| 1 | 1 | | 88R12484 AMF-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Anderson H.B. No. 5378 |
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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 jurisdiction and operation of the county courts at |
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| 8 | 8 | | law in McLennan County. |
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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. Sections 25.1572(a), (d), and (e), Government |
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| 11 | 11 | | Code, are amended to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (a) In addition to the jurisdiction provided by Section |
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| 13 | 13 | | 25.0003 and other law and except as limited by Subsection (b), a |
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| 14 | 14 | | county court at law in McLennan County has: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (1) concurrent jurisdiction with the district courts |
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| 16 | 16 | | in state jail, third degree, and second degree felony cases and |
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| 17 | 17 | | family law cases on assignment from a district judge presiding in |
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| 18 | 18 | | McLennan County and acceptance of the assignment by the judge of the |
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| 19 | 19 | | county court at law to: |
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| 20 | 20 | | (A) conduct arraignments; |
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| 21 | 21 | | (B) conduct pretrial hearings; |
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| 22 | 22 | | (C) accept guilty pleas and conduct sentencing; |
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| 23 | 23 | | (D) conduct jury trials and nonjury trials; |
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| 24 | 24 | | (E) conduct probation revocation hearings; |
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| 25 | 25 | | (F) conduct post-trial proceedings; and |
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| 26 | 26 | | (G) conduct family law cases and proceedings; and |
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| 27 | 27 | | (2) jurisdiction in: |
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| 28 | 28 | | (A) Class A and Class B misdemeanor cases; |
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| 29 | 29 | | (B) probate proceedings; |
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| 30 | 30 | | (C) eminent domain; |
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| 31 | 31 | | (D) appeals from the justice and municipal |
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| 32 | 32 | | courts; and |
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| 33 | 33 | | (E) disputes ancillary to probate, eminent |
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| 34 | 34 | | domain, condemnation, or landlord and tenant matters relating to |
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| 35 | 35 | | the adjudication and determination of land titles and trusts, |
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| 36 | 36 | | whether testamentary, inter vivos, constructive, resulting, or any |
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| 37 | 37 | | other class or type of trust, regardless of the amount in |
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| 38 | 38 | | controversy or the remedy sought [to conduct arraignments, conduct |
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| 39 | 39 | | pretrial hearings, accept guilty pleas, and conduct probation |
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| 40 | 40 | | revocation hearings in felony cases]. |
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| 41 | 41 | | (d) A judge of a county court at law shall be paid a total |
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| 42 | 42 | | [an] annual [base] salary set by the commissioners court in an |
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| 43 | 43 | | amount not less than $1,000 less than the annual [base] salary |
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| 44 | 44 | | received by [the state pays to] a district judge [as set by the |
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| 45 | 45 | | General Appropriations Act in accordance with Section 659.012] with |
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| 46 | 46 | | equivalent years of service as a [the] judge, as provided under |
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| 47 | 47 | | Section 25.0005, to be paid out of the county treasury by the |
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| 48 | 48 | | commissioners court. [A county court at law judge's and a district |
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| 49 | 49 | | judge's annual base salaries do not include contributions and |
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| 50 | 50 | | supplements paid by the county.] |
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| 51 | 51 | | (e) The district clerk serves as clerk of a county court at |
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| 52 | 52 | | law in cases instituted in the district courts in which the county |
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| 53 | 53 | | courts at law have [matters of] concurrent jurisdiction with the |
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| 54 | 54 | | district court. The county clerk serves as the clerk of a county |
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| 55 | 55 | | court at law in all other matters. Each clerk shall establish a |
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| 56 | 56 | | separate docket for a county court at law. |
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| 57 | 57 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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