83R10439 JRH-D
By: Rodriguez of Bexar H.B. No. 2772
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an interim study regarding the method by which district
judges and appellate justices and judges are selected.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. INTERIM COMMITTEE; STUDY. (a) The joint
interim committee on judicial selection is established to study and
review the method by which district judges and appellate justices
and judges are selected for office in this state.
(b) The study must consider:
(1) the fairness, effectiveness, and desirability of
selecting district judges and appellate justices and judges through
partisan elections;
(2) the fairness, effectiveness, and desirability of
judicial selection methods proposed or adopted by other states; and
(3) the relative merits of alternative methods for
selecting district judges and appellate justices and judges,
including:
(A) lifetime appointment;
(B) appointment for a term;
(C) appointment for a term, followed by a
partisan election;
(D) appointment for a term, followed by a
nonpartisan election;
(E) appointment for a term, followed by a
nonpartisan retention election;
(F) partisan election for an open seat, followed
by a nonpartisan retention election for incumbents; or
(G) any other method or combination of methods
for selecting district judges and appellate judges and justices.
(c) The joint interim committee shall be composed of five
senators and five members of the house of representatives as
follows:
(1) the chair of the senate jurisprudence committee,
the chair of the senate criminal justice committee, and three
senators appointed by the lieutenant governor; and
(2) the chair of the judiciary and civil jurisprudence
committee of the house of representatives, the chair of the
criminal jurisprudence committee of the house of representatives,
and three members of the house of representatives appointed by the
speaker of the house of representatives.
(d) The lieutenant governor and speaker of the house of
representatives shall each designate a co-chair from among the
committee members.
(e) The joint interim committee shall convene at the joint
call of the co-chairs.
(f) The joint interim committee has all other powers and
duties provided to a special or select committee by the rules of the
senate and house of representatives, by Subchapter B, Chapter 301,
Government Code, and by policies of the senate and house committees
on administration.
(g) Not later than January 6, 2015, the joint interim
committee shall report the committee's findings and
recommendations to the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the
house of representatives, and the governor. The committee shall
include in its recommendations specific constitutional and
statutory changes that appear necessary from the results of the
committee's study.
(h) From the contingent expense fund of the senate and the
contingent expense fund of the house of representatives equally,
the members of the joint interim committee shall be reimbursed for
expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of this Act in
accordance with the senate and house of representatives rules of
procedure and the policies of the committees on administration.
Other necessary expenses of operation shall be paid from the
contingent expense fund of the senate and the contingent expense
fund of the house of representatives equally.
(i) The Texas Legislative Council shall provide legal and
policy research, bill drafting, and statistical analysis services
to the committee created under this section.
SECTION 2. ABOLITION OF COMMITTEE. The committee is
abolished and this Act expires January 12, 2015.
SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect
immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members
elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas
Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2013.