Bill Text: TX SB1278 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the creation of a judicial district composed of Kendall County, the composition of the 216th Judicial District, the creation of a criminal district attorney of Kendall County, and the abolishment of the County Court at Law of Kendall County and the office of county attorney of Kendall County.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-30 - Referred to State Affairs [SB1278 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-SB1278-Introduced.html
84R11022 SRS-F | ||
By: Campbell | S.B. No. 1278 |
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relating to the creation of a judicial district composed of Kendall | ||
County, the composition of the 216th Judicial District, the | ||
creation of a criminal district attorney of Kendall County, and the | ||
abolishment of the County Court at Law of Kendall County and the | ||
office of county attorney of Kendall County. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 24.275, Government Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
Sec. 24.275. 216TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT (GILLESPIE[ |
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composed of Gillespie[ |
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SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 24, Government Code, is | ||
amended by adding Section 24.591 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 24.591. 451ST JUDICIAL DISTRICT (KENDALL COUNTY). (a) | ||
The 451st Judicial District is composed of Kendall County. | ||
(b) In addition to the other jurisdiction provided by law, | ||
the 451st District Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the | ||
County Court of Kendall County in all civil and criminal matters | ||
over which the county court would have original or appellate | ||
jurisdiction, including probate matters and proceedings under | ||
Subtitle C, Title 7, Health and Safety Code. | ||
(c) All civil and criminal matters within the concurrent | ||
jurisdiction of the county and district courts must be filed with | ||
the county clerk in the county court. The county clerk serves as | ||
the clerk of the district court for those matters. | ||
SECTION 3. 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, 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 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 44, Government Code, is | ||
amended by adding Section 44.230 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 44.230. KENDALL COUNTY. (a) The criminal district | ||
attorney of Kendall County must meet the following qualifications: | ||
(1) be at least 30 years old; | ||
(2) have been a practicing attorney in this state for | ||
at least five years; and | ||
(3) have been a resident of Kendall County for at least | ||
one year before election or appointment. | ||
(b) The criminal district attorney has all the powers, | ||
duties, and privileges in Kendall County that are conferred by law | ||
on county and district attorneys in the various counties and | ||
districts. | ||
(c) The criminal district attorney shall attend each term | ||
and session of the district and inferior courts of Kendall County, | ||
except municipal courts, 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 shall represent Kendall | ||
County in any court in which the county has pending business. This | ||
subsection does not require the criminal district attorney to | ||
represent the county in a delinquent tax suit or condemnation | ||
proceeding and does not prevent the county from retaining other | ||
legal counsel in a civil matter at any time it considers appropriate | ||
to do so. | ||
(e) 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. | ||
(f) The criminal district attorney is entitled to receive in | ||
equal monthly installments compensation from the state equal to the | ||
amount paid by the state to district attorneys. The state | ||
compensation shall be paid by the comptroller as appropriated by | ||
the legislature. The Commissioners Court of Kendall County shall | ||
pay the criminal district attorney an additional amount so that the | ||
total compensation of the criminal district attorney equals at | ||
least 90 percent of the total salary paid to the judge of the 451st | ||
District Court in Kendall County. The compensation paid by the | ||
county shall be paid in semiweekly or bimonthly installments, as | ||
determined by the commissioners court. | ||
(g) The criminal district attorney or the Commissioners | ||
Court of Kendall County may accept gifts and grants from any | ||
individual, partnership, corporation, trust, foundation, | ||
association, or governmental entity for the purpose of financing or | ||
assisting effective prosecution, crime prevention or suppression, | ||
rehabilitation of offenders, substance abuse education, treatment | ||
and prevention, or crime victim assistance programs in Kendall | ||
County. The criminal district attorney shall account for and | ||
report to the commissioners court all gifts or grants accepted | ||
under this subsection. | ||
(h) The criminal district attorney, for the purpose of | ||
conducting affairs of the office, may appoint a staff composed of | ||
assistant criminal district attorneys, investigators, | ||
stenographers, clerks, and other personnel that the commissioners | ||
court may authorize. The salary of a staff member is an amount | ||
recommended by the criminal district attorney and approved by the | ||
commissioners court. The commissioners court shall pay the | ||
salaries of the staff in equal semiweekly or bimonthly installments | ||
from county funds. | ||
(i) The criminal district attorney shall, with the advice | ||
and consent of the commissioners court, designate one or more | ||
individuals to act as an assistant criminal district attorney with | ||
exclusive responsibility for assisting the commissioners court. An | ||
individual designated as an assistant criminal district attorney | ||
under this subsection must have extensive experience in | ||
representing public entities and knowledge of the laws affecting | ||
counties, including the open meetings and open records laws under | ||
Chapters 551 and 552. | ||
(j) Kendall County is entitled to receive from the state an | ||
amount equal to the amount provided in the General Appropriations | ||
Act to district attorneys for the payment of staff salaries and | ||
office expenses. | ||
(k) The legislature may provide for additional staff | ||
members to be paid from state funds if it considers supplementation | ||
of the criminal district attorney's staff to be necessary. | ||
(l) The criminal district attorney and assistant criminal | ||
district attorney may not engage in the private practice of law or | ||
receive a fee for the referral of a case. | ||
(m) A vacancy in the office of criminal district attorney is | ||
filled by appointment by the Commissioners Court of Kendall County. | ||
The appointee holds office until the next general election. | ||
SECTION 5. 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, 25th, | ||
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, 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, 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, Callahan, Cameron, | ||
Castro, Colorado, Crosby, Ellis, Falls, Freestone, Gonzales, | ||
Lamar, Lamb, Lampasas, Lavaca, Lee, Limestone, Marion, Milam, | ||
Morris, Ochiltree, Oldham, Orange, Rains, Red River, Robertson, | ||
Rusk, Swisher, Terry, Webb, and Willacy. | ||
SECTION 6. The office of county attorney of Kendall County | ||
is abolished. | ||
SECTION 7. Sections 25.1321 and 25.1322, Government Code, | ||
are repealed, and the County Court at Law of Kendall County is | ||
abolished on the date the 451st District Court is created. | ||
SECTION 8. On the date the 451st District Court is created, | ||
all cases from Kendall County pending in the 216th District Court | ||
are transferred to the 451st District Court. On the date the County | ||
Court at Law of Kendall County is abolished, all cases pending in | ||
the court are transferred to the 451st District Court. When a case | ||
is transferred from one court to another as provided by this | ||
section, all processes, writs, bonds, recognizances, or other | ||
obligations issued from the transferring court are returnable to | ||
the court to which the case is transferred as if originally issued | ||
by that court. The obligees in all bonds and recognizances taken in | ||
and for a court from which a case is transferred and all witnesses | ||
summoned to appear in a court from which a case is transferred are | ||
required to appear before the court to which a case is transferred | ||
as if originally required to appear before the court to which the | ||
transfer is made. | ||
SECTION 9. Notwithstanding Section 41.010, Government | ||
Code, the initial vacancy in the office of the criminal district | ||
attorney of Kendall County shall be filled by election. The office | ||
exists for purposes of the primary and general elections in 2016. A | ||
vacancy after the initial vacancy is filled as provided by Section | ||
12, Article IV, Texas Constitution. | ||
SECTION 10. Notwithstanding Section 24.026, Government | ||
Code, the initial vacancy in the office of judge of the 451st | ||
Judicial District shall be filled by election. The office exists | ||
for purposes of the primary and general elections in 2016. A | ||
vacancy after the initial vacancy is filled as provided by Section | ||
28, Article V, Texas Constitution. | ||
SECTION 11. The 451st Judicial District is created on the | ||
effective date of this Act. | ||
SECTION 12. This Act takes effect January 1, 2017. |