H.B. No. 2772
AN ACT
relating to an interim study regarding the method by which certain
judicial officers 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 the following judicial officers are
selected in this state:
(1) statutory county court judges, including
statutory probate court judges;
(2) district judges; and
(3) appellate justices and judges.
(b) The study must consider:
(1) the fairness, effectiveness, and desirability of
selecting a judicial officer described in Subsection (a) of this
section 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 a judicial officer described in Subsection (a) of this
section, 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; and
(G) any other method or combination of methods
for selecting a judicial officer described by Subsection (a) of
this section.
(c) The joint interim committee shall be composed of six
senators and six 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 four
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 four members of the house of representatives appointed by the
speaker of the house of representatives.
(d) When making appointments under Subsection (c) of this
section, the lieutenant governor shall ensure that three senators
from the majority party of the senate are appointed to the committee
and three senators from the minority party of the senate are
appointed to the committee. When making appointments under
Subsection (c) of this section, the speaker of the house of
representatives shall ensure that three members from the majority
party of the house of representatives are appointed to the
committee and three members from the minority party of the house of
representatives are appointed to the committee.
(e) The lieutenant governor and speaker of the house of
representatives shall each designate a co-chair from among the
committee members.
(f) The joint interim committee shall convene at the joint
call of the co-chairs.
(g) 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.
(h) 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.
(i) 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.
(j) 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.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2772 was passed by the House on May 2,
2013, by the following vote: Yeas 134, Nays 13, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 2772 on May 20, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 128, Nays 16,
2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2772 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 17, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 23, Nays
7.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor