retired county judges and JPs could become visiting judges

The text as introduced · 681 words

89R15614 BCH-D

By: Martinez Fischer
H.B. No. 4278

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the assignment as a visiting judge of certain retired

and former constitutional county court judges and justices of the

peace.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 74.054(a), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (c), the

following judges may be assigned as provided by this chapter by the

presiding judge of the administrative region in which the assigned

judge resides:

(1) an active district, constitutional county, or

statutory county court judge in this state;

(2) a senior judge who has consented to be subject to

assignment and who is on the list maintained by the presiding judge

under this chapter;

(3) a former district or appellate judge, retired or

former statutory probate court judge, [ or ] retired or former

statutory county court judge , or, as applicable, a retired or

former constitutional county court judge or justice of the peace

who certifies to the presiding judge a willingness to serve and who

is on the list maintained by the presiding judge as required by this

chapter;

(4) a retiree or a former judge whose last judicial

office before retirement was justice or judge of the supreme court,

the court of criminal appeals, or a court of appeals and who has

been assigned by the chief justice to the administrative judicial

region in which the retiree or former judge resides for

reassignment by the presiding judge of that region to a district or

statutory county court in the region; and

(5) an active judge or justice of the supreme court,

the court of criminal appeals, or a court of appeals who has had

trial court experience.

SECTION 2. Section 74.055, Government Code, is amended by

amending Subsections (c) and (e) and adding Subsection (d) to read

as follows:

(c) To be eligible to be named on the list, a retired or

former judge must:

(1) except as provided by Subsection (d), 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; 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 this state for a

period of two years.

(d) If a presiding judge of an administrative region is

unable to name to the list a sufficient number of eligible retired

or former judges to dispose of the accumulated business in the

region, the presiding judge may consider service as a

constitutional county court judge or a justice of the peace toward

the 96-month active service requirement described by Subsection

(c)(1) when naming an eligible retired or former judge to the list.

(e) For purposes of Subsections [ Subsection ] (c)(1) and

(d) , a month of service is calculated as a calendar month or a

portion of a calendar month in which a judge was authorized by

election or appointment to preside.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.