81R6450 JRH-D
By: Duncan S.B. No. 782
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the filling of a vacancy in an appellate judicial office
by appointment and a nonpartisan election for the retention or
rejection of the person appointed.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 22, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 22.303 to read as follows:
Sec. 22.303. APPOINTMENT AND RETENTION OF JUSTICES AND
JUDGES. (a) This section applies to each office of justice or
judge for which the Texas Constitution requires a person appointed
to fill a vacancy in the office to be subject to retention or
rejection by the voters at the end of the appointed term and each
successive term.
(b) In conjunction with the last general election for state
and county officers to be held before the end of a term of office to
which a justice or judge is appointed or retained, the justice or
judge is subject to retention or rejection at the nonpartisan
judicial retention election in accordance with Chapter 521,
Election Code.
(c) If a justice or judge does not seek retention, or
withdraws from the retention election, as provided by Chapter 521,
Election Code, the vacancy existing at the beginning of the
succeeding term shall be filled in the manner prescribed by the
Texas Constitution.
(d) If a vacancy occurs in the office of a justice or judge
seeking retention and the name of the justice or judge is omitted
from the retention election ballot under Chapter 521, Election
Code, the vacancy shall be filled in the manner prescribed by the
Texas Constitution.
(e) If a majority of the votes received on the question are
for the retention of the justice or judge, the person is entitled to
remain in office for a regular term beginning on the first day of
the following January, unless the person becomes ineligible or is
removed as provided by law.
(f) If less than a majority of the votes received on the
question are for retention, a vacancy in the office exists on the
first day of the following January, and the vacancy shall be filled
in the manner prescribed by the Texas Constitution.
(g) If the name of a justice or judge seeking retention
appears on the retention election ballot under Chapter 521,
Election Code, although a vacancy has occurred in the office, the
retention election for that office has no effect, and the vacancy
shall be filled in the manner prescribed by the Texas Constitution.
SECTION 2. The Election Code is amended by adding Title 18
to read as follows:
TITLE 18. NONPARTISAN JUDICIAL RETENTION ELECTIONS
CHAPTER 521. RETENTION ELECTION
Sec. 521.001. DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY. (a) Not later than
5 p.m. on June 1 preceding the nonpartisan judicial retention
election at which the justice or judge is subject to retention or
rejection, a justice or judge who seeks to continue to serve in that
office must file with the secretary of state a declaration of
candidacy to succeed to the next term.
(b) A declaration may not be filed earlier than the 30th day
before the date of the filing deadline. A declaration filed by mail
is considered to be filed at the time of its receipt by the
secretary of state.
(c) The filling of the subsequent vacancy for the office for
which a declaration of candidacy is not filed is covered by Section
22.303, Government Code.
Sec. 521.002. WITHDRAWAL, DEATH, OR INELIGIBILITY. (a)
With respect to withdrawal, death, or ineligibility of a candidate
in a nonpartisan judicial retention election, this section
supersedes Subchapter A, Chapter 145, to the extent of any
conflict.
(b) A candidate may not withdraw from the retention election
after the 65th day before election day.
(c) A withdrawal request must be filed with the secretary of
state.
(d) A candidate's name shall be omitted from the retention
election ballot if the candidate withdraws, dies, or is declared
ineligible on or before the 65th day before election day.
(e) If a candidate who has made a declaration of candidacy
that complies with the applicable requirements dies or is declared
ineligible after the 65th day before election day, the candidate's
name shall be placed on the retention election ballot.
(f) The filling of the subsequent vacancy for the office
following implementation of Subsection (d) or (e) is covered by
Section 22.303, Government Code.
Sec. 521.003. CERTIFICATION OF NAMES FOR PLACEMENT ON
RETENTION ELECTION BALLOT. (a) Except as provided by Subsection
(c), the secretary of state shall certify in writing for placement
on the nonpartisan judicial retention election ballot the name of
each candidate who files with the secretary a declaration of
candidacy that complies with Section 521.001.
(b) Not later than the 55th day before election day, the
secretary of state shall deliver the certification to the authority
responsible for having the official ballot prepared in each county
in which the candidate's name is to appear on the ballot.
(c) A candidate's name may not be certified if, before
delivering the certification, the secretary of state learns that
the name is to be omitted from the ballot under Section 521.002.
Sec. 521.004. RETENTION ELECTION BALLOT. The name of the
person subject to retention or rejection shall be submitted to the
voters on the nonpartisan judicial retention election ballot
following the offices subject to election under the heading
"Retention of Nonpartisan Judicial Offices," in substantially the
following form:
"Shall (Justice or Judge)_______________________
______________________________________________
be retained in office as (justice or judge) of the
(name of court)_________________________?"
____"Yes"
____"No"
Sec. 521.005. GENERAL PROCEDURE FOR CONDUCT OF RETENTION
ELECTION. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this code, the
nonpartisan judicial retention election shall be conducted and the
results canvassed, tabulated, and reported in the manner applicable
to partisan offices in the general election for state and county
officers.
(b) A certificate of election shall be issued to a retained
officer in the same manner as provided for a candidate elected to an
office.
Sec. 521.006. WRITE-IN VOTING PROHIBITED. Write-in voting
is not permitted in a nonpartisan judicial retention election.
Sec. 521.007. POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES. A
candidate for retention of a judicial office is subject to Title 15
and shall comply with that title in the same manner as a candidate
for election to the office.
Sec. 521.008. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER PARTS OF CODE. The
other titles of this code apply to a nonpartisan judicial retention
election except provisions that are inconsistent with this title or
that cannot feasibly be applied in a retention election.
Sec. 521.009. ADDITIONAL PROCEDURES. The secretary of
state shall prescribe any additional procedures necessary for the
orderly and proper administration of elections held under this
chapter.
SECTION 3. Section 1.005, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subdivision (9) and adding Subdivisions (25) and (26) to
read as follows:
(9) "Independent candidate" means a candidate in a
nonpartisan election or a candidate in a partisan election who is
not the nominee of a political party. The term does not include a
nonpartisan judicial candidate.
(25) "Nonpartisan judicial candidate" means a
candidate in a nonpartisan judicial retention election.
(26) "Nonpartisan judicial retention election" means
an election held under Chapter 521.
SECTION 4. Section 41.002, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 41.002. GENERAL ELECTION FOR STATE AND COUNTY
OFFICERS. The general election for state and county officers,
including the nonpartisan judicial retention election, shall be
held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in
even-numbered years.
SECTION 5. Section 52.092, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection (f-1)
to read as follows:
(a) For an election at which offices regularly filled at the
general election for state and county officers, including the
nonpartisan judicial retention election, are to appear on the
ballot, the offices shall be listed in the following order:
(1) offices of the federal government;
(2) offices of the state government:
(A) statewide offices;
(B) district offices;
(3) offices of the county government:
(A) county offices;
(B) precinct offices.
(c) Statewide offices of the state government shall be
listed in the following order:
(1) governor;
(2) lieutenant governor;
(3) attorney general;
(4) comptroller of public accounts;
(5) commissioner of the General Land Office;
(6) commissioner of agriculture;
(7) railroad commissioner[;
[(8) chief justice, supreme court;
[(9) justice, supreme court;
[(10) presiding judge, court of criminal appeals;
[(11) judge, court of criminal appeals].
(d) District offices of the state government shall be listed
in the following order:
(1) member, State Board of Education;
(2) state senator;
(3) state representative;
(4) [chief justice, court of appeals;
[(5) justice, court of appeals;
[(6)] district judge;
(5) [(7)] criminal district judge;
(6) [(8)] family district judge;
(7) [(9)] district attorney;
(8) [(10)] criminal district attorney.
(f-1) Nonpartisan judicial retention election offices shall
be listed in the following order:
(1) chief justice, supreme court;
(2) justice, supreme court;
(3) presiding judge, court of criminal appeals;
(4) judge, court of criminal appeals;
(5) chief justice, court of appeals;
(6) justice, court of appeals.
SECTION 6. Section 145.003(b), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) A candidate in the general election for state and county
officers, including the nonpartisan judicial retention election,
may be declared ineligible before the 30th day preceding election
day by:
(1) the party officer responsible for certifying the
candidate's name for placement on the general election ballot, in
the case of a candidate who is a political party's nominee; or
(2) the authority with whom the candidate's
application for a place on the ballot or declaration of candidacy is
required to be filed, in the case of an independent candidate or a
nonpartisan judicial candidate, as applicable.
SECTION 7. Section 145.005(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) If the name of a deceased or ineligible candidate
appears on the ballot [under this chapter], the votes cast for the
candidate shall be counted and entered on the official election
returns in the same manner as for the other candidates.
SECTION 8. Section 172.021(e), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) A candidate for an office specified by Section
172.024(a)(8) or [,] (10)[, or (12),] or for justice of the peace in
a county with a population of more than 850,000, who chooses to pay
the filing fee must also accompany the application with a petition
for a place on the primary ballot as a candidate for judicial office
that complies with the requirements prescribed for the petition
authorized by Subsection (b), except that the minimum number of
signatures that must appear on the petition required by this
subsection is 250. If the candidate chooses to file the petition
authorized by Subsection (b) in lieu of the filing fee, the minimum
number of signatures required for that petition is increased by
250. Signatures on a petition filed under this subsection or
Subsection (b) by a candidate covered by this subsection may not be
obtained on the grounds of a county courthouse or courthouse annex.
SECTION 9. Section 172.024(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The filing fee for a candidate for nomination in the
general primary election is as follows:
(1) United States senator $5,000
(2) office elected statewide, except United States
senator 3,750
(3) United States representative 3,125
(4) state senator 1,250
(5) state representative 750
(6) member, State Board of Education 300
(7) [chief justice or justice, court of appeals, other
than a justice specified by Subdivision (8) 1,875
[(8) chief justice or justice of a court of appeals
that serves a court of appeals district in which a county with a
population of more than 750,000 is wholly or partly
situated 2,500
[(9)] district judge or judge specified by Section
52.092(d) for which this schedule does not otherwise prescribe a
fee 1,500
(8) [(10)] district or criminal district judge of a
court in a judicial district wholly contained in a county with a
population of more than 850,000 2,500
(9) [(11)] judge, statutory county court, other than a
judge specified by Subdivision (12) 1,500
(10) [(12)] judge of a statutory county court in a
county with a population of more than 850,000 2,500
(11) [(13)] district attorney, criminal district
attorney, or county attorney performing the duties of a district
attorney 1,250
(12) [(14)] county commissioner, district clerk,
county clerk, sheriff, county tax assessor-collector, county
treasurer, or judge, constitutional county court:
(A) county with a population of 200,000 or
more 1,250
(B) county with a population of under
200,000 750
(13) [(15)] justice of the peace or constable:
(A) county with a population of 200,000 or
more 1,000
(B) county with a population of under
200,000 375
(14) [(16)] county surveyor, inspector of hides and
animals, or public weigher 75
(15) [(17)] office of the county government for which
this schedule does not otherwise prescribe a fee 750
SECTION 10. Section 202.001, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 202.001. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter
applies to elective offices of the state and county governments
except the offices of:
(1) state senator and state representative; and
(2) justice or judge of an appellate court.
SECTION 11. Section 253.153(a), Election Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A judicial candidate or officeholder, a
specific-purpose committee for supporting or opposing a judicial
candidate, or a specific-purpose committee for assisting a judicial
officeholder may not knowingly accept a political contribution
except during the period:
(1) beginning on:
(A) if the office is subject to a nonpartisan
judicial retention election, the 210th day before the date a
declaration of candidacy is required to be filed; or
(B) if the office is not subject to a nonpartisan
judicial retention election:
(i) the 210th day before the date an
application for a place on the ballot or for nomination by
convention for the office is required to be filed, if the election
is for a full term; or
(ii) [(B)] the later of the 210th day
before the date an application for a place on the ballot or for
nomination by convention for the office is required to be filed or
the date a vacancy in the office occurs, if the election is for an
unexpired term; and
(2) ending on the 120th day after the date of:
(A) the general election for state and county
officers, if:
(i) the office is subject to a nonpartisan
judicial retention election; or
(ii) the candidate or officeholder has an
opponent in the general election;
(B) except as provided by Subsection (c), the
runoff primary election, if the candidate or officeholder is a
candidate in the runoff primary election and does not have an
opponent in the general election; or
(C) except as provided by Subsection (c), the
general primary election, if the candidate or officeholder is not a
candidate in the runoff primary election and does not have an
opponent in the general election.
SECTION 12. Section 172.021(g), Election Code, is repealed.
SECTION 13. (a) Each appellate justice or judge in office
January 1, 2010, unless otherwise removed as provided by law,
continues in office subject to this section.
(b) Each appellate justice or judge who is in office January
1, 2010, is subject to retention or rejection, in the manner
provided by law for a justice or judge appointed to the office after
the effective date of this Act, at the last general election
preceding the expiration of the regular or unexpired term for which
each was elected or appointed.
SECTION 14. This Act takes effect January 1, 2010, but only
if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 81st Legislature,
Regular Session, 2009, providing for filling vacancies in appellate
judicial offices by appointment and for nonpartisan retention
elections for those offices is approved by the voters. If that
amendment is not approved by the voters, this Act has no effect.