| 1 | 1 | | 89R11522 BCH-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: McLaughlin H.B. No. 2661 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to the jurisdiction and operation of the County Court at |
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| 10 | 10 | | Law in Atascosa County. |
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| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Section 25.0092, Government Code, is amended by |
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| 13 | 13 | | amending Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsection (c-1) to |
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| 14 | 14 | | read as follows: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (a) In addition to the jurisdiction provided by Section |
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| 16 | 16 | | 25.0003 and other law, and except as limited by Subsection (b), a |
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| 17 | 17 | | county court at law in Atascosa County has concurrent jurisdiction |
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| 18 | 18 | | with the district court in: |
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| 19 | 19 | | (1) Class A and Class B misdemeanor cases; |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2) family law matters; |
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| 21 | 21 | | (3) juvenile matters; |
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| 22 | 22 | | (4) probate matters; [and] |
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| 23 | 23 | | (5) appeals from the justice and municipal courts; and |
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| 24 | 24 | | (6) civil cases in which the matter in controversy |
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| 25 | 25 | | exceeds the maximum amount provided by Section 25.0003 but does not |
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| 26 | 26 | | exceed $1 million, excluding interest, statutory or punitive |
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| 27 | 27 | | damages and penalties, and attorney's fees and costs, as alleged on |
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| 28 | 28 | | the face of the petition, including: |
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| 29 | 29 | | (A) a suit to decide the issue of title to real or |
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| 30 | 30 | | personal property; |
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| 31 | 31 | | (B) a suit for the enforcement of a lien on real |
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| 32 | 32 | | property; |
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| 33 | 33 | | (C) a suit for the trial of the right to property |
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| 34 | 34 | | valued at $500 or more that has been levied on under a writ of |
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| 35 | 35 | | execution, sequestration, or attachment; and |
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| 36 | 36 | | (D) a suit for the recovery of real property. |
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| 37 | 37 | | (c-1) In addition to other assignments provided by law, a |
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| 38 | 38 | | judge of the county court at law in Atascosa County is subject to |
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| 39 | 39 | | assignment under Chapter 74 to any district court in Atascosa |
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| 40 | 40 | | County. A county court at law judge assigned to a district court |
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| 41 | 41 | | may hear any matter pending in the district court. |
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| 42 | 42 | | (d) The judge of a county court at law shall be paid as |
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| 43 | 43 | | provided by Section 25.0005 [a total annual salary set by the |
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| 44 | 44 | | commissioners court at an amount that is not less than $1,000 less |
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| 45 | 45 | | than the total annual salary received by a district judge in the |
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| 46 | 46 | | county. A district judge's or statutory county court judge's total |
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| 47 | 47 | | annual salary does not include contributions and supplements paid |
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| 48 | 48 | | by a county]. |
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| 49 | 49 | | SECTION 2. Section 25.0092(a), Government Code, as amended |
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| 50 | 50 | | by this Act, applies only to a case filed or proceeding commenced on |
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| 51 | 51 | | or after the effective date of this Act. A case filed or proceeding |
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| 52 | 52 | | commenced before that date is governed by the law in effect on the |
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| 53 | 53 | | date the case was filed or the proceeding was commenced, and the |
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| 54 | 54 | | former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 55 | 55 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 56 | 56 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 57 | 57 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 58 | 58 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 59 | 59 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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