Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2547 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R6466 TSS-D
2	2	By: Meyer H.B. No. 2547
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the assignment of certain former and retired justices
8	8	and judges.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Sections 74.003(b), (c), and (e), Government
11	11	Code, are amended to read as follows:
12	12	(b) The chief justice of the supreme court may assign a
13	13	qualified retired or former justice or judge of the supreme court,
14	14	of the court of criminal appeals, or of a court of appeals to a court
15	15	of appeals for active service regardless of whether a vacancy
16	16	exists in the court to which the justice is assigned. To be eligible
17	17	for assignment under this subsection, a retired or former justice
18	18	or judge must:
19	19	(1) have served as an active justice or judge for at
20	20	least 72 [96] months in a district, statutory probate, statutory
21	21	county, or appellate court, with at least 48 of those months in an
22	22	appellate court;
23	23	(2) not have been removed from office for misconduct
24	24	described by Section 1-a(6), Article V, Texas Constitution, or for
25	25	incapacity;
26	26	(3) certify under oath to the chief justice of the
27	27	supreme court, on a form prescribed by the chief justice, that:
28	28	(A) the justice or judge has never been publicly
29	29	reprimanded or censured by the State Commission on Judicial
30	30	Conduct; and
31	31	(B) the justice or judge:
32	32	(i) did not resign or retire from office
33	33	after the State Commission on Judicial Conduct notified the justice
34	34	or judge of the commencement of a full investigation into an
35	35	allegation or appearance of misconduct or disability of the justice
36	36	or judge as provided in Section 33.022 and before the final
37	37	disposition of that investigation; or
38	38	(ii) if the justice or judge did resign from
39	39	office under circumstances described by Subparagraph (i), the
40	40	justice or judge was not publicly reprimanded or censured as a
41	41	result of the investigation;
42	42	(4) annually demonstrate that the justice or judge has
43	43	completed in the past state fiscal year the educational
44	44	requirements for active appellate court justices or judges; and
45	45	(5) certify to the chief justice of the supreme court a
46	46	willingness not to appear and plead as an attorney in any court in
47	47	this state in which the justice or judge served as a justice or
48	48	judge for a period of two years following that service.
49	49	(c) An active, [or] retired, or former justice or judge
50	50	assigned as provided by this section out of the county of the
51	51	justice's or judge's [his] residence is entitled to receive the same
52	52	expenses and per diem as those allowed a district judge assigned as
53	53	provided by Subchapter C. The state shall pay the expenses and per
54	54	diem on certificates of approval by the chief justice of the supreme
55	55	court or the chief justice of the court of appeals to which the
56	56	justice or judge is assigned. The compensation authorized by this
57	57	subsection is in addition to all other compensation authorized by
58	58	law.
59	59	(e) A retired or former justice or judge assigned as
60	60	provided by this section is entitled to receive, pro rata for the
61	61	time serving on assignment, from money appropriated from the
62	62	general revenue fund for that purpose, an amount equal to the
63	63	compensation received from state and county sources by a justice of
64	64	the court of appeals to which assigned.
65	65	SECTION 2. Section 74.055, Government Code, is amended to
66	66	read as follows:
67	67	Sec. 74.055. LIST OF RETIRED AND FORMER JUSTICES AND JUDGES
68	68	SUBJECT TO ASSIGNMENT. (a) Each presiding judge shall maintain a
69	69	list of retired and former justices and judges who meet the
70	70	requirements of this section.
71	71	(b) The presiding judge shall divide the list into area
72	72	specialties of criminal, civil, or domestic relations cases. A
73	73	retired or former justice or judge may only be assigned to a case in
74	74	the justice's or judge's area of specialty. A justice or judge may
75	75	qualify for assignment in more than one area of specialty.
76	76	(c) To be eligible to be named on the list, a retired or
77	77	former justice or judge must:
78	78	(1) have served as an active justice or judge for at
79	79	least 72 [96] months in a district, statutory probate, statutory
80	80	county, or appellate court;
81	81	(2) have developed substantial experience in the
82	82	justice's or judge's area of specialty;
83	83	(3) not have been removed from office for misconduct
84	84	described by Section 1-a(6), Article V, Texas Constitution, or for
85	85	incapacity;
86	86	(4) certify under oath to the presiding judge, on a
87	87	form prescribed by the state board of regional judges, that:
88	88	(A) the justice or judge has never been publicly
89	89	reprimanded or censured by the State Commission on Judicial
90	90	Conduct; and
91	91	(B) the justice or judge:
92	92	(i) did not resign or retire from office
93	93	after the State Commission on Judicial Conduct notified the justice
94	94	or judge of the commencement of a full investigation into an
95	95	allegation or appearance of misconduct or disability of the justice
96	96	or judge as provided in Section 33.022 and before the final
97	97	disposition of that investigation; or
98	98	(ii) if the justice or judge resigned [did
99	99	resign] from office under circumstances described by Subparagraph
100	100	(i), was not publicly reprimanded or censured as a result of the
101	101	investigation;
102	102	(5) annually demonstrate that the justice or judge has
103	103	completed in the past state fiscal year the educational
104	104	requirements for active district, statutory probate, and statutory
105	105	county court judges; and
106	106	(6) certify to the presiding judge a willingness not
107	107	to appear and plead as an attorney in any court in this state in
108	108	which the justice or judge served as a justice or judge for a period
109	109	of two years following that service.
110	110	(e) For purposes of Subsection (c)(1), a month of service is
111	111	calculated as a calendar month or a portion of a calendar month in
112	112	which a justice or judge was authorized by election or appointment
113	113	to preside.
114	114	(f) A former or retired justice or judge is ineligible to be
115	115	named on the list if the former or retired justice or judge is
116	116	identified in a public statement issued by the State Commission on
117	117	Judicial Conduct as having resigned or retired from office in lieu
118	118	of discipline.
119	119	(g) A former or retired justice or judge named on the list
120	120	shall immediately notify the presiding judge of a full
121	121	investigation by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct into an
122	122	allegation or appearance of misconduct or disability by the justice
123	123	or judge. A justice or judge who does not notify the presiding judge
124	124	of an investigation as required by this subsection is ineligible to
125	125	remain on the list.
126	126	SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
127	127	to a certification or recertification that takes effect after the
128	128	effective date of this Act. A certification or recertification
129	129	that takes effect before the effective date of this Act is governed
130	130	by the law in effect on the date the certification or
131	131	recertification took effect, and the former law is continued in
132	132	effect for that purpose.
133	133	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.