Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2491 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Sparks S.B. No. 2491
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to qualifications for a retired judge's appointment as a
7	7	visiting judge to a constitutional county court.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 26, Government Code, is
10	10	amended to read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 26.023. APPOINTMENT FOR ABSENCE OF JUDGE. (a) The
12	12	county judge may appoint a retired judge or a constitutional county
13	13	judge from another county as a visiting judge when the county judge
14	14	is absent from the county or absent because of physical incapacity.
15	15	(b) The visiting judge shall sit in all matters that are
16	16	docketed on any of the county court's dockets and has the powers of
17	17	the county judge in relation to the matter involved.
18	18	(c) Without the consent of the commissioners court,
19	19	visiting judges appointed under this section may not sit for more
20	20	than 15 working days during a calendar year.
21	21	(d) The order appointing the visiting judge shall be noted
22	22	in the docket of the court.
23	23	(e) For the purposes of this Chapter, a "retired judge" is
24	24	defined as a person who meets the requirements of Government Code
25	25	Subsection 74.041(6).
26	26	SECTION 2. SUBCHAPTER C, Chapter 74, ADMINISTRATIVE
27	27	JUDICIAL REGIONS is amended to read as follows:
28	28	Sec. 74.041. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
29	29	(1) "Administrative region" means an administrative
30	30	judicial region created by Section 74.042.
31	31	(2) "Presiding judge" means the presiding judge of an
32	32	administrative region.
33	33	(3) "Retiree" means a person who has retired under the
34	34	Judicial Retirement System of Texas, the Judicial Retirement System
35	35	of Texas Plan One, or the Judicial Retirement System of Texas Plan
36	36	Two.
37	37	(4) "Active judge" means a person who is a current judicial
38	38	officeholder.
39	39	(5) "Former judge" means a person who has served as an
40	40	active judge in a district, statutory probate, statutory county, or
41	41	appellate court, but who is not a retired judge.
42	42	(6) "Retired judge" means:
43	43	(A) a retiree; or
44	44	(B) a person who served as an active judge for at least 96
45	45	months in a statutory probate and has retired under the Texas County
46	46	and District Retirement System; or
47	47	(C) A person who served as an active judge for at least 96
48	48	months in a constitutional county court or who served at least 48
49	49	months in a constitutional county court and who is a licensed
50	50	attorney in the state.
51	51	(7) "Senior judge" means a retiree who has elected to be a
52	52	judicial officer under Section 75.001.
53	53	SECTION 3. SUBCHAPTER C, Chapter 74, ADMINISTRATIVE
54	54	JUDICIAL REGIONS is amended to read as follows:
55	55	Sec. 74.055. LIST OF RETIRED AND FORMER JUDGES SUBJECT TO
56	56	ASSIGNMENT. (a) Each presiding judge shall maintain a list of
57	57	retired and former judges who meet the requirements of this
58	58	section.
59	59	(b) The presiding judge shall divide the list into area
60	60	specialties of criminal, civil, or domestic relations cases. A
61	61	retired or former judge may only be assigned to a case in the
62	62	judge's area of specialty. A judge may qualify for assignment in
63	63	more than one area of specialty.
64	64	(c) To be eligible to be named on the list, a retired or
65	65	former judge must:
66	66	(1A) have served as an active judge for at least 96 months in
67	67	a district, statutory probate, statutory county, or appellate
68	68	court; or
69	69	(1B) have served as an active judge for at least 96 months in
70	70	a constitutional county court, or have served as an active judge for
71	71	at least 48 months in a constitutional county court and who is a
72	72	licensed attorney in the state.
73	73	(2) have developed substantial experience in the judge's
74	74	area of specialty;
75	75	(3) not have been removed from office;
76	76	(4) certify under oath to the presiding judge, on a form
77	77	prescribed by the state board of regional judges, that:
78	78	(A) the judge has never been publicly reprimanded or
79	79	censured by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct; and
80	80	(B) the judge:
81	81	(i) did not resign or retire from office after the State
82	82	Commission on Judicial Conduct notified the judge of the
83	83	commencement of a full investigation into an allegation or
84	84	appearance of misconduct or disability of the judge as provided in
85	85	Section 33.022 and before the final disposition of that
86	86	investigation; or
87	87	(ii) if the judge did resign from office under circumstances
88	88	described by Subparagraph (i), was not publicly reprimanded or
89	89	censured as a result of the investigation;
90	90	(5) annually demonstrate that the judge has completed in the
91	91	past state fiscal year the educational requirements for active
92	92	district, statutory probate, and statutory county court judges; and
93	93	(6) certify to the presiding judge a willingness not to
94	94	appear and plead as an attorney in any court in this state for a
95	95	period of two years.
96	96	(d) Repealed by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 315, Sec. 15.
97	97	(e) For purposes of Subsection (c)(1), a month of service is
98	98	calculated as a calendar month or a portion of a calendar month in
99	99	which a judge was authorized by election or appointment to preside.
100	100	(f) A former or retired judge is ineligible to be named on
101	101	the list if the former or retired judge is identified in a public
102	102	statement issued by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct as
103	103	having resigned or retired from office in lieu of discipline.
104	104	(g) A former or retired judge named on the list shall
105	105	immediately notify the presiding judge of a full investigation by
106	106	the State Commission on Judicial Conduct into an allegation or
107	107	appearance of misconduct or disability by the judge. A judge who
108	108	does not notify the presiding judge of an investigation as required
109	109	by this subsection is ineligible to remain on the list.
110	110	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.