By: Huffman, Nichols S.B. No. 209
(In the Senate - Filed March 4, 2013; March 12, 2013, read
first time and referred to Committee on Jurisprudence;
April 17, 2013, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 6,
Nays 0; April 17, 2013, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the functions and operation of the State Commission on
Judicial Conduct.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subdivision (7), Subsection (a), Section 33.001,
Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
(7) "Formal proceedings" means the proceedings
ordered by the commission concerning the public sanction, public
censure, removal, or retirement of a judge.
SECTION 2. Section 33.002, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) The commission is an agency of the judicial branch of
state government and administers judicial discipline. The
commission does not have the power or authority of a court in this
state.
SECTION 3. Section 33.003, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 33.003. SUNSET PROVISION. The State Commission on
Judicial Conduct is subject to review under Chapter 325 (Texas
Sunset Act), but is not abolished under that chapter. The
commission shall be reviewed during the period in which state
agencies abolished in 2019 [2001] and every 12th year after 2019
[2001] are reviewed.
SECTION 4. Subsection (a), Section 33.005, Government Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) Not later than December 1 of each year, the commission
shall submit to the legislature a report for the preceding fiscal
year ending August 31. The report is required to be made in an
electronic format only.
SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 33, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 33.0055 to read as follows:
Sec. 33.0055. ANNUAL PUBLIC MEETING. (a) The commission
shall annually hold a public hearing to seek public comment
regarding the commission's mission and operations.
(b) The commission shall provide notice of a public hearing
under this section to the secretary of state. The secretary of
state shall post the notice on the Internet for at least seven days
before the day of the hearing and provide members of the public
access to view the notice in the manner specified by Section 551.044
for notice of an open meeting.
SECTION 6. Subchapter B, Chapter 33, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 33.0322 to read as follows:
Sec. 33.0322. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION PROVIDED TO SUNSET
ADVISORY COMMISSION. (a) Notwithstanding Section 33.032 or other
law, including Section 1-a(10), Article V, Texas Constitution, the
commission shall provide to the Sunset Advisory Commission staff
conducting a review under Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset Act) access to
the commission's confidential documents, records, meetings, and
proceedings, including proceedings in which testimony is given, as
the Sunset Advisory Commission staff determines necessary to
conduct a complete and thorough evaluation of the commission's
activities.
(b) The confidentiality provisions of this chapter and
other law do not authorize the commission to withhold from the
Sunset Advisory Commission staff access to any confidential
document, record, meeting, or proceeding to which the Sunset
Advisory Commission staff determines access is necessary for a
review under Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset Act).
(c) The Sunset Advisory Commission staff shall maintain the
confidentiality the commission is required to maintain under this
chapter and other law for each document, record, meeting, or
proceeding that the staff accesses or receives as part of a review
under Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset Act).
(d) The commission does not violate the attorney-client
privilege, or any other privilege or confidentiality requirement
protected or required by the Texas Constitution, common law,
statutory law, or rules of evidence, procedure, or professional
conduct, by providing to the Sunset Advisory Commission staff for
purposes of a review under Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset Act) a
confidential communication, including a document or record or any
testimony or other information presented in a closed meeting or
proceeding of the commission, that is made between the commission
and its attorneys or other employees assisting the commission in
its decision-making process.
SECTION 7. Subsection (e), Section 33.033, Government Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(e) If the complaint is dismissed by the commission, the
commission shall include in the notification under Subsection (a):
(1) an explanation of each reason for the dismissal,
including, as applicable, in plain, easily understandable
language, each reason the conduct alleged in the complaint did not
constitute judicial misconduct; and
(2) information relating to requesting
reconsideration of the dismissed complaint as provided by Sections
33.035(a) and (f).
SECTION 8. Subsections (a), (e), (f), and (g), Section
33.034, Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A judge who receives from the commission [any type of
sanction, or] a sanction or censure issued by the commission under
Section 1-a(8), Article V, Texas Constitution, or any other type of
sanction is entitled to a review of the commission's decision as
provided by this section. This section does not apply to a decision
by the commission to institute formal proceedings.
(e) The review by the court under this section:
(1) of a sanction or censure issued in a formal
proceeding is a review of the record of the proceedings that
resulted in the sanction or censure and is based on the law and
facts that were presented in the proceedings and any additional
evidence that the court in its discretion may, for good cause shown,
permit; and
(2) of a sanction issued in an informal proceeding is
by trial de novo as that term is used in the appeal of cases from
justice to county court.
(f) Except as otherwise provided by this section, the
procedure for the review of a sanction issued in an informal
proceeding is governed to the extent practicable by the rules of
law, evidence, and procedure that apply to the trial of civil
actions generally.
(g) A judge is not entitled to a trial by jury in a review
under this section of a sanction issued in an informal proceeding
[under this section].
SECTION 9. Subchapter B, Chapter 33, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 33.039 to read as follows:
Sec. 33.039. REVIEW OF COMMISSION OPERATIONS AND PROCEDURAL
RULES. The commission periodically as the commission determines
appropriate shall:
(1) assess the operations of the commission and
implement any improvements needed to increase efficiency; and
(2) review the commission's procedural rules adopted
by the supreme court to determine whether rule amendments are
necessary to reflect changes in law, including changes made through
court opinions and statutory and constitutional amendments, and
report to the supreme court the needed rule revisions and suggested
language for those revisions.
SECTION 10. As soon as possible after the effective date of
this Act, but not later than December 31, 2013, the State Commission
on Judicial Conduct shall:
(1) conduct an initial assessment of the operations of
the commission and an initial review of the procedural rules as
required by Section 33.039, Government Code, as added by this Act;
and
(2) report to the Texas Supreme Court any needed rule
revisions and suggested language for those revisions as required by
that section.
SECTION 11. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
(b) Subdivision (7), Subsection (a), Section 33.001, and
Section 33.034, Government Code, as amended by this Act, take
effect on the date the constitutional amendment proposed by the
83rd Legislature, Regular Session, 2013, regarding the sanctions
that may be assessed against a judge or justice following a formal
proceeding instituted by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct
takes effect. If that amendment is not approved by the voters,
those sections have no effect.
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