceding year. A county is entitled to |
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| 35 | 35 | | compensation from the state under Section 25.0015 in proportion to |
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| 36 | 36 | | the amount paid under this subsection. |
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| 37 | 37 | | (e) The district clerk serves as clerk of the county court |
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| 38 | 38 | | at law in matters of concurrent jurisdiction with the district |
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| 39 | 39 | | court, and the county clerk serves as clerk of the county court at |
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| 40 | 40 | | law in all other cases. |
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| 41 | 41 | | (f) Sections 25.0006, 25.0008, and 74.054(b) do not apply to |
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| 42 | 42 | | the county court at law. |
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| 43 | 43 | | (g) Notwithstanding Section 74.121(b)(1), in matters of |
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| 44 | 44 | | concurrent jurisdiction, the judge of the 2nd Multicounty Court at |
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| 45 | 45 | | Law and the judges of the district courts in Bee, Live Oak, and |
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| 46 | 46 | | McMullen Counties may exchange benches and courtrooms and may |
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| 47 | 47 | | transfer cases between their dockets in the same manner that judges |
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| 48 | 48 | | of district courts exchange benches and courtrooms and transfer |
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| 49 | 49 | | cases under Section 24.003. |
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| 50 | 50 | | SECTION 2. The 2nd Multicounty Court at Law is created |
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| 51 | 51 | | September 1, 2023. |
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| 52 | 52 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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