Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Sb 496 Jurisdiction Resolution topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Potter County court backs bill to expand limited felony jurisdiction for County Court at Law No. 2
Summary
Potter County Commissioners Court unanimously approved a resolution supporting Senate Bill 496 to amend Texas Government Code §25.1902 so County Court at Law No. 2 can handle agreed pretrial and related felony activities, not felony trials, proponents said.
Potter County Commissioners Court unanimously approved a resolution March 3 supporting Senate Bill 496, which asks the Texas Legislature to amend Government Code §25.1902 to expand certain felony-related jurisdiction for County Court at Law No. 2.
Jackson, who introduced the request on behalf of State Senator Kevin Sparks’ office, said the senator’s staff asked the commission to submit the resolution as a show of local support for the proposed statutory change. "They had asked that, the commissioner's court submit that bill as a way of showing support for what the legislature is considering doing," Jackson said.
Judge Matt Hand, identified in the meeting as County Court at Law No. 2’s judge, told commissioners the change is intended to allow his court to handle agreed pretrial and preliminary felony-related matters—pleas and preliminary hearings—"but jurisdiction does not extend to us, actually trying felony trials." He described the proposal as largely a "cleanup" to align court 2’s authority with that of County Court at Law No. 1.
Judge Hand also said local legal leadership had been consulted: the county attorney, the district attorney and all five district judges had concurred with moving the change forward to the Legislature. Commissioners asked clarifying questions about what types of matters the court would hear and whether the change would affect jail population; Judge Hand said the court would handle agreed pretrial matters and that, as a practical matter, defendants could still object and the district judge would likely decline the request in those cases.
Committee member S4 moved to approve the presented resolution and S2 seconded. The Chair called the vote and the motion passed 5–0. Jackson said staff would correct two typographical errors in the resolution and circulate a signed version once edits were made.
The court’s action is a statement of local support; it does not itself change statutory law. The resolution will accompany requests to the Legislature and the bill sponsor as SB 496 proceeds through the legislative process.
