Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2715 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	89R23632 JBD-D
2		-	By: Curry, Cook H.B. No. 2715
3		-	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2715:
4		-	By: King C.S.H.B. No. 2715
	1	+	89R2602 RDS-D
	2	+	By: Curry H.B. No. 2715
5	3
6	4
7	5
8	6
9	7		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	8		AN ACT
11		-	relating to the removal from office of certain officers of
12		-	political subdivisions.
	9	+	relating to the suspension and removal from office of certain
	10	+	elected officials of this state or a political subdivision of this
	11	+	state.
13	12		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14		-	SECTION 1. Section 87.015(c), Local Government Code, is
15		-	amended to read as follows:
16		-	(c) A petition for removal of an officer under this
17		-	subchapter [other than a prosecuting attorney must be addressed to
18		-	the district judge of the court in which it is filed. A petition for
19		-	removal of a prosecuting attorney] must be addressed to the
20		-	presiding judge of the administrative judicial region in which the
21		-	petition is filed. The petition must set forth the grounds alleged
22		-	for the removal of the officer in plain and intelligible language
23		-	and must cite the time and place of the occurrence of each act
24		-	alleged as a ground for removal with as much certainty as the nature
25		-	of the case permits.
26		-	SECTION 2. Section 87.0151, Local Government Code, is
27		-	amended to read as follows:
28		-	Sec. 87.0151. ASSIGNMENT OF JUDGE [IN CERTAIN CASES]. (a)
29		-	Immediately after a petition for removal of an officer under this
30		-	subchapter [a prosecuting attorney] is filed under Section 87.015,
31		-	the district clerk shall deliver a copy of the petition to the
32		-	presiding judge of the administrative judicial region in which the
33		-	court sits.
34		-	(b) On receiving a petition for removal [of a prosecuting
35		-	attorney] under Subsection (a), the presiding judge of the
36		-	administrative judicial region shall assign a district court judge
37		-	of a judicial district that does not include the county in which the
38		-	petition was filed to conduct the removal proceedings.
39		-	SECTION 3. Section 87.018(f), Local Government Code, is
40		-	amended to read as follows:
41		-	(f) In a proceeding to remove an officer under this
42		-	subchapter [a prosecuting attorney from office], the presiding
43		-	judge of the administrative judicial region in which the petition
44		-	for removal was filed shall appoint a prosecuting attorney from
45		-	another judicial district or county, as applicable, in the
46		-	administrative judicial region to represent the state.
47		-	SECTION 4. Sections 87.018(d) and (e), Local Government
48		-	Code, are repealed.
49		-	SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
50		-	the removal of an officer under Subchapter B, Chapter 87, Local
51		-	Government Code, for which the petition for removal is filed under
52		-	that subchapter on or after the effective date of this Act. The
53		-	removal of an officer for which the petition for removal is filed
54		-	before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
55		-	effect on the date the petition is filed, and the former law is
56		-	continued in effect for that purpose.
57		-	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
58		-	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
59		-	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
60		-	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
61		-	Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
	13	+	SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 6, Government Code, is amended
	14	+	by adding Chapter 621 to read as follows:
	15	+	CHAPTER 621. SUSPENSION AND REMOVAL OF PUBLIC OFFICER
	16	+	Sec. 621.001. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to
	17	+	a person serving in an elected office to which Section 7, Article
	18	+	XV, Texas Constitution, applies.
	19	+	Sec. 621.002. DUTY TO FOLLOW AND EXECUTE LAWS OF THIS STATE.
	20	+	An officer of this state or a political subdivision of this state
	21	+	shall follow and execute the laws of this state in accordance with
	22	+	the officer's oath of office.
	23	+	Sec. 621.003. SUSPENSION BY GOVERNOR; PETITION. (a)
	24	+	Notwithstanding any other law, the governor may suspend an officer
	25	+	of this state or a political subdivision of this state on the
	26	+	grounds that the officer violated Section 621.002.
	27	+	(b) The governor shall file a petition for removal of an
	28	+	officer the governor suspends under Subsection (a) in:
	29	+	(1) a district court in the county in which the officer
	30	+	resides if the officer is an officer of a political subdivision of
	31	+	this state; or
	32	+	(2) a district court in Travis County if the officer is
	33	+	a state officer.
	34	+	(c) A suspension under this section:
	35	+	(1) takes effect on the date the petition under
	36	+	Subsection (b) is filed; and
	37	+	(2) is temporary pending the outcome of a trial under
	38	+	Section 621.004.
	39	+	(d) Notwithstanding any other law, if the governor suspends
	40	+	an officer under Subsection (a), the governor shall make a
	41	+	provisional appointment to temporarily fill the vacancy until the
	42	+	conclusion of the trial under Section 621.004.
	43	+	Sec. 621.004. TRIAL; REMOVAL. (a) An officer suspended by
	44	+	the governor under Section 621.003 may only be removed under this
	45	+	chapter following a trial by jury.
	46	+	(b) The trial for removal of an officer under this chapter
	47	+	and the proceedings connected with the trial shall be conducted to
	48	+	the extent practicable in accordance with the rules and practice of
	49	+	the court in other civil cases, in the name of the State of Texas.
	50	+	(c) In a trial under this section, the judge shall instruct
	51	+	the jury to find from the evidence whether the grounds for removal
	52	+	alleged in the petition are true. If the petition alleges more than
	53	+	one ground for removal, the jury shall indicate in the verdict which
	54	+	grounds are sustained by the evidence and which are not sustained.
	55	+	(d) If the jury finds that any ground for removal alleged in
	56	+	the petition is true, the suspended officer is immediately removed
	57	+	from office and the temporary appointment made under Section
	58	+	621.003(d) continues until the vacancy in the office is filled as
	59	+	otherwise provided by law.
	60	+	(e) If the jury does not find that any ground for removal
	61	+	alleged in the petition is true:
	62	+	(1) the suspension of the officer is immediately
	63	+	terminated;
	64	+	(2) the temporary appointment made under Section
	65	+	621.003(d) is terminated; and
	66	+	(3) the officer is returned to office.
	67	+	(f) The attorney general shall represent the state in a
	68	+	trial to remove a state officer from office under this chapter.
	69	+	(g) Except as provided by Subsection (h), in a trial to
	70	+	remove an officer of a political subdivision of this state under
	71	+	this chapter, the county attorney shall represent the state.
	72	+	(h) In a trial to remove a county attorney from office, the
	73	+	county attorney from an adjoining county, as selected by the
	74	+	commissioners court of the county in which the proceeding is
	75	+	pending, shall represent the state.
	76	+	SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
	77	+	conduct of an officer of this state or a political subdivision of
	78	+	this state that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act.
	79	+	The conduct of an officer that occurs before that date is governed
	80	+	by the law in effect on the date the conduct occurred, and the
	81	+	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	82	+	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.