HBA-BSM H.B. 2882 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2882 By: Naishtat Judicial Affairs 3/21/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Discrepancies regarding the jurisdiction of the Travis County Probate Court No.1 exist under current law due to provisions that grant the court jurisdiction over matters other than those included in the enabling statute. Amendments have been made over the years granting jurisdiction to probate courts to hear civil commitment cases. In addition, because the judges of the county courts in the larger counties, including Travis County, have been allowed to opt out of performing judicial functions, the probate courts have assumed additional duties. The Travis County Probate Court No.1 has assumed several duties previously performed by the county court. House Bill 2882 amends law to include recently adopted jurisdictional powers given to probate courts into the enacting legislation of the Travis County Probate Court No.1. 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 2882 amends the Government Code to provide that, in addition to existing jurisdiction, a statutory probate court in Travis County has the jurisdiction provided by law for a county court to hear and determine all actions, cases, matters, or proceedings instituted regarding: _ the refusal of an attending physician refusal to honor a patient's advance directive or a treatment decision; _ the state registrar not accepting a delayed birth certificate; _a delayed registration of death; _an investigation of the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (MHMR) to determine means of support regarding liability for payment of treatment; _a claim to show the state should not be paid for the costs of support, maintenance, or treatment of a patient or a resident of a state hospital or residential care facility operated by MHMR; _the removal of remains interred in a cemetery; _abandoned plots in private cemeteries; _the treatment of chemically dependent persons; and _the Texas Mental Health Code. The bill repeals law relating to the eminent domain jurisdiction of a statutory probate court in Travis County and the authority of such a court to exercise the pendant and ancillary jurisdiction necessary to promote judicial efficiency and economy. The bill also repeals a provision which requires all actions, cases, matters, or proceedings of eminent domain to be filed and docketed in Probate Court No. 1 of Travis County. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.