HBA-JEK H.B. 3695 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3695
By: Merritt
County Affairs
5/2/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, Gregg County has one county court at law.  Increases in the
county's population and in the complexity and volume of civil cases have
led to a backlog of cases in the Gregg County court system.  The creation
of an additional court in Gregg County could allow the county judge to
devote more time to administrative duties and might 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 a majority
of the qualified 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

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001.