By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 2127
(In the Senate - Filed March 10, 2025; March 24, 2025, read
first time and referred to Committee on Jurisprudence;
April 10, 2025, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 5,
Nays 0; April 10, 2025, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the assignment of certain retired and former justices
and judges.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 74.003(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The chief justice of the supreme court may assign a
qualified former or retired justice or judge of the supreme court,
of the court of criminal appeals, or of a court of appeals to a court
of appeals for active service regardless of whether a vacancy
exists in the court to which the justice or judge is assigned. To be
eligible for assignment under this subsection, a former or retired
justice or judge must:
(1) have served as an active justice or judge for at
least 72 [96] months in a district, statutory probate, statutory
county, or appellate court, with at least 48 of those months in an
appellate court;
(2) not have been removed from office;
(3) certify under oath to the chief justice of the
supreme court, on a form prescribed by the chief justice, that:
(A) the justice or judge has never been publicly
reprimanded or censured by the State Commission on Judicial
Conduct; and
(B) the justice or judge:
(i) did not resign or retire from office
after the State Commission on Judicial Conduct notified the justice
or judge of the commencement of a full investigation into an
allegation or appearance of misconduct or disability of the justice
or judge as provided in Section 33.022 and before the final
disposition of that investigation; or
(ii) if the justice or judge did resign from
office under circumstances described by Subparagraph (i), the
justice or judge was not publicly reprimanded or censured as a
result of the investigation;
(4) annually demonstrate that the justice or judge has
completed in the past state fiscal year the educational
requirements for active appellate court justices or judges; [and]
(5) certify to the chief justice of the supreme court a
willingness not to appear and plead as an attorney in any court of
appeals in this state or district, statutory probate, or statutory
county court in a county under the jurisdiction of the appellate
court to which the justice or judge is assigned for a period of two
years; and
(6) certify to the chief justice a willingness not to
hear any matter involving a party who is a current or former client
of the justice or judge for the duration of the assignment.
SECTION 2. Section 74.041(6), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(6) "Retired judge" means:
(A) a retiree; or
(B) a person who served as an active judge for at
least 72 [96] months in a statutory probate or statutory county
court and has retired under the Texas County and District
Retirement System.
SECTION 3. 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 72 [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:
(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 the
administrative judicial region in which the judge is assigned [this
state] for a period of two years; and
(7) certify to the presiding judge a willingness not
to hear any matter involving a party who is a current or former
client of the judge for the duration of the assignment.
SECTION 4. Sections 74.003(b), 74.041(6), and 74.055(c),
Government Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to the
assignment of a justice or judge on or after the effective date of
this Act. The assignment of a justice or judge before the effective
date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date of the
assignment, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
last day of the legislative session.
* * * * *