Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2051 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Birdwell, et al. S.B. No. 2051
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6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to the impeachment or removal from office of certain
9	9	public officers, including procedures governing the impeachment,
10	10	trial on impeachment, and disqualification of state officers, and
11	11	to the grounds for which certain public officers may be removed from
12	12	office.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 665, Government Code, is
15	15	amended by adding Sections 665.008, 665.009, 665.010, and 665.011
16	16	to read as follows:
17	17	Sec. 665.008. TESTIMONY IN IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDING. (a) All
18	18	witness testimony in an impeachment proceeding, including
19	19	testimony by the officer who is the subject of the proceeding, must
20	20	be given:
21	21	(1) under oath; and
22	22	(2) in a session open to all members of the house or,
23	23	if the proceeding is conducted by a committee, to all members of the
24	24	committee.
25	25	(b) The presiding officer of a committee that conducts an
26	26	investigation in an impeachment proceeding shall allow, but may not
27	27	require, the officer who is the subject of the proceeding to testify
28	28	before the committee in the officer's defense and have legal
29	29	counsel present during the officer's testimony. This subsection
30	30	may not be construed to allow the officer who is the subject of an
31	31	impeachment proceeding to cross-examine other witnesses in the
32	32	impeachment proceeding.
33	33	Sec. 665.009. REVIEW OF COMMITTEE MATERIALS. (a) This
34	34	section applies to an impeachment proceeding in which an
35	35	investigation or other portion of the proceeding is conducted by a
36	36	committee.
37	37	(b) The committee must provide to each member of the house
38	38	the committee's report and other materials related to the
39	39	impeachment at least 72 hours before the house begins deliberating
40	40	on the impeachment.
41	41	(c) To allow members of the house an opportunity to review
42	42	the committee's report and other materials related to the
43	43	impeachment, the house may not vote on the impeachment during the 72
44	44	hours after the conclusion of the house's deliberations on the
45	45	impeachment.
46	46	Sec. 665.010. INELIGIBILITY TO VOTE IN PROCEEDING INVOLVING
47	47	FAMILY MEMBER. A member of the house is ineligible to vote in an
48	48	impeachment proceeding, including in a portion of the proceeding
49	49	conducted by a committee, if the member is:
50	50	(1) related within the third degree by consanguinity
51	51	or affinity as determined under Subchapter B, Chapter 573, to the
52	52	officer who is the subject of the proceeding; or
53	53	(2) the former spouse of the officer who is the subject
54	54	of the proceeding.
55	55	Sec. 665.011. REPORT OF COSTS OF IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDING.
56	56	(a) The house shall keep an accounting of all costs incurred by the
57	57	house in connection with an impeachment proceeding, including
58	58	investigative costs and costs incurred during the trial by the
59	59	senate, if applicable.
60	60	(b) Not later than the 60th day after the conclusion of an
61	61	impeachment proceeding by the house, the house shall deliver a
62	62	report of the costs described by Subsection (a) incurred in
63	63	connection with the proceedings to the comptroller, lieutenant
64	64	governor, speaker of the house, Legislative Budget Board, chair of
65	65	the senate committee on finance, and chair of the house committee on
66	66	appropriations. If the senate conducts a trial on the impeachment,
67	67	the house shall update the report to include the additional costs
68	68	incurred by the house during the trial and deliver the updated
69	69	report to those entities not later than the 60th day after the
70	70	conclusion of the trial.
71	71	SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 665, Government Code, is
72	72	amended by adding Sections 665.029, 665.030, 665.031, and 665.032
73	73	to read as follows:
74	74	Sec. 665.029. PRESIDING OFFICER IN TRIAL OF GOVERNOR OR
75	75	LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR. The presiding officer for the court of
76	76	impeachment in a trial of the governor or lieutenant governor is:
77	77	(1) the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas;
78	78	(2) if the chief justice of the supreme court recuses
79	79	himself or herself or is otherwise unavailable, the presiding judge
80	80	of the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas;
81	81	(3) if both the chief justice of the supreme court and
82	82	the presiding judge of the court of criminal appeals recuse
83	83	themselves or are otherwise unavailable, the chief justice of the
84	84	Court of Appeals for the Fifteenth Court of Appeals District; or
85	85	(4) if the chief justice of the supreme court, the
86	86	presiding judge of the court of criminal appeals, and the chief
87	87	justice of the Fifteenth Court of Appeals each recuse themselves or
88	88	are otherwise unavailable, a current or former appellate judge
89	89	chosen by the senate from a list of five current or former appellate
90	90	judges submitted by the chief justice of the supreme court.
91	91	Sec. 665.030. TESTIMONY IN IMPEACHMENT TRIAL. All witness
92	92	testimony in a trial on impeachment, including testimony by the
93	93	officer who is the subject of the trial, must be given:
94	94	(1) under oath; and
95	95	(2) in a session open to all members of the senate.
96	96	Sec. 665.031. INELIGIBILITY TO VOTE IN TRIAL INVOLVING
97	97	FAMILY MEMBER. A member of the senate is ineligible to vote on the
98	98	removal of an individual from office following impeachment or the
99	99	disqualification of an individual from holding any office of honor,
100	100	trust, or profit under this state if the member of the senate is:
101	101	(1) related to the individual within the third degree
102	102	by consanguinity or affinity as determined under Subchapter B,
103	103	Chapter 573; or
104	104	(2) the former spouse of the individual.
105	105	Sec. 665.032. REPORT OF COSTS OF TRIAL. (a) The senate
106	106	shall keep an accounting of all costs incurred by the senate in
107	107	connection with the trial of an impeachment, including any costs
108	108	incurred during the house impeachment proceeding.
109	109	(b) Not later than the 60th day after the conclusion of the
110	110	trial of an impeachment, the senate shall deliver a report of all
111	111	costs described by Subsection (a) to the comptroller, lieutenant
112	112	governor, speaker of the house, Legislative Budget Board, chair of
113	113	the senate committee on finance, and chair of the house committee on
114	114	appropriations.
115	115	SECTION 3. Section 665.081, Government Code, is amended to
116	116	read as follows:
117	117	Sec. 665.081. [NO] REMOVAL ONLY FOR ACTS COMMITTED WHILE
118	118	HOLDING [BEFORE ELECTION TO] OFFICE. (a) An officer in this state
119	119	is subject to removal [may not be removed] from office only for an
120	120	act the officer [may have] committed while holding an elected or
121	121	appointed [before the officer's election to] office.
122	122	(b) The prohibition against the removal from office for an
123	123	act the officer commits while not an officeholder [before the
124	124	officer's election] is covered by:
125	125	(1) Section 21.024 [21.002], Local Government Code,
126	126	for a mayor or alderman of a general law municipality; or
127	127	(2) Chapter 87, Local Government Code, for a county or
128	128	precinct officer.
129	129	SECTION 4. Section 21.024, Local Government Code, is
130	130	amended to read as follows:
131	131	Sec. 21.024. [NO] REMOVAL ONLY FOR ACTS COMMITTED WHILE
132	132	HOLDING OFFICE [BEFORE ACTION]. An officer is subject to removal
133	133	[may not be removed] under this subchapter only for an act the
134	134	officer committed while holding an elected or appointed [before
135	135	election to] office [if the act was a matter of public record or
136	136	otherwise known to the voters].
137	137	SECTION 5. Section 87.001, Local Government Code, is
138	138	amended to read as follows:
139	139	Sec. 87.001. [NO] REMOVAL ONLY FOR ACTS COMMITTED WHILE
140	140	HOLDING OFFICE [PRIOR ACTION]. An officer is subject to removal
141	141	[may not be removed] under this chapter only for an act the officer
142	142	committed while holding an elected or appointed [before election
143	143	to] office.
144	144	SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
145	145	an impeachment proceeding, trial, or other removal proceeding
146	146	commenced on or after the effective date of this Act. A proceeding
147	147	or trial commenced before the effective date of this Act is governed
148	148	by the law in effect when the proceeding was commenced, and the
149	149	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
150	150	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026, but only
151	151	if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 89th Legislature,
152	152	Regular Session, 2025, clarifying and implementing certain
153	153	provisions governing the impeachment, trial, removal from office,
154	154	and disqualification of public officers is approved by the
155	155	voters. If that amendment is not approved by the voters, this Act
156	156	has no effect.