The details
House Bill 16, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott on Sept. 17 following the second special session, brings the county’s total number of courts to 10, with the last district court added in 2015.
“It will help us to move our caseload faster—cases will be disposed and justice will be served sooner,” Fort Bend County Judge KP George said in a Sept. 18 Facebook post. “A big thank you to Gov. Abbott, our legislators and commissioner [Andy] Meyers who worked behind the scenes to make this happen for Fort Bend County.”
The request was first brought up during the regular legislative session, but Abbott vetoed it after being lumped with other court-related items.
Why it matters
Data from the Office of Court Administration shows the number of criminal, civil and family cases has increased by 30.19% since 2015.
Officials said this can be attributed to the county’s growing population, which increased more than 41% between the American Community Survey’s 2013 and 2023 five-year estimates and is expected to break 1 million soon.
Zooming out
Several other Greater Houston-area counties received an additional district court, including Brazoria, Montgomery and Harris, which received five, according to the bill. Harris County also received a county civil court.
Going forward
The courts will be created Dec. 1, according to bill documents.
