89R6225 AMF/JCG-F
By: Leach H.B. No. 1761
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the discipline of judges by the State Commission on
Judicial Conduct, notice of certain reprimands, judicial
compensation and related retirement benefits, and the reporting of
certain judicial transparency information; authorizing an
administrative penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 33.001(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) For purposes of Section 1-a, Article V, Texas
Constitution, "wilful or persistent conduct that is clearly
inconsistent with the proper performance of a judge's duties"
includes:
(1) wilful, persistent, and unjustifiable failure to
timely execute the business of the court, considering the quantity
and complexity of the business, including failure to meet deadlines
set by statute or binding court order;
(2) wilful violation of a provision of the Texas penal
statutes or the Code of Judicial Conduct;
(3) persistent or wilful violation of the rules
promulgated by the supreme court;
(4) incompetence in the performance of the duties of
the office;
(5) failure to cooperate with the commission; [or]
(6) violation of any provision of a voluntary
agreement to resign from judicial office in lieu of disciplinary
action by the commission; or
(7) persistent or wilful violation of Article 17.15,
Code of Criminal Procedure.
SECTION 2. Section 33.0211, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) 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) the date the complaint is received by the
commission;
(3) the subject matter of the complaint;
(4) additional documentation supporting the complaint
submitted under Subsection (a-1);
(5) 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.
(a-1) Not later than the 45th day after the date a person
files a complaint with the commission, the person may submit to the
commission additional documentation to support the complaint.
SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 33, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 33.02115 to read as follows:
Sec. 33.02115. FALSE COMPLAINT; ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY.
(a) The commission may impose administrative sanctions, including
an administrative penalty under Subsection (b), against a person
who knowingly files a false complaint with the commission under
this subchapter.
(b) The commission may impose on a person described by
Subsection (a) an administrative penalty in the amount of:
(1) not more than $500 for the first false complaint;
(2) not more than $2,500 for the second false
complaint; and
(3) not less than $5,000 but not more than $10,000 for
each false complaint filed subsequent to the second.
(c) An order imposing an administrative penalty or other
sanction under this section is a public record. The commission
shall publish notice of the penalty or other sanction on the
commission's Internet website.
SECTION 4. Section 33.0212, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 33.0212. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON FILED
COMPLAINTS. (a) As soon as practicable after a complaint is filed
with the commission, commission staff shall conduct a preliminary
investigation of the filed complaint and draft recommendations for
commission action.
(a-1) If, after completing a preliminary investigation
under Subsection (a), commission staff determines that given the
content of a complaint a full investigation is necessary before the
next commission meeting, commission staff may commence the
investigation. Not less than seven business days after the date
commission staff commences a full investigation under this
subsection, the staff shall provide written notice of the full
investigation to the judge who is the subject of the complaint.
Notice provided under this subsection shall comply with the
requirements of Section 33.022(c)(1)(B).
(a-2) Not later than the 10th day before a scheduled
commission meeting [120th day after the date a complaint is filed
with the commission], commission staff shall prepare and file with
each member of the commission a report detailing:
(1) each complaint for which a preliminary
investigation has been conducted under Subsection (a) but for which
the investigation report has not been finalized under Subsection
(b);
(2) the results of the preliminary investigation of
the complaint, including whether commission staff commenced a full
investigation under Subsection (a-1); and
(3) the commission staff's recommendations for
commission action regarding the complaint, including any
recommendation for further investigation or termination of the
investigation and dismissal of the complaint.
(b) Not later than the 120th [90th] day following the date
of the first commission meeting at which a complaint is included in
the report filed with the commission under Subsection (a-2) [staff
files with the commission the report required by Subsection (a)],
the commission shall finalize the investigation report and
determine any action to be taken regarding the complaint,
including:
(1) a public sanction;
(2) a private sanction;
(3) a suspension;
(4) an order of education;
(5) an acceptance of resignation in lieu of
discipline;
(6) a dismissal; or
(7) an initiation of formal proceedings.
(b-1) After the commission meeting at which an
investigation report is finalized and an action is determined under
Subsection (b), the commission shall provide to the judge who is the
subject of a complaint:
(1) written notice of the action to be taken regarding
the complaint not more than:
(A) five business days after the commission
meeting if the commission determines no further action will be
taken on the complaint; or
(B) seven business days after the commission
meeting if the commission determines to take any further action on
the complaint, including by pursuing further investigation; and
(2) as the commission determines appropriate,
published notice of the action to be taken by posting the notice on
the commission's Internet website not less than five business days
after notice is provided under Subdivision (1).
(c) If, because of extenuating circumstances, the
commission [staff] is unable to finalize an investigation report
and determine the action to be taken regarding a complaint under
Subsection (b) [provide an investigation report and recommendation
to the commission] before the 120th day following the date of the
first [the complaint was filed with the] commission meeting at
which a complaint is included in the report filed with the
commission under Subsection (a-2), the commission may order an
extension [the staff shall notify the commission and propose the
number of days required for the commission and commission staff to
complete the investigation report and recommendations and finalize
the complaint. The staff may request an extension] of not more than
240 [270] days from the date of the first [the complaint was filed
with the] commission meeting at which a complaint is included in the
report filed with the commission under Subsection (a-2). [The
commission shall finalize the complaint not later than the 270th
day following the date the complaint was filed with the
commission.]
(d) [The executive director may request that the
chairperson grant an additional 120 days to the time provided under
Subsection (c) for the commission and commission staff to complete
the investigation report and recommendations and finalize the
complaint.
[(e)] If the commission orders an extension of time under
Subsection (c) [chairperson grants additional time under
Subsection (d)], the commission must timely inform the following
[legislature] of the extension:
(1) the governor;
(2) the lieutenant governor;
(3) the speaker of the house of representatives;
(4) the presiding officer of each legislative standing
committee with primary jurisdiction over the judiciary;
(5) the chief justice of the supreme court;
(6) the Office of Court Administration of the Texas
Judicial System; and
(7) the presiding judge of the administrative judicial
region in which is located the court the judge who is the subject of
the complaint serves.
(e) The commission may not disclose to a person informed
under Subsection (d) [the legislature] any confidential
information regarding the complaint.
SECTION 5. Section 33.0213, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 33.0213. NOTIFICATION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
INVESTIGATION. On notice by any law enforcement agency
investigating an action for which a complaint has been filed with
the commission, the commission:
(1) may place the commission's complaint file on hold
and decline any further investigation that would jeopardize the law
enforcement agency's investigation; or
(2) shall [. The commission may] continue an
investigation that would not jeopardize a law enforcement
investigation regarding the conduct subject to the complaint and
may issue a censure or sanction based on the complaint.
SECTION 6. Section 33.022, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsections (b-1) and
(b-2) to read as follows:
(b) If, after conducting a preliminary investigation under
this section, [the] commission staff determine [determines] that an
allegation or appearance of misconduct or disability is unfounded
or frivolous, [the] commission staff shall recommend the commission
[shall] terminate the investigation and dismiss the complaint.
(b-1) If, after conducting a preliminary investigation
under this section, commission staff determine administrative
deficiencies in the complaint preclude further investigation,
commission staff may terminate the investigation and dismiss the
complaint without action by the commission.
(b-2) If a complaint is dismissed under Subsection (b) or
(b-1), the commission shall notify the judge in writing of the
dismissal not more than five business days after the dismissal
date.
(c) If, after conducting a preliminary investigation under
this section, the commission does not determine that an allegation
or appearance of misconduct or disability is unfounded or
frivolous, the commission:
(1) shall:
(A) conduct a full investigation of the
circumstances surrounding the allegation or appearance of
misconduct or disability; and
(B) not more than seven business days after the
commission staff commences a full investigation under this
subsection, notify the judge in writing of:
(i) the commencement of the investigation;
[and]
(ii) the nature of the allegation or
appearance of misconduct or disability being investigated; and
(iii) the judge's right to attend each
commission meeting at which the complaint is included in the report
filed with commission members under Section 33.0212(a-2); and
(2) may:
(A) order the judge to:
(i) submit a written response to the
allegation or appearance of misconduct or disability; or
(ii) appear informally before the
commission;
(B) order the deposition of any person; or
(C) request the complainant to appear informally
before the commission.
SECTION 7. Section 33.034, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (j) to read as
follows:
(a) A judge who receives from the commission a sanction or
censure issued by the commission under Section 1-a(8), Article V,
Texas Constitution, may request [or any other type of sanction 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.
(j) If the commission issues a public reprimand of a judge
based on the judge's persistent or wilful violation of Article
17.15, Code of Criminal Procedure, the commission shall send notice
of the reprimand to:
(1) the governor;
(2) the lieutenant governor;
(3) the speaker of the house of representatives;
(4) the presiding officer of each legislative standing
committee with primary jurisdiction over the judiciary;
(5) the chief justice of the supreme court;
(6) the Office of Court Administration of the Texas
Judicial System; and
(7) the presiding judge of the administrative judicial
region in which is located the court the reprimanded judge serves.
SECTION 8. Section 33.037, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 33.037. SUSPENSION FROM OFFICE [PENDING APPEAL]. (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) Not later than the 21st day after the date the
commission initiates formal proceedings against a judge based on
the judge's persistent or wilful violation of Article 17.15, Code
of Criminal Procedure, the commission shall recommend to the
supreme court that the judge be suspended from office pursuant to
Section 1-a, Article V, Texas Constitution.
SECTION 9. Subchapter C, Chapter 72, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 72.0396 to read as follows:
Sec. 72.0396. JUDICIAL TRANSPARENCY INFORMATION. (a) Each
district court judge shall submit to the presiding judge of the
administrative judicial region in which the judge's court sits not
later than the 20th day of each calendar quarter information for the
preceding quarter in which the judge attests to:
(1) the number of hours the judge presided over the
judge's court at the courthouse or another court facility; and
(2) the number of hours the judge performed judicial
duties other than those described by Subdivision (1), including the
number of hours the judge:
(A) performed case-related duties;
(B) performed administrative tasks; and
(C) completed continuing education.
(b) The presiding judge of each administrative judicial
region shall submit the information submitted under Subsection (a)
to the office in the manner prescribed by the supreme court.
(c) The office shall provide administrative support for the
submission and collection of information under Subsection (a),
including providing a system for electronic submission of the
information.
(d) Not later than December 1 of each year, the office shall
prepare and submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the
speaker of the house of representatives, and each presiding officer
of a legislative standing committee with primary jurisdiction over
the judiciary a written report compiling the information submitted
under Subsection (b).
(e) The supreme court shall adopt rules establishing
guidelines and providing instructions regarding the reporting of
information under Subsection (a), including rules:
(1) establishing a penalty for the submission of false
information under Subsection (a); and
(2) providing guidance on the form and manner of
reporting under Subsection (a).
SECTION 10. 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, excluding
any reprimand or censure reviewed and rescinded by a special court
of review under Section 33.034;
(B) the judge has not received more than one of
any other type of public sanction, excluding any sanction reviewed
and rescinded by a special court of review under Section 33.034; and
(C) [(B)] 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 11. Section 659.012(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Notwithstanding Section 659.011 and subject to
Subsections (b) and (b-1):
(1) a judge of a district court or a division of the
business court is entitled to an annual base salary from the state
as set by the General Appropriations Act in an amount equal to at
least $161,000 [$140,000], except that the combined base salary of
a district judge or judge of a division of the business court from
all state and county sources, including compensation for any
extrajudicial services performed on behalf of the county, may not
exceed the amount that is $5,000 less than the maximum combined base
salary from all state and county sources for a justice of a court of
appeals other than a chief justice as determined under this
subsection;
(2) except as provided by Subdivision (3), a justice
of a court of appeals other than the chief justice is entitled to an
annual base salary from the state in the amount equal to 110 percent
of the state base salary of a district judge as set by the General
Appropriations Act, except that the combined base salary of a
justice of the court of appeals other than the chief justice from
all state and county sources, including compensation for any
extrajudicial services performed on behalf of the county, may not
exceed the amount that is $5,000 less than the base salary for a
justice of the supreme court as determined under this subsection;
(3) a justice of the Court of Appeals for the Fifteenth
Court of Appeals District other than the chief justice is entitled
to an annual base salary from the state in the amount equal to
$5,000 less than 120 percent of the state base salary of a district
judge as set by the General Appropriations Act;
(4) a justice of the supreme court other than the chief
justice or a judge of the court of criminal appeals other than the
presiding judge is entitled to an annual base salary from the state
in the amount equal to 120 percent of the state base salary of a
district judge as set by the General Appropriations Act; and
(5) the chief justice or presiding judge of an
appellate court is entitled to an annual base salary from the state
in the amount equal to $2,500 more than the state base salary
provided for the other justices or judges of the court, except that
the combined base salary of the chief justice of a court of appeals
from all state and county sources may not exceed the amount equal to
$2,500 less than the base salary for a justice of the supreme court
as determined under this subsection.
SECTION 12. Section 665.052(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) In this section, "incompetency" means:
(1) gross ignorance of official duties;
(2) gross carelessness in the discharge of official
duties; [or]
(3) inability or unfitness to discharge promptly and
properly official duties because of a serious physical or mental
defect that did not exist at the time of the officer's election; or
(4) persistent or wilful violation of Article 17.15,
Code of Criminal Procedure.
SECTION 13. Section 814.103, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:
(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (a) or (a-1) or any other
law:
(1) any increase in the state base salary being paid to
a district judge as set by the General Appropriations Act in
accordance with Section 659.012 by the 89th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2025, does not apply to a standard service retirement
annuity computed under this section for a retiree or beneficiary if
the retiree on whose service the annuity is based retired before
September 1, 2025; and
(2) the amount of the state base salary being paid to a
district judge as set by Chapter 1170 (H.B. 1), Acts of the 88th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2023 (the General Appropriations
Act), for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2025, in accordance with
Section 659.012 continues to apply to the annuities described by
Subdivision (1) until the 90th Legislature or a later legislature
enacts legislation that increases the state base salary being paid
to a district judge as set by the General Appropriations Act in
accordance with Section 659.012.
(e) On the date the 90th Legislature or a later legislature
enacts legislation that increases the state base salary being paid
to a district judge, as described by Subsection (d), this
subsection and Subsection (d) expire.
SECTION 14. Section 834.102, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read as follows:
(e) Notwithstanding Subsection (a) or (d) or any other law:
(1) any increase in the state base salary being paid to
a district judge as set by the General Appropriations Act in
accordance with Section 659.012 by the 89th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2025, does not apply to a service retirement annuity
computed under this section of a retiree or beneficiary if the
retiree on whose service the annuity is based retired before
September 1, 2025; and
(2) the amount of the state base salary being paid to a
district judge as set by Chapter 1170 (H.B. 1), Acts of the 88th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2023 (the General Appropriations
Act), for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2025, in accordance with
Section 659.012 continues to apply to the annuities described by
Subdivision (1) until the 90th Legislature or a later legislature
enacts legislation that increases the state base salary being paid
to a district judge as set by the General Appropriations Act in
accordance with Section 659.012.
(f) On the date the 90th Legislature or a later legislature
enacts legislation that increases the state base salary being paid
to a district judge, as described by Subsection (e), this
subsection and Subsection (e) expire.
SECTION 15. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct shall adopt
rules to implement Section 33.001(b), Government Code, as amended
by this Act.
SECTION 16. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the Texas Supreme Court shall adopt rules for purposes
of Section 72.0396, Government Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 17. Sections 33.001(b) and 665.052(b), Government
Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to an allegation of
judicial misconduct received by the State Commission on Judicial
Conduct on or after the effective date of this Act, regardless of
whether the conduct or act that is the subject of the allegation
occurred or was committed before, on, or after the effective date of
this Act.
SECTION 18. A former or retired judge on a list maintained
by a presiding judge under Section 74.055(a), Government Code, who
is ineligible to be named on the list under Section 74.055(c),
Government Code, as amended by this Act, shall be struck from the
list on the effective date of this Act and may not be assigned to any
court on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 19. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.