Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1728 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		By: Huffman, Lucio S.B. No. 1728
	2	+	(In the Senate - Filed March 6, 2019; March 14, 2019, read
	3	+	first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;
	4	+	April 4, 2019, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
	5	+	Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 2; April 4, 2019,
	6	+	sent to printer.)
	7	+	Click here to see the committee vote
	8	+	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1728 By: Huffman
2	9
3	10
4	11		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	12		AN ACT
6	13		relating to an interim study by the Texas Commission on Judicial
7	14		Selection regarding the method by which certain trial and appellate
8	15		judges are selected.
9	16		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	17		SECTION 1. COMMISSION; STUDY. (a) The Texas Commission on
11	18		Judicial Selection is established to study and review the method by
12	19		which the following judges and justices are selected for office in
13	20		this state:
14	21		(1) statutory county court judges, including probate
15	22		court judges;
16	23		(2) district judges; and
17	24		(3) appellate justices and judges.
18	25		(b) The study conducted under this section must consider:
19	26		(1) the fairness, effectiveness, and desirability of
20	27		selecting a judicial officer described in Subsection (a) of this
21	28		section through partisan elections;
22	29		(2) the fairness, effectiveness, and desirability of
23	30		judicial selection methods proposed or adopted by other states;
24	31		(3) the relative merits of alternative methods for
25	32		selecting a judicial officer described in Subsection (a) of this
26	33		section, including:
27	34		(A) lifetime appointment;
28	35		(B) appointment for a term;
29	36		(C) appointment for a term, followed by a
30	37		partisan election;
31	38		(D) appointment for a term, followed by a
32	39		nonpartisan election;
33	40		(E) appointment for a term, followed by a
34	41		nonpartisan retention election;
35	42		(F) partisan election for an open seat, followed
36	43		by a nonpartisan retention election for incumbents; and
37	44		(G) any other method or combination of methods
38	45		for selecting a judicial officer described in Subsection (a) of
39	46		this section; and
40	47		(4) the merits of using a public member board to
41	48		nominate or assess the qualifications of candidates for judicial
42	49		office.
43	50		(c) The Texas Commission on Judicial Selection consists of
44	51		15 members appointed as follows:
45	52		(1) four members appointed by the governor;
46		-	(2) four ~~members~~ appointed by the lieutenant ~~governor,~~
47		-	including ~~three senators, with at least~~:
	53	+	(2) four senators appointed by the lieutenant
	54	+	governor, including:
48	55		(A) one senator who is a member of the political
49	56		party with which the lieutenant governor is affiliated; and
50	57		(B) one senator who is a member of a political
51	58		party other than the political party with which the lieutenant
52	59		governor is affiliated;
53		-	(3) four members ~~appointed by the speaker~~ of the house
54		-	~~of representatives,~~ ~~including three members~~ of the house of
55		-	~~representatives, with at least~~:
	60	+	(3) four members of the house of representatives
	61	+	appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives,
	62	+	including:
56	63		(A) one representative who is a member of the
57	64		political party with which the speaker of the house is affiliated;
58	65		and
59		-	(B) one ~~representative~~ who is a member of a
	66	+	(B) one representatives who is a member of a
60	67		political party other than the political party with which the
61	68		speaker of the house is affiliated;
62	69		(4) one member appointed by the chief justice of the
63	70		Supreme Court of Texas;
64	71		(5) one member appointed by the presiding judge of the
65	72		Texas Court of Criminal Appeals; and
66	73		(6) one member appointed by the board of directors of
67	74		the State Bar of Texas.
68	75		(d) The governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the
69	76		house of representatives shall coordinate to ensure that the
70	77		members appointed to the Texas Commission on Judicial Selection
71	78		reflect, to the extent practicable, the racial, ethnic, and
72	79		geographic diversity of this state and include individuals who are
73	80		attorneys and individuals who are not attorneys.
74	81		(e) The governor shall designate the presiding officer of
75	82		the Texas Commission on Judicial Selection.
76	83		(f) The Texas Commission on Judicial Selection shall
77	84		convene at the call of the presiding officer.
78	85		(g) A member of the Texas Commission on Judicial Selection
79	86		is not entitled to compensation but is entitled to reimbursement
80	87		for actual and necessary expenses incurred in serving as a member of
81	88		the commission.
82	89		(h) The Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial
83	90		System shall provide necessary administrative support to the Texas
84	91		Commission on Judicial Selection.
85	92		(i) Not later than December 31, 2020, the Texas Commission
86	93		on Judicial Selection shall submit to the governor and the
87	94		legislature a report on the commission's findings and
88	95		recommendations on a method or methods for selecting for office
89	96		judges listed in Subsection (a) of this section that ensure a fair,
90	97		impartial, qualified, competent, and stable judiciary. The
91	98		commission shall include in its recommendations specific
92	99		constitutional and statutory changes that appear necessary from the
93	100		results of the commission's study.
94	101		SECTION 2. ABOLITION OF COMMISSION. The Texas Commission
95	102		on Judicial Selection is abolished and this Act expires January 2,
96	103		2021.
97		-	SECTION 3. The Office of Court Administration of the Texas
98		-	Judicial System is required to implement a provision of this Act
99		-	only if the legislature appropriates money specifically for that
100		-	purpose. If the legislature does not appropriate money
101		-	specifically for that purpose, the Office of Court Administration
102		-	of the Texas Judicial System may, but is not required to, implement
103		-	a provision of this Act using other appropriations available for
104		-	that purpose.
105		-	SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect
	104	+	SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect
106	105		immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members
107	106		elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas
108	107		Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
109	108		immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
	109	+	* * * * *