| 1 | | - | By: Naishtat (Senate Sponsor - RodrÃguez) H.B. No. 1923 |
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| 2 | | - | (In the Senate - Received from the House May 13, 2015; |
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| 3 | | - | May 13, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on State |
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| 4 | | - | Affairs; May 22, 2015, reported favorably by the following vote: |
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| 5 | | - | Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 22, 2015, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | | - | Click here to see the committee vote |
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| 1 | + | H.B. No. 1923 |
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| 10 | 4 | | AN ACT |
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| 11 | 5 | | relating to qualifications of special judges. |
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| 12 | 6 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 13 | 7 | | SECTION 1. Section 151.003, Civil Practice and Remedies |
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| 14 | 8 | | Code, is amended to read as follows: |
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| 15 | 9 | | Sec. 151.003. QUALIFICATIONS OF JUDGE. The special judge |
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| 16 | 10 | | must be a retired or former district court, statutory county court, |
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| 17 | 11 | | statutory probate court, or appellate court judge who: |
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| 18 | 12 | | (1) has served as a judge for at least four years in a |
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| 19 | 13 | | district court, statutory county court, statutory probate court, or |
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| 20 | 14 | | appellate court; |
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| 21 | 15 | | (2) has developed substantial experience in the |
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| 22 | 16 | | judge's [his] area of specialty; |
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| 23 | 17 | | (3) has not been removed from office or resigned while |
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| 24 | 18 | | under investigation for discipline or removal; and |
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| 25 | 19 | | (4) annually demonstrates completion [that he has |
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| 26 | 20 | | completed] in the past calendar year of at least five days of |
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| 27 | 21 | | continuing legal education in courses approved by the state bar or |
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| 28 | 22 | | the supreme court. |
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| 29 | 23 | | SECTION 2. This Act applies only to a referral of a case to a |
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| 30 | 24 | | special judge under Chapter 151, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, |
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| 31 | 25 | | made on or after the effective date of this Act. A referral made |
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| 32 | 26 | | before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law |
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| 33 | 27 | | applicable to the referral immediately before the effective date of |
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| 34 | 28 | | this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 35 | 29 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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| 36 | | - | * * * * * |
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| 30 | + | ______________________________ ______________________________ |
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| 31 | + | President of the Senate Speaker of the House |
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| 32 | + | I certify that H.B. No. 1923 was passed by the House on May |
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| 33 | + | 12, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0, 2 present, not |
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| 34 | + | voting. |
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| 35 | + | ______________________________ |
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| 36 | + | Chief Clerk of the House |
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| 37 | + | I certify that H.B. No. 1923 was passed by the Senate on May |
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| 38 | + | 27, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. |
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| 39 | + | ______________________________ |
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| 40 | + | Secretary of the Senate |
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| 41 | + | APPROVED: _____________________ |
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| 42 | + | Date |
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| 43 | + | _____________________ |
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| 44 | + | Governor |
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