HBA-JEK H.B. 3695 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3695 By: Merritt County Affairs 7/2/2001 Enrolled BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Prior to the 77th Legislature, Gregg County had only one county court at law. Increases in the county's population and in the complexity and volume of civil cases led to a backlog of cases in the Gregg County court system. The creation of an additional court in Gregg County will allow the county judge to devote more time to administrative duties and may alleviate the increasing caseloads of Gregg County's district courts. House Bill 3695 establishes a second statutory county court for Gregg County, contingent on voter approval. 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 3695 amends the Government Code to establish the County Court at Law No. 2 of Gregg County as of January 1, 2003, provided that the voters in the county vote in favor of the creation of the court at an election to be held on a uniform election date as soon as possible after the bill's effective date. If the creation of the court is approved, the bill requires the initial vacancy for the office of judge to be filled by election, and specifies that the office exists for purposes of the primary and general elections in 2002. If the creation of the court is not approved by the voters before January 1, 2002, the bill expires. EFFECTIVE DATE June 15, 2001.