HBA-JRA, ATS H.B. 509 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 509 By: Hochberg Judicial Affairs 4/16/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, Texas law does not allow a justice of the peace to issue injunctions. The 1st District Court in Harris County handed down a ruling in November 1998 that interpreted Section 27.034, Government Code, to grant injunctive power to justices of the peace because the section references concurrent jurisdiction to allow deed restriction cases to be brought in either a district court or a justice of the peace court. When the original law was passed in 1995, language in the bill that would have allowed justices of the peace to issue injunctions was removed in a committee substitute. H.B. 509 specifically prohibits a justice of the peace from granting a writ of injunction under Section 27.034 (Deed Restriction Jurisdiction), Government Code. 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 Section 27.034, Government Code, by adding Subsection (j) to establish that a justice of the peace is prohibited from granting a writ of injunction under Section 27.034 (Deed Restriction Jurisdiction). SECTION 2. States that the purpose of the legislation is to clarify that the authority that a justice of the peace is granted under Section 27.034 in a deed restriction dispute does not include the authority to grant an injunction. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.