88R12731 AMF-F
By: Jetton H.B. No. 3452
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to complaints submitted to and sanctions issued by the
State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 33.0211(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The commission shall maintain a file on each written
complaint filed with the commission. The file must include:
(1) the name of the person who filed the complaint;
(2) a sworn statement from the person who filed the
complaint attesting that the contents of the complaint are true to
the best of the person's knowledge;
(3) the date the complaint is received by the
commission;
(4) [(3)] the subject matter of the complaint;
(5) [(4)] the name of each person contacted in
relation to the complaint;
(6) [(5)] a summary of the results of the review or
investigation of the complaint; and
(7) [(6)] an explanation of the reason the file was
closed, if the commission closed the file without taking action
other than to investigate the complaint.
SECTION 2. Sections 33.034(a), (e), and (i), Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A judge who receives from the commission a public
sanction or censure issued by the commission under Section 1-a(8),
Article V, Texas Constitution, or any other type of public
sanction, including a public admonition or warning, 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 or
informal 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].
(i) The court's decision under this section is only [not]
appealable by the commission to the supreme court.
SECTION 3. Section 33.037, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 33.037. SUSPENSION PENDING APPEAL OR FORMAL
PROCEEDINGS. (a) If a judge who is convicted of a felony or a
misdemeanor involving official misconduct appeals the conviction,
the commission shall suspend the judge from office without pay
pending final disposition of the appeal.
(b) If the commission has initiated formal proceedings
against a judge, 10 days after the appointment of a special master,
the commission shall suspend the judge from office without pay
pending final disposition of the formal proceedings unless the
special master recommends against suspension.
SECTION 4. Section 74.055(c), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) To be eligible to be named on the list, a retired or
former judge must:
(1) have served as an active judge for at least 96
months in a district, statutory probate, statutory county, or
appellate court;
(2) have developed substantial experience in the
judge's area of specialty;
(3) not have been removed from office;
(4) certify under oath to the presiding judge, on a
form prescribed by the state board of regional judges, that:
(A) the judge has never been publicly reprimanded
or censured by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct; [and]
(B) the judge has not received more than one
public sanction, including a public admonition or warning, from the
State Commission on Judicial Conduct that was determined to be
warranted by a court of review under Section 33.034; and
(C) the judge:
(i) did not resign or retire from office
after the State Commission on Judicial Conduct notified the judge
of the commencement of a full investigation into an allegation or
appearance of misconduct or disability of the judge as provided in
Section 33.022 and before the final disposition of that
investigation; or
(ii) if the judge did resign from office
under circumstances described by Subparagraph (i), was not publicly
reprimanded or censured as a result of the investigation;
(5) annually demonstrate that the judge has completed
in the past state fiscal year the educational requirements for
active district, statutory probate, and statutory county court
judges; and
(6) certify to the presiding judge a willingness not
to appear and plead as an attorney in any court in this state for a
period of two years.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.