Oklahoma 2023 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB2850 Compare Versions

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28-ENGROSSED HOUSE
29-BILL NO. 2850 By: Wallace of the House
29+HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
3030
31- and
31+STATE OF OKLAHOMA
3232
33- Howard of the Senate
33+1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
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35+HOUSE BILL 2850 By: Wallace
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41+AS INTRODUCED
4142
4243 An Act relating to courts; defining terms; creating
4344 the Office of Judicial Performance Evaluat ion;
4445 providing purpose of Office; creating Board of
4546 Judicial Performance Evaluation; stating purpose of
4647 Board; providing for terms of office for members of
4748 the Board of Judicial Performance Evaluation;
4849 imposing certain conditions with respect to
4950 membership; providing for payment to members of the
5051 Board of Judicial Performance Evaluation; providing
5152 for travel reimbursement; requiring approval for
5253 expenses of the Office of Judicial Performance
5354 Evaluation; providing certain meetings of the Board
5455 of Judicial Performance Evaluation confidential and
5556 exempt from Oklahoma Open Meeting Act; providing for
5657 confidentiality of certain information and exempt ion
5758 from Oklahoma Open Records Act; creating
5859 Administrator position; prescribing duties of
5960 Administrator; prescribin g duties and powers of
6061 Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation;
6162 prescribing criteria for judicial performance
6263 evaluations; requiring initial evaluations; requiring
6364 interim evaluations; allowing response from Justice
6465 or judge; requiring performance evalua tions be shared
6566 with certain persons; requ iring election-year
6667 evaluations; prescribing content of narratives;
6768 allowing response from Justice or judge; requiring
6869 performance evaluations be shared with certain
6970 persons; authorizing improvement plans; prescrib ing
7071 process; prescribing procedures based upon failure to
7172 complete plan; providing for disclosure of certain
7273 conflicts of interest; providing recusal process for
7374 certain persons; requiring information be kept
7475 confidential; prescribing Board of Judicial
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101103 Performance Evaluation duties and powers; aut horizing
102104 promulgation of rules; prov iding for codification;
103105 and providing an effective date .
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107109 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
108110 SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
109111 in the Oklahoma Statu tes as Section 1671 of Title 20, unless there
110112 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
111113 As used in this act:
112114 1. "Attorney" means a person admitted to practice law before
113115 the courts of this state;
114116 2. "Election-year evaluation" means a judicial performance
115117 evaluation conducted by the Office of Judicial Performance
116118 Evaluation pursuant to Se ction 6 of this act of a Justice or judge
117119 whose term is to expire and who must stand for reelection or
118120 retention election;
119121 3. "Improvement plan" means an individual judicial improvement
120122 plan developed and implemented pursuant to Section 7 of this act;
121123 4. "Initial evaluation" and "interim evaluation" mean
122124 evaluations conducted by the Office of Judicial Performance
123125 Evaluation pursuant to Section 5 of this act of a Justice or judge;
124126 5. "Judge" means all active district judges, associate district
125127 judges, special judges, Judges of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal
126128 Appeals, and Judges of the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals; and
127129 6. "Justice" means a Justice of the O klahoma Supreme Court.
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154157 SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
155158 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1672 of Title 20, unless there
156159 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
157160 A. There is hereby created wi thin the Council on Judicial
158161 Complaints the Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation and the
159162 Board of Judicial Performance Evaluation. The purpose of the Office
160163 and the Board shall be to:
161164 1. Provide Justices and judges with useful information
162165 concerning their own performances; and
163166 2. Conduct statewide judicial performance evaluations using
164167 uniform criteria and procedures pursuant to the provisions of this
165168 act.
166169 B. 1. The Office of Judicial Performance Evaluati on shall
167170 present completed performance eval uations and recommendations to the
168171 Board of Judicial Performance Evaluation , which shall consist of
169172 nine (9) members, only five of whom shall be members of the Bar of
170173 the State of Oklahoma and only five of whom sh all constitute a
171174 quorum. Three members shal l be appointed by the Speaker of the
172175 Oklahoma House of Representatives; three members shall be appointed
173176 by the President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate; and three
174177 members shall be appointed by the Gover nor. No more than five
175178 members of the Board shall be, or shall have been in the previous
176179 six (6) months, members of the same political party. Appointments
177180 may include retired judicial officers, but shall not include members
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204208 of the Council on Judicial Com plaints or Judicial Nominating
205209 Commission.
206210 2. Of the members first appointed to the Board of Judicial
207211 Performance Evaluation, three shall serve for three (3) years and
208212 until a successor is appointed and qualified; three shall serve for
209213 four (4) years and until a successor is appointed and qualifie d; and
210214 three shall serve for five (5) years and until a successor is
211215 appointed and qualified. The respective terms of the first members
212216 shall be determined by lot at the first meeting of the Board, and
213217 the results thereof shall be certified to the Secreta ry of State and
214218 to the appointing aut hority for each individual member. Thereafter,
215219 each appointee shall serve for a term of five (5) years and until a
216220 successor is appointed and qualified. No person shall be el igible
217221 to serve more than two terms on the Board.
218222 3. The members of the Boar d of Judicial Performance Evaluation
219223 shall receive for their services the sum of One Hundred Dollars
220224 ($100.00) for each day, or fraction thereof, of attendance at its
221225 meetings or other official business of the Board, and r eimbursement
222226 for travel expenses p ursuant to the State Travel Reimbursement Act.
223227 C. All expenses of the Office of Judicial Performance
224228 Evaluation shall be approved by the Chair of the Council on Judicial
225229 Complaints, by the Council on Judicial Complaints u pon a majority
226230 vote of its members, or by the Administrative Director to the
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253258 Council on Judicial Complaints as directed by the Chair of th e
254259 Council on Judicial Complaints.
255260 D. Meetings of the Board of Judicial Per formance Evaluation
256261 convened for the purpos e of conducting, discussing, or de liberating
257262 any matter relating to performance evaluations or improvement plans
258263 are confidential and are n ot subject to the Oklahoma Open Meeting
259264 Act.
260265 E. Records of the Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation
261266 created for the purpose of or in furtherance of summarizing,
262267 drafting, conducting, discussing, or deliberating any matter
263268 relating to an election -year evaluation, improvement plan, or
264269 interim evaluation are confidential and are not subject to
265270 disclosure under the Okl ahoma Open Records Act.
266271 F. There is hereby created the position of Administrator to the
267272 Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation who shall be a state
268273 employee hired by the Administrative Director to the Council on
269274 Judicial Complaints. The Administrator, operations, and staffing of
270275 the Office shall be overseen by the Administrative Director to the
271276 Council on Judicial Complaints.
272277 G. The Administrator shall notify the members of the Board of
273278 Judicial Performance E valuation of the number of completed
274279 performance evaluations ready for review and consideration by the
275280 Board five (5) days before the Board 's regular meeting. The
276281 Administrator shall att end meetings of the Board concerning
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303309 performance evaluations and busi ness of the Office, keep records
304310 concerning performance evaluations, prepare reports required by
305311 statute, and perform other tasks as the Council shall direct.
306312 SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
307313 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1673 of Title 20, unless there
308314 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
309315 A. The Office of Judicial Perfo rmance Evaluation shall:
310316 1. Train members of the Board of Judicial Performance
311317 Evaluation as needed and requested to fulfil the duties established
312318 pursuant to Section 10 of this act;
313319 2. Collect and disseminate data on judicial performance
314320 evaluations, including judicial performance surveys developed,
315321 collected, and distributed pursuant to paragraph 5 of subsection B
316322 of this section; and
317323 3. Perform other tasks a s the Board of Judicial Performanc e
318324 Evaluation or the Council on Judicial Complaints shall direct.
319325 B. The Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation shall have the
320326 following powers and duties:
321327 1. Review any available case management data and statistics
322328 related to individual Justices and j udges;
323329 2. Review written judicial opinions and orders authorized b y
324330 Justices and judges;
325331 3. Interview Justices and judges under the Board of Judicial
326332 Performance Evaluation 's oversight;
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353360 4. Accept information and documen tation from interested persons
354361 as necessary;
355362 5. Develop surveys to evaluate the performance of Justices and
356363 judges which, shall be completed by attorneys, jurors, represented
357364 and unrepresented litigants, law enfo rcement personnel, attorneys
358365 within the district attorneys' and public defenders' offices,
359366 employees of the court, c ourt interpreters, employees of probation
360367 offices, and employees of local departments of social services;
361368 6. Determine the validity of comp leted surveys developed
362369 pursuant to paragraph 5 of this subsection, report to the Council on
363370 the validity of the surv eys, and prepare alternatives to surveys
364371 where sample populations are inadequate to produce valid results;
365372 7. Prepare narratives for the B oard of Judicial Performance
366373 Evaluation that reflect the performance of Justices and judges;
367374 8. Submit any information concerning or appearing to concern a
368375 complaint or violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct, or other
369376 law, by a judicial officer to the Administrative Director to the
370377 Council on Judicial Complaints;
371378 9. Submit performance evaluations of Justices and judges to the
372379 Board of Judicial Performance Evaluation for approval or rejection;
373380 and
374381 10. Recommend, at the Office 's discretion after it comp letes an
375382 evaluation of a Justice or judge p ursuant to Section 5 of this act,
376383 to the Board of Judicial Performance Evaluat ion that it develop an
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403411 individual judicial improvement plan pursuant to Section 7 of this
404412 act.
405413 SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
406414 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1674 of Title 20, unless there
407415 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
408416 The Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation shall evaluate
409417 each Justice and judge in Oklaho ma utilizing the powers and duties
410418 conferred in Section 3 of this act. The evaluations shall only
411419 include the following p erformance evaluation criteria:
412420 1. Integrity including, but not limited to, whether the Justice
413421 or judge:
414422 a. avoids impropriety or th e appearance of impropriety,
415423 b. displays fairness and impartiality toward all
416424 participants, and
417425 c. avoids ex parte communic ations;
418426 2. Legal knowledge including, but not limited to, whether the
419427 Justice or judge:
420428 a. demonstrates, through well -reasoned opinions and
421429 courtroom conduct, an understanding of substantive law
422430 and relevant rules of procedure and evidence,
423431 b. demonstrates, through well-reasoned opinions and
424432 courtroom conduct, attentiveness to factual and legal
425433 issues before the court, and
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452461 c. adheres to precedent or clearly explains the legal
453462 basis for departure from precedent a nd appropriately
454463 applies statutes or other sou rces of legal authority;
455464 3. Communication skills includi ng, but not limited to, whether
456465 the Justice or judge:
457466 a. presents clearly written and understandable opinions,
458467 findings of fact, conclusions of law, and orders,
459468 b. presents clearly stated and understa ndable questions
460469 or statements during oral arguments or presentations,
461470 and, for trial judges, clearly explains all oral
462471 decisions, and
463472 c. clearly presents information to the jury, as
464473 necessary;
465474 4. Judicial temperament including, but not limited to, whether
466475 the Justice or judge:
467476 a. demonstrates courtesy toward a ttorneys, litigants,
468477 court staff, and others in the courtroom, and
469478 b. maintains and requires order, punctuality, and
470479 appropriate decorum in the courtro om;
471480 5. Administrative performance including, but not limited to,
472481 whether the Justice or judge:
473482 a. demonstrates preparation for oral arguments, trials,
474483 and hearings, as well as a ttentiveness to and
475484 appropriate control ove r judicial proceedings ,
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502512 b. manages workload and court time effectively and
503513 efficiently,
504514 c. issues opinions, findings of fact, conclusions of law,
505515 and orders in a timely manner and without unnecessary
506516 delay,
507517 d. participates in a proportionate share of the c ourt's
508518 workload, takes responsibilit y for more than his or
509519 her own caseload, and is wi lling to assist other
510520 Justices or judges, and
511521 e. understands and complies, as necessary, with
512522 directives of the Oklahoma Suprem e Court, Oklahoma
513523 Court of Criminal Appeals , Oklahoma Court of Civil
514524 Appeals, the presiding judge of his or her
515525 administrative district, or the chief judge of the
516526 judicial district, as applicable; and
517527 6. Service to the legal profession and the public by
518528 participating in service -oriented efforts designed to educate the
519529 public about the legal system and improve the legal system.
520530 SECTION 5. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
521531 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1675 of Title 20, unless there
522532 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
523533 A. Within the first two (2) years of a Justice 's or judge's
524534 first appointment or election to the bench, the Office of Judicial
525535 Performance Evaluation shall conduct an initial evaluati on of each
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552563 Justice and judge. The Office shall complete and communicate the
553564 initial evaluations, including any recommendations for improvement
554565 plans, to the Board of Judicial Performance Evaluation for a pproval
555566 or rejection. Once approved, the Office sha ll communicate the
556567 initial evaluation to th e Justice or judge in writing.
557568 B. Within two (2) years of the approval of the initial
558569 evaluation of a Justice or judge by the Board or within two (2)
559570 years of the effective date of this act, the Office shall cond uct an
560571 interim evaluation of each Justice a nd judge. The Office shall
561572 complete and communicate the interim evaluations, including any
562573 recommendations for improvement plans, to the Board of Judicial
563574 Performance Evaluation for approval or rejection. Once approved,
564575 the Office shall communicate the i nterim evaluation to the Justice
565576 or judge in writing.
566577 C. For judges not required to stand for reelection or retention
567578 election, the Office shall conduct additional i nterim evaluations of
568579 such judges within two (2 ) years following a general election. The
569580 Office shall complete and communicat e the interim evaluations,
570581 including any recommendations fo r improvement plans, to the Board of
571582 Judicial Performance Evaluation for approval or rejection. Once
572583 approved, the Office shall communicate the interim evaluati on to the
573584 judge in writing.
574585 D. The Board shall grant each Justice or judge who receives
575586 initial and interim evaluations the opportunity to meet with the
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602614 Board at its next meeting or otherwise respond to the initi al or
603615 interim evaluation no later than ten (10) days following the
604616 Justice's or judge's receipt of the initial or inter im evaluation.
605617 If a meeting is held or a response is made, the Board may revise the
606618 initial or interim evaluation as it sees fit.
607619 E. Once the initial or interim performance evalu ations are
608620 finalized, the Office sh all share the performance evaluations as
609621 follows:
610622 1. For special judges, with the Chief Justice of the Supreme
611623 Court, the Presiding Administrative Judge of the judicial district
612624 in which the special judge serves and any judge by administrative
613625 orders in the role of a direct supervisor of the specia l judge of
614626 the judicial district in which the special judge serves, and the
615627 Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts; and
616628 2. For district and associate judges, with the Chief Justice of
617629 the Supreme Court and the Administrative Director of the
618630 Administrative Office of the Courts.
619631 SECTION 6. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
620632 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1676 of Title 20, unless there
621633 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
622634 A. The Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation shal l conduct
623635 an election-year evaluation for each Justice or judge whose term is
624636 to expire and who must stand for reelection or retention elect ion.
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651664 B. 1. The Office shall complete an election -year evaluation
652665 and related narrative to be approved by the Board o f Judicial
653666 Performance Evaluation. Once approved, the election -year evaluation
654667 shall be communicated in writing to the Justice or judge n o later
655668 than forty-five (45) days prior to the las t day available for the
656669 Justice or judge to declare his or her intent to stand for
657670 reelection or retention election.
658671 2. The narrative prepared for an election -year evaluation must
659672 include an assessment of the Justice's or judge's strengths and
660673 weaknesses with respect to the judicial performance criteria
661674 provided for in Sect ion 4 of this act, a discussion regarding any
662675 deficiency identified in an initial or inte rim evaluation prepared
663676 pursuant to Section 5 o f this act, a review of any improvement plan
664677 developed pursuant to Section 7 of this act, and a statement of
665678 whether the Board concludes that any deficiency identified has been
666679 satisfactorily addressed, or a s tatement from the Board that an
667680 improvement plan, if any, was satisfactorily followed by the Just ice
668681 or judge.
669682 3. The Board shall grant each Justice or judge who recei ves an
670683 election-year evaluation the opportunity to meet with the Board at
671684 its next meeting or otherwise respond to the evaluation no la ter
672685 than ten (10) days following his or her receip t of the evaluation.
673686 If the meeting is held or a response is made, the Board may revise
674687 the evaluation as it sees fit.
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701715 C. After the requirements of subsection B of this section are
702716 met, the Council shall make a recommendation regarding the
703717 performance of each Justice or judge who declares his or her intent
704718 to stand for reelection or retention. The recommendations must be
705719 stated as "meets performance standard " or "does not meet performance
706720 standard". For a Justice or judge to receive a designation of "does
707721 not meet performance standard ", there must be a majority vote by the
708722 Council members that the particular Justice or judge should receive
709723 such a recommendation.
710724 D. Once the election-year evaluation is fi nalized, the Office
711725 shall share the performance ev aluations for district and associate
712726 judges with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the
713727 Administrative Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts.
714728 SECTION 7. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
715729 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1677 of Title 20, unless there
716730 is created a duplication in numbering , reads as follows:
717731 A. 1. If the Office of Judicial Performance Evalua tion
718732 recommends, pursuant to Section 5 of t his act, that a Justice or
719733 judge receive an improveme nt plan, the Board of Judicial Performance
720734 Evaluation shall determine whether an individua l judicial
721735 improvement plan is appropriate. If the Board determines a n
722736 improvement plan is appropriate, the Offi ce shall then develop an
723737 improvement plan for such Ju stice or judge. After the Board reviews
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750765 and approves the improvement plan, the Office shall have the
751766 responsibility for implementing and overseeing the improve ment plan.
752767 2. Once the Justice or judg e has completed the improvement
753768 plan, the Office shall co nvey the results of the improvement plan to
754769 the Board. The Office shall maintain a copy of th e improvement plan
755770 and the results in its files.
756771 B. If a Justice or judge is required to complete an impro vement
757772 plan pursuant to this section and he or she fail s to satisfactorily
758773 complete the requirements of such improvement plan, the Board shall
759774 automatically issue a "does not meet performance standard "
760775 designation on his or her performance evaluation and s hall advise
761776 the Council on Judicial Complaints of such designation in the form
762777 of a complaint.
763778 C. Upon the completion of an improvement plan, the Offi ce shall
764779 share the results of the improvement plan as follows:
765780 1. For special judges, with the Chief Justi ce of the Supreme
766781 Court, the Presiding Administrative Judge of the judicial district
767782 in which the special judge serves and any judge by administrative
768783 orders in the role of a direct supervisor of the special judge of
769784 the judicial district in which the spec ial judge serves, and the
770785 Administrative Director of the Administrative Office o f the Courts;
771786 and
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798814 2. For district and associate judges, with the Chief Justice of
799815 the Supreme Court and the Administrative Director of the
800816 Administrative Office of the Courts.
801817 SECTION 8. NEW LAW A new sec tion of law to be codified
802818 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1678 of Title 20, unless there
803819 is created a duplication in number ing, reads as follows:
804820 A member of the Board of Judicial Performance Evalua tion or an
805821 employee of the Office of Judicial Perform ance Evaluation shall
806822 disclose any profess ional or personal relationship with a Justice or
807823 judge that may affect an unbiased eva luation of the Justice or
808824 judge, including involvement with any litigation involving the
809825 Justice or judge and the member or empl oyee, the member's or
810826 employee's family, or the member's or employee's financial
811827 interests. The Board may require, by a vote, th e recusal of one of
812828 its members or the Office's employee because of a rela tionship with
813829 a Justice or judge.
814830 SECTION 9. NEW LAW A new section of l aw to be codified
815831 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1679 of Title 20, unless there
816832 is created a duplication in numbe ring, reads as follows:
817833 A. 1. Except as specifically provided by law, all performance
818834 evaluations, personal information, oral or written information,
819835 content of any improvement plans, narratives, recommendations, and
820836 any matter discussed by the Board of Judicial Performance Evaluation
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847864 concerning a performance evaluation or improvement plan is
848865 confidential.
849866 2. All surveys must allow for th e participant's name to remain
850867 confidential. Comments in surveys are confidential but may be
851868 summarized in aggregate for use in performance evaluation
852869 narratives.
853870 B. Members of the Board of Judicial Performance E valuation and
854871 employees of the Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation shall not
855872 publicly discuss the performance evaluation of a pa rticular Justice
856873 or judge.
857874 SECTION 10. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
858875 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1680 of Title 20, unless there
859876 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
860877 A. The Board of Judicial P erformance Evaluation sha ll promptly
861878 approve or reject judicial perf ormance evaluations submitted by the
862879 Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation.
863880 B. The Board of Judicial Performance Evaluation shall have the
864881 following powers and duties:
865882 1. Promulgate rules concerning:
866883 a. the performance evaluation of Justices and judg es by
867884 the Office of Judicial Performanc e Evaluation based on
868885 performance evaluation criteria se t forth in Section 4
869886 of this act, and
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896914 b. the creation of a standards matrix or scorecard
897915 related to the performance ev aluation criteria set
898916 forth in Section 4 of this act;
899917 2. Review data, prepared nar ratives, and recommendations made
900918 by the Office of Judi cial Performance Evaluation;
901919 3. Approve or reject the performance evaluations of Justices
902920 and judges submitted by the Office of Judicial Performance
903921 Evaluation;
904922 4. Vote as to whether the Justice or judge meets th e
905923 performance standard based upon the memb er's review of all the
906924 information available to the Council and the Office 's performance
907925 evaluation; and
908926 5. Determine whether information submitted during the
909927 performance evaluation process shall be deemed a compl aint.
910928 SECTION 11. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
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938-Passed the House of Representatives the 14th day of March, 2023.
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942-
943- Presiding Officer of the House
944- of Representatives
945-
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947-Passed the Senate the ___ day of __________, 2023.
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952- Presiding Officer of the Senate
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930+COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY - CIVIL, dated
931+02/09/2023 - DO PASS.