HBA-PDH H.B. 125 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 125 By: Puente Judicial Affairs 4/5/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The current number of district courts in Bexar County is 19. Using the statewide ratio of district judges to population, the county should have 27. Due to the lack of judges, Bexar County must rely on non-elected visiting judges to accommodate the backlog of cases in the district courts. Furthermore, it currently takes an average of 685 days to bring a case involving a violent offense to trial in Bexar County. H.B. 125 creates five new district courts in Bexar County, providing for two courts giving preference to civil cases, two courts giving preference to criminal cases, and one court giving preference to juvenile matters. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter C, Chapter 24, Government Code, by adding Sections 24.524, 24.531, 24.532, 24.533, and 24.534, as follows: Sec. 24.524. 379TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT (BEXAR COUNTY). Creates the 379th Judicial District of Bexar County. Requires the 379th District Court to give preference to criminal cases. Sec. 24.531. 386TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT (BEXAR COUNTY). Creates the 386th Judicial District of Bexar County. Requires the 386th District Court to give preference to civil cases. Sec. 24.532. 387TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT (BEXAR COUNTY). Creates the 387th Judicial District of Bexar County. Requires the 387th District Court to give preference to juvenile cases. Sec. 24.533. 388TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT (BEXAR COUNTY). Creates the 388th Judicial District of Bexar County. Requires the 388th District Court to give preference to criminal cases. Sec. 24.534. 389TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT (BEXAR COUNTY). Creates the 389th Judicial District of Bexar County. Requires the 389th District Court to give preference to civil cases. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 3.Emergency Clause.