Bill Text: TX HB2547 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the assignment of certain former and retired justices and judges.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-05-07 - Referred to State Affairs [HB2547 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-HB2547-Introduced.html

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86R6466 TSS-D
By: Meyer H.B. No. 2547

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the assignment of certain former and retired justices
and judges.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 74.003(b), (c), and (e), Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) The chief justice of the supreme court may assign a
qualified retired or former 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 is assigned. To be eligible
for assignment under this subsection, a retired or former 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 for misconduct
described by Section 1-a(6), Article V, Texas Constitution, or for
incapacity;
(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 in
this state in which the justice or judge served as a justice or
judge for a period of two years following that service.
(c) An active, [or] retired, or former justice or judge
assigned as provided by this section out of the county of the
justice's or judge's [his] residence is entitled to receive the same
expenses and per diem as those allowed a district judge assigned as
provided by Subchapter C. The state shall pay the expenses and per
diem on certificates of approval by the chief justice of the supreme
court or the chief justice of the court of appeals to which the
justice or judge is assigned. The compensation authorized by this
subsection is in addition to all other compensation authorized by
law.
(e) A retired or former justice or judge assigned as
provided by this section is entitled to receive, pro rata for the
time serving on assignment, from money appropriated from the
general revenue fund for that purpose, an amount equal to the
compensation received from state and county sources by a justice of
the court of appeals to which assigned.
SECTION 2. Section 74.055, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 74.055. LIST OF RETIRED AND FORMER JUSTICES AND JUDGES
SUBJECT TO ASSIGNMENT. (a) Each presiding judge shall maintain a
list of retired and former justices and judges who meet the
requirements of this section.
(b) The presiding judge shall divide the list into area
specialties of criminal, civil, or domestic relations cases. A
retired or former justice or judge may only be assigned to a case in
the justice's or judge's area of specialty. A justice or judge may
qualify for assignment in more than one area of specialty.
(c) To be eligible to be named on the list, a retired or
former 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;
(2) have developed substantial experience in the
justice's or judge's area of specialty;
(3) not have been removed from office for misconduct
described by Section 1-a(6), Article V, Texas Constitution, or for
incapacity;
(4) certify under oath to the presiding judge, on a
form prescribed by the state board of regional judges, 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 resigned [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 justice or 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 in
which the justice or judge served as a justice or judge for a period
of two years following that service.
(e) For purposes of Subsection (c)(1), a month of service is
calculated as a calendar month or a portion of a calendar month in
which a justice or judge was authorized by election or appointment
to preside.
(f) A former or retired justice or judge is ineligible to be
named on the list if the former or retired justice or judge is
identified in a public statement issued by the State Commission on
Judicial Conduct as having resigned or retired from office in lieu
of discipline.
(g) A former or retired justice or judge named on the list
shall immediately notify the presiding judge of a full
investigation by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct into an
allegation or appearance of misconduct or disability by the justice
or judge. A justice or judge who does not notify the presiding judge
of an investigation as required by this subsection is ineligible to
remain on the list.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a certification or recertification that takes effect after the
effective date of this Act. A certification or recertification
that takes effect before the effective date of this Act is governed
by the law in effect on the date the certification or
recertification took effect, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.