89R4975 BCH-F     By: Frank H.B. No. 3718       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the jurisdiction of the county courts at law in Wichita   County.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Sections 25.2452(b), (c), (d), and (e),   Government Code, are amended to read as follows:          (b)  All misdemeanor cases, probate and mental health   matters, proceedings under the Estates Code, and appeals from   municipal courts of record shall be filed in the county court at   law.  A county court at law may transfer a case or an appeal   described by this subsection to the county court with the consent of   the county judge.          (c)  Except as provided by Section 25.0003 and Subsection   (d), a county court at law has concurrent jurisdiction with the   district court in:                (1)  family law cases and proceedings under the Family   Code; [and]                (2)  civil cases in which the amount in controversy   exceeds $500 but does not exceed $200,000, excluding interest,   exemplary damages, penalties, attorney's fees, and court costs; and                (3)  appeals from the justice courts.          (d)  A county court at law does not have jurisdiction of:                (1)  a case under:                      (A)  the Alcoholic Beverage Code;                      (B)  the Election Code; or                      (C)  the Tax Code; or                (2)  a matter over which the district court has   exclusive jurisdiction[; or                [(3)  a civil case, other than a case under the Family   Code or the Estates Code, in which the amount in controversy is:                      [(A)  less than the maximum amount in controversy   allowed the justice court in Wichita County; or                      [(B)  more than $200,000, exclusive of punitive or   exemplary damages, penalties, interest, costs, and attorney's   fees].          (e)  On the motion of any party, a county court at law may   transfer a civil case originally filed in a county court at law that   exceeds the maximum amount in controversy described by Subsection   (c)(2) [(d)(3)(B)] to the district court in Wichita County, except   that an announcement of ready for trial by all parties before a   motion to transfer the case to the district court is filed confers   original jurisdiction on the county court at law.  A case that is   transferred to the district court shall be completed under the same   cause number and in the same manner as if the case were originally   filed in the district court.          SECTION 2.  Section 25.2452, Government Code, as amended by   this Act, applies only to an action filed in a county court at law in   Wichita County on or after the effective date of this Act. An   action filed in a county court at law in Wichita County before the   effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the   date the action was filed, and the former law is continued in effect   for that purpose.          SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.