Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3040 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	H.B. No. 3040
	1	+	By: Hunter, Allison, Minjarez H.B. No. 3040
	2	+	(Senate Sponsor - Huffman)
	3	+	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 9, 2019;
	4	+	May 14, 2019, read first time and referred to Committee on State
	5	+	Affairs; May 19, 2019, reported favorably by the following vote:
	6	+	Yeas 6, Nays 3; May 19, 2019, sent to printer.)
	7	+	Click here to see the committee vote
2	8
3	9
	10	+	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
4	11		AN ACT
5	12		relating to an interim study by the Texas Commission on Judicial
6	13		Selection regarding the method by which certain trial and appellate
7	14		judges are selected.
8	15		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	16		SECTION 1. COMMISSION; STUDY. (a) The Texas Commission on
10	17		Judicial Selection is established to study and review the method by
11	18		which the following judges and justices are selected for office in
12	19		this state:
13	20		(1) statutory county court judges, including probate
14	21		court judges;
15	22		(2) district judges;
16	23		(3) justices of the courts of appeals;
17	24		(4) judges of the court of criminal appeals; and
18	25		(5) justices of the supreme court.
19	26		(b) The study conducted under this section must consider:
20	27		(1) the fairness, effectiveness, and desirability of
21	28		selecting a judicial officer described in Subsection (a) of this
22	29		section through partisan elections;
23	30		(2) the fairness, effectiveness, and desirability of
24	31		judicial selection methods proposed or adopted by other states;
25	32		(3) the relative merits of alternative methods for
26	33		selecting a judicial officer described in Subsection (a) of this
27	34		section, including:
28	35		(A) lifetime appointment;
29	36		(B) appointment for a term;
30	37		(C) appointment for a term, followed by a
31	38		partisan election;
32	39		(D) appointment for a term, followed by a
33	40		nonpartisan election;
34	41		(E) appointment for a term, followed by a
35	42		nonpartisan retention election;
36	43		(F) partisan election for an open seat, followed
37	44		by a nonpartisan retention election for incumbents; and
38	45		(G) any other method or combination of methods
39	46		for selecting a judicial officer described in Subsection (a) of
40	47		this section; and
41	48		(4) the merits of using a public member board to
42	49		nominate or assess the qualifications of candidates for judicial
43	50		office.
44	51		(c) The Texas Commission on Judicial Selection consists of
45	52		15 members appointed as follows:
46	53		(1) four members appointed by the governor;
47	54		(2) four members appointed by the lieutenant governor,
48	55		including three senators, with at least:
49	56		(A) one senator who is a member of the political
50	57		party with which the lieutenant governor is affiliated; and
51	58		(B) one senator who is a member of a political
52	59		party other than the political party with which the lieutenant
53	60		governor is affiliated;
54	61		(3) four members appointed by the speaker of the house
55	62		of representatives, including three members of the house of
56	63		representatives, with at least:
57	64		(A) one representative who is a member of the
58	65		political party with which the speaker of the house is affiliated;
59	66		and
60	67		(B) one representative who is a member of a
61	68		political party other than the political party with which the
62	69		speaker of the house is affiliated;
63	70		(4) one member appointed by the chief justice of the
64	71		Supreme Court of Texas;
65	72		(5) one member appointed by the presiding judge of the
66	73		Texas Court of Criminal Appeals; and
67	74		(6) one member appointed by the board of directors of
68	75		the State Bar of Texas.
69	76		(d) The governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the
70	77		house of representatives shall coordinate to ensure that the
71	78		members appointed to the Texas Commission on Judicial Selection
72	79		reflect, to the extent practicable, the racial, ethnic, and
73	80		geographic diversity of this state and include individuals who are
74	81		attorneys and individuals who are not attorneys.
75	82		(e) The governor shall designate the presiding officer of
76	83		the Texas Commission on Judicial Selection.
77	84		(f) The Texas Commission on Judicial Selection shall
78	85		convene at the call of the presiding officer.
79	86		(g) A member of the Texas Commission on Judicial Selection
80	87		is not entitled to compensation but is entitled to reimbursement
81	88		for actual and necessary expenses incurred in serving as a member of
82	89		the commission.
83	90		(h) The Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial
84	91		System shall provide necessary administrative support to the Texas
85	92		Commission on Judicial Selection.
86	93		(i) Not later than December 31, 2020, the Texas Commission
87	94		on Judicial Selection shall submit to the governor and the
88	95		legislature a report on the commission's findings and
89	96		recommendations on a method or methods for selecting for office
90	97		judges listed in Subsection (a) of this section that ensure a fair,
91	98		impartial, qualified, competent, and stable judiciary. The
92	99		commission shall include in its recommendations specific
93	100		constitutional and statutory changes that appear necessary from the
94	101		results of the commission's study.
95	102		SECTION 2. ABOLITION OF COMMISSION. The Texas Commission
96	103		on Judicial Selection is abolished and this Act expires January 2,
97	104		2021.
98	105		SECTION 3. IMPLEMENTATION TRANSITION. The Office of Court
99	106		Administration of the Texas Judicial System is required to
100	107		implement a provision of this Act only if the legislature
101	108		appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If the
102	109		legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that
103	110		purpose, the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial
104	111		System may, but is not required to, implement a provision of this
105	112		Act using other appropriations available for that purpose.
106	113		SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect
107	114		immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members
108	115		elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas
109	116		Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
110	117		immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
111		-	______________________________ ______________________________
112		-	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
113		-	I certify that H.B. No. 3040 was passed by the House on May 9,
114		-	2019, by the following vote: Yeas 122, Nays 11, 2 present, not
115		-	voting.
116		-	______________________________
117		-	Chief Clerk of the House
118		-	I certify that H.B. No. 3040 was passed by the Senate on May
119		-	21, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 25, Nays 6.
120		-	______________________________
121		-	Secretary of the Senate
122		-	APPROVED: _____________________
123		-	Date
124		-	_____________________
125		-	Governor
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