82R7292 CAE-D
By: Garza H.B. No. 1424
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the appointment of a retired judge or former judge as a
visiting judge in certain courts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 25.0022(t), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(t) To be eligible for assignment under this section, a
former or retired judge of a statutory probate court must:
(1) not have been removed from office;
(2) certify under oath to the presiding judge, on a
form prescribed by the state board of regional judges, that:
(A) the judge has not been publicly reprimanded
or censured by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct; and
(B) the judge:
(i) did not resign or retire from office
after the State Commission on Judicial Conduct notified the judge
of the commencement of a full investigation into an allegation or
appearance of misconduct or disability of the judge as provided in
Section 33.022 and before the final disposition of that
investigation; or
(ii) if the judge did resign from office
under circumstances described by Subparagraph (i), was not publicly
reprimanded or censured as a result of the investigation;
(3) annually demonstrate that the judge has completed
in the past state fiscal year the educational requirements for an
active statutory probate court judge;
(4) have served as an active judge for at least 96
months in a district, statutory probate, statutory county, or
appellate court; [and]
(5) have developed substantial experience in the
judge's area of specialty; and
(6) not have been defeated in the last election in
which the judge was a candidate for judge of the court over which
the judge most recently presided.
SECTION 2. Section 74.054, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsections (b), [and] (c), and
(e), the following judges may be assigned as provided by this
chapter by the presiding judge of the administrative region in
which the assigned judge resides:
(1) an active district, constitutional county, or
statutory county court judge in this state;
(2) a senior judge who has consented to be subject to
assignment and who is on the list maintained by the presiding judge
under this chapter;
(3) a former district or appellate judge, retired or
former statutory probate court judge, or retired or former
statutory county court judge who certifies to the presiding judge a
willingness to serve and who is on the list maintained by the
presiding judge as required by this chapter;
(4) a retiree or a former judge whose last judicial
office before retirement was justice or judge of the supreme court,
the court of criminal appeals, or a court of appeals and who has
been assigned by the chief justice to the administrative judicial
region in which the retiree or former judge resides for
reassignment by the presiding judge of that region to a district or
statutory county court in the region; and
(5) an active judge or justice of the supreme court,
the court of criminal appeals, or a court of appeals who has had
trial court experience.
(e) A retired judge or a former judge may not be assigned as
a visiting judge for a court in which the office of judge is filled
by election if the retired or former judge was defeated in the last
election in which the judge was a candidate for justice or judge of
the court over which the retired or former judge most recently
presided.
SECTION 3. Section 74.055(c), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) To be eligible to be named on the list, a retired or
former judge must:
(1) have served as an active judge for at least 96
months in a district, statutory probate, statutory county, or
appellate court;
(2) have developed substantial experience in the
judge's area of specialty;
(3) not have been removed from office;
(4) certify under oath to the presiding judge, on a
form prescribed by the state board of regional judges, that:
(A) the judge has never been publicly reprimanded
or censured by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct; and
(B) the judge:
(i) did not resign or retire from office
after the State Commission on Judicial Conduct notified the judge
of the commencement of a full investigation into an allegation or
appearance of misconduct or disability of the judge as provided in
Section 33.022 and before the final disposition of that
investigation; or
(ii) if the judge did resign from office
under circumstances described by Subparagraph (i), was not publicly
reprimanded or censured as a result of the investigation;
(5) annually demonstrate that the judge has completed
in the past state fiscal year the educational requirements for
active district, statutory probate, and statutory county court
judges; [and]
(6) certify to the presiding judge a willingness not
to appear and plead as an attorney in any court in this state for a
period of two years; and
(7) not have been defeated in the last election in
which the judge was a candidate for justice or judge of the court
over which the retired or former judge most recently presided as
provided by Section 74.054(e).
SECTION 4. This Act applies only to the appointment of a
visiting judge that occurs on or after the effective date of this
Act. The appointment of a visiting judge before the effective date
of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the visiting judge
was appointed, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.