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Texas Government Code - GOV'T § 29.003. Jurisdiction

Current as of January 01, 2024 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a) A municipal court, including a municipal court of record, shall have exclusive original jurisdiction within the municipality's territorial limits and property owned by the municipality located in the municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction in all criminal cases that:

(1) arise under:

(A) the ordinances of the municipality; or

(B) a resolution, rule, or order of a joint board operating an airport under Section 22.074, Transportation Code; and

(2) are punishable by a fine not to exceed:

(A) $2,000 in all cases arising under municipal ordinances or resolutions, rules, or orders of a joint board that govern fire safety, zoning, or public health and sanitation, other than the dumping of refuse;

(B) $4,000 in cases arising under municipal ordinances that govern the dumping of refuse; or

(C) $500 in all other cases arising under a municipal ordinance or a resolution, rule, or order of a joint board.

(b) The municipal court has concurrent jurisdiction with the justice court of a precinct in which the municipality is located in all criminal cases arising under state law that arise within the municipality's territorial limits or property owned by the municipality located in the municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction and that:

(1) are punishable only by a fine, as defined in Subsection (c); or

(2) arise under Chapter 106, Alcoholic Beverage Code, and do not include confinement as an authorized sanction.

(c) In this section, an offense which is punishable by “fine only” is defined as an offense that is punishable by fine and such sanctions, if any, as authorized by statute not consisting of confinement in jail or imprisonment.

(d) The fact that a conviction in a municipal court has as a consequence the imposition of a penalty or sanction by an agency or entity other than the court, such as a denial, suspension, or revocation of a privilege, does not affect the original jurisdiction of the municipal court.

(e) The municipal court has jurisdiction in the forfeiture and final judgment of all bail bonds and personal bonds taken in criminal cases of which the court has jurisdiction.

(f) This section does not affect the powers given exclusively to a joint board operating an airport under Section 22.074(d), Transportation Code.

(g) Repealed by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., ch. 372 (H.B. 1631), § 6(1).

(h) A municipality with a population of 1.19 million or more and another municipality contiguous to that municipality may enter into an agreement providing concurrent jurisdiction for the municipal courts of either jurisdiction for all criminal cases arising from offenses under state law that are:

(1) committed on the boundary of those municipalities or in one or both of the following areas:

(A) within 200 yards of that boundary; or

(B) within 2.25 miles of that boundary on a segment of highway in the state highway system that traverses a major water supply reservoir; and

(2) punishable by fine only.

(i) A municipality may enter into an agreement with a contiguous municipality or a municipality with boundaries that are within one-half mile of the municipality seeking to enter into the agreement to establish concurrent jurisdiction of the municipal courts in the municipalities and provide original jurisdiction to a municipal court in which a case is brought as if the municipal court were located in the municipality in which the case arose, for:

(1) all cases in which either municipality has jurisdiction under Subsection (a) or (b); and

(2) cases that arise under Section 821.022, Health and Safety Code, or Section 65.003(a), Family Code.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Texas Government Code - GOV'T § 29.003. Jurisdiction - last updated January 01, 2024 | https://codes.findlaw.com/tx/government-code/gov-t-sect-29-003/

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