HBA-AMW, EDN C.S.H.B. 200 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 200 By: Pitts Judicial Affairs 3/30/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law allows for only one county court in Ellis County. Recently, the population of Ellis County has grown because of the county's proximity to Dallas and the county court has become backlogged with cases. An additional county court will decrease the number of backlogged cases and allow for cases to be adjudicated at a faster rate. C.S.H.B. 200 creates an additional county court at law in Ellis County. 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 C.S.H.B. 200 amends the Government Code to create the County Court at Law No. 2 of Ellis County and provides that the county courts at law of Ellis County have concurrent jurisdiction with the district court in civil cases, regardless of the amount in controversy. The bill also provides that the County Court at Law No. 2 of Ellis County is created December 31, 2003, or on an earlier date determined by the commissioners court by an order in its minutes. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 200 modifies the original by providing that the county courts at law of Ellis County, rather than the County Court at Law No. 2, have concurrent jurisdiction with the district court in civil cases. The substitute changes the creation date of County Court at Law No. 2 from May 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003.