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.