HB 3718

relating to the jurisdiction of the county courts at law in Wichita
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
(c)  Except as provided by Section 25.0003 and Subsection
(d), a county court at law has concurrent jurisdiction with the
(1)  family law cases and proceedings under the Family
(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:
(A)  the Alcoholic Beverage Code;
(2)  a matter over which the district court has
[(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
(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
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
SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.