By: Carriker S.B. No. 656
73R5348 RJA-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the election of justices of the courts of appeals by
1-3 place.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 22, Government Code, is
1-6 amended by adding Section 22.229 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 22.229. ELECTION FROM PLACES. (a) The justices of
1-8 each court of appeals district shall be elected by places within
1-9 the district as provided by this subchapter.
1-10 (b) Each court of appeals has a chief justice selected to a
1-11 two-year term by majority vote of the justices.
1-12 (c) The legislature shall draw the boundaries of the places
1-13 within each court of appeals district, designate the number of each
1-14 place within the district, and designate the sequence in which each
1-15 place in the district will appear on a ballot to be filled by
1-16 partisan election by place. The number of places within a district
1-17 is equal to the number of justices provided by statute for the
1-18 court of appeals in that district. Each point within the district
1-19 shall be within the area of one place. If a justice is added to a
1-20 court of appeals, the justice shall be elected from the entire
1-21 district until the first general election following the next
1-22 redistricting of the district into places.
1-23 (d) To be eligible to serve as justice, the person at the
1-24 time of election or appointment must reside within the boundary of
2-1 the court of appeals district and may, but need not, be a resident
2-2 of the area of the place for which the office is filled.
2-3 (e) For purposes of the Election Code, each election by
2-4 place of a justice is considered to be an election of a district
2-5 office filled by the voters of more than one county.
2-6 (f) A justice elected to a place shall serve on the same
2-7 court of appeals as the justice the person immediately succeeds.
2-8 (g) In this subchapter, "state representative district"
2-9 means those state representative districts as configured for the
2-10 1990 general election.
2-11 (h) Places within a court of appeals district shall be
2-12 filled by partisan election by place in ascending numerical order
2-13 from the smallest numbered to the largest numbered place.
2-14 SECTION 2. Section 22.216, Government Code, is amended to
2-15 read as follows:
2-16 Sec. 22.216. Membership. (a) The Court of Appeals for the
2-17 First Court of Appeals District consists of nine <a chief justice
2-18 and eight> justices.
2-19 (b) The Court of Appeals for the Second Court of Appeals
2-20 District consists of seven <a chief justice and six> justices.
2-21 (c) The Court of Appeals for the Third Court of Appeals
2-22 District consists of six <a chief justice and five> justices.
2-23 (d) The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Court of Appeals
2-24 District consists of seven <a chief justice and six> justices.
2-25 (e) The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Court of Appeals
2-26 District consists of 13 <a chief justice and 12> justices.
2-27 (f) The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Court of Appeals
3-1 District consists of three <a chief justice and two> justices.
3-2 (g) The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Court of Appeals
3-3 District consists of four <a chief justice and three> justices.
3-4 (h) The Court of Appeals for the Eighth Court of Appeals
3-5 District consists of four <a chief justice and three> justices.
3-6 (i) The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Court of Appeals
3-7 District consists of three <a chief justice and two> justices.
3-8 (j) The Court of Appeals for the Tenth Court of Appeals
3-9 District consists of three <a chief justice and two> justices.
3-10 (k) The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Court of Appeals
3-11 District consists of three <a chief justice and two> justices.
3-12 (l) The Court of Appeals for the Twelfth Court of Appeals
3-13 District consists of three <a chief justice and two> justices.
3-14 (m) The Court of Appeals for the Thirteenth Court of Appeals
3-15 District consists of six <a chief justice and five> justices.
3-16 (n) The Court of Appeals for the Fourteenth Court of Appeals
3-17 District consists of nine <a chief justice and eight> justices.
3-18 (o) A justice in each court of appeals district serves as
3-19 chief justice for that court as provided by Section 22.229.
3-20 SECTION 3. Section 22.201, Government Code, is amended to
3-21 read as follows:
3-22 Sec. 22.201. Courts of Appeals Districts. (a) The state is
3-23 divided into 14 courts of appeals districts with a court of appeals
3-24 in each district. Each court of appeals district is divided into
3-25 places as provided by this section. The justice for each place is
3-26 elected from the area constituting that place.
3-27 (b) <The First Court of Appeals District is composed of the
4-1 counties of Austin, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Chambers, Colorado,
4-2 Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Harris, Trinity, Walker, Waller, and
4-3 Washington.>
4-4 <(c)> The Second Court of Appeals District is composed of
4-5 the counties of Archer, Clay, Cooke, Denton, Hood, Jack, Montague,
4-6 Parker, Tarrant, Wichita, Wise, and Young. The Second Court of
4-7 Appeals District is divided into seven places. The places are
4-8 constituted as follows:
4-9 (1) Place 1 is composed of ;
4-10 (2) Place 2 is composed of ;
4-11 (3) Place 3 is composed of ;
4-12 (4) Place 4 is composed of ;
4-13 (5) Place 5 is composed of ;
4-14 (6) Place 6 is composed of ;
4-15 (7) Place 7 is composed of .
4-16 (c) <(d)> The Third Court of Appeals District is composed of
4-17 the counties of Bastrop, Bell, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Coke,
4-18 Comal, Concho, Fayette, Hays, Irion, Lampasas, Lee, Llano,
4-19 McCulloch, Milam, Mills, Runnels, San Saba, Schleicher, Sterling,
4-20 Tom Green, Travis, and Williamson. The Third Court of Appeals
4-21 District is divided into six places. The places are constituted as
4-22 follows:
4-23 (1) Place 1 is composed of ;
4-24 (2) Place 2 is composed of ;
4-25 (3) Place 3 is composed of ;
4-26 (4) Place 4 is composed of ;
4-27 (5) Place 5 is composed of ;
5-1 (6) Place 6 is composed of .
5-2 (d) <(e)> The Fourth Court of Appeals District is composed
5-3 of the counties of Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Brooks, Dimmit, Duval,
5-4 Edwards, Frio, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes,
5-5 Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, LaSalle, McMullen, Mason, Maverick,
5-6 Medina, Menard, Real, Starr, Sutton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Webb,
5-7 Wilson, Zapata, and Zavala. The Fourth Court of Appeals District
5-8 is divided into seven places. The places are constituted as
5-9 follows:
5-10 (1) Place 1 is composed of ;
5-11 (2) Place 2 is composed of ;
5-12 (3) Place 3 is composed of ;
5-13 (4) Place 4 is composed of ;
5-14 (5) Place 5 is composed of ;
5-15 (6) Place 6 is composed of ;
5-16 (7) Place 7 is composed of .
5-17 (e) <(f)> The Fifth Court of Appeals District is composed of
5-18 the counties of Collin, Dallas, Grayson, Hunt, Kaufman, Rockwall,
5-19 and Van Zandt. The Fifth Court of Appeals District is divided into
5-20 13 places. The places are constituted as follows:
5-21 (1) Place 1 is composed of ;
5-22 (2) Place 2 is composed of ;
5-23 (3) Place 3 is composed of ;
5-24 (4) Place 4 is composed of ;
5-25 (5) Place 5 is composed of ;
5-26 (6) Place 6 is composed of ;
5-27 (7) Place 7 is composed of ;
6-1 (8) Place 8 is composed of ;
6-2 (9) Place 9 is composed of ;
6-3 (10) Place 10 is composed of ;
6-4 (11) Place 11 is composed of ;
6-5 (12) Place 12 is composed of ;
6-6 (13) Place 13 is composed of .
6-7 (f) <(g)> The Sixth Court of Appeals District is composed of
6-8 the counties of Bowie, Camp, Cass, Delta, Fannin, Franklin, Gregg,
6-9 Harrison, Hopkins, Hunt, Lamar, Marion, Morris, Panola, Red River,
6-10 Rusk, Titus, Upshur, and Wood. The Sixth Court of Appeals District
6-11 is divided into three places. The places are constituted as
6-12 follows:
6-13 (1) Place 1 is composed of ;
6-14 (2) Place 2 is composed of ;
6-15 (3) Place 3 is composed of .
6-16 (g) <(h)> The Seventh Court of Appeals District is composed
6-17 of the counties of Armstrong, Bailey, Briscoe, Carson, Castro,
6-18 Childress, Cochran, Collingsworth, Cottle, Crosby, Dallam, Deaf
6-19 Smith, Dickens, Donley, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gray, Hale, Hall,
6-20 Hansford, Hardeman, Hartley, Hemphill, Hockley, Hutchinson, Kent,
6-21 King, Lamb, Lipscomb, Lubbock, Lynn, Moore, Motley, Ochiltree,
6-22 Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Randall, Roberts, Sherman, Swisher, Terry,
6-23 Wilbarger, Wheeler, and Yoakum. The Seventh Court of Appeals
6-24 District is divided into four places. The places are constituted
6-25 as follows:
6-26 (1) Place 1 is composed of ;
6-27 (2) Place 2 is composed of ;
7-1 (3) Place 3 is composed of ;
7-2 (4) Place 4 is composed of .
7-3 (h) <(i)> The Eighth Court of Appeals District is composed
7-4 of the counties of Andrews, Brewster, Crane, Crockett, Culberson,
7-5 Ector, El Paso, Gaines, Glasscock, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Loving,
7-6 Martin, Midland, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Reeves, Terrell, Upton,
7-7 Ward, and Winkler. The Eighth Court of Appeals District is divided
7-8 into four places. The places are constituted as follows:
7-9 (1) Place 1 is composed of ;
7-10 (2) Place 2 is composed of ;
7-11 (3) Place 3 is composed of ;
7-12 (4) Place 4 is composed of .
7-13 (i) <(j)> The Ninth Court of Appeals District is composed of
7-14 the counties of Angelina, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty,
7-15 Montgomery, Newton, Orange, Polk, San Jacinto, and Tyler. The
7-16 Ninth Court of Appeals District is divided into three places. The
7-17 places are constituted as follows:
7-18 (1) Place 1 is composed of ;
7-19 (2) Place 2 is composed of ;
7-20 (3) Place 3 is composed of .
7-21 (j) <(k)> The Tenth Court of Appeals District is composed of
7-22 the counties of Bosque, Brazos, Coryell, Ellis, Falls, Freestone,
7-23 Hamilton, Hill, Johnson, Leon, Limestone, Madison, McLennan,
7-24 Navarro, Robertson, and Somervell. The Tenth Court of Appeals
7-25 District is divided into three places. The places are constituted
7-26 as follows:
7-27 (1) Place 1 is composed of ;
8-1 (2) Place 2 is composed of ;
8-2 (3) Place 3 is composed of .
8-3 (k) <(l)> The Eleventh Court of Appeals District is composed
8-4 of the counties of Baylor, Borden, Brown, Callahan, Coleman,
8-5 Comanche, Dawson, Eastland, Erath, Fisher, Haskell, Howard, Jones,
8-6 Knox, Mitchell, Nolan, Palo Pinto, Scurry, Shackelford, Stephens,
8-7 Stonewall, Taylor, and Throckmorton. The Eleventh Court of Appeals
8-8 District is divided into three places. The places are constituted
8-9 as follows:
8-10 (1) Place 1 is composed of ;
8-11 (2) Place 2 is composed of ;
8-12 (3) Place 3 is composed of .
8-13 (l) <(m)> The Twelfth Court of Appeals District is composed
8-14 of the counties of Anderson, Cherokee, Gregg, Henderson, Hopkins,
8-15 Houston, Kaufman, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rains, Rusk, Sabine, San
8-16 Augustine, Shelby, Smith, Upshur, Van Zandt, and Wood. The Twelfth
8-17 Court of Appeals District is divided into three places. The places
8-18 are constituted as follows:
8-19 (1) Place 1 is composed of ;
8-20 (2) Place 2 is composed of ;
8-21 (3) Place 3 is composed of .
8-22 (m) <(n)> The Thirteenth Court of Appeals District is
8-23 composed of the counties of Aransas, Bee, Calhoun, Cameron, DeWitt,
8-24 Goliad, Gonzales, Hidalgo, Jackson, Kenedy, Kleberg, Lavaca, Live
8-25 Oak, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria, Wharton,
8-26 and Willacy. The Thirteenth Court of Appeals District is divided
8-27 into six places. The places are constituted as follows:
9-1 (1) Place 1 is composed of ;
9-2 (2) Place 2 is composed of ;
9-3 (3) Place 3 is composed of ;
9-4 (4) Place 4 is composed of ;
9-5 (5) Place 5 is composed of ;
9-6 (6) Place 6 is composed of .
9-7 (n) <(o)> The First Court of Appeals District and the
9-8 Fourteenth Court of Appeals District are <is> composed of the
9-9 counties of Austin, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Chambers, Colorado,
9-10 Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Harris, Trinity, Walker, Waller, and
9-11 Washington. The First Court of Appeals District and the Fourteenth
9-12 Court of Appeals District are divided into 18 places. The places
9-13 are constituted as follows:
9-14 (1) Place 1 is composed of ;
9-15 (2) Place 2 is composed of ;
9-16 (3) Place 3 is composed of ;
9-17 (4) Place 4 is composed of ;
9-18 (5) Place 5 is composed of ;
9-19 (6) Place 6 is composed of ;
9-20 (7) Place 7 is composed of ;
9-21 (8) Place 8 is composed of ;
9-22 (9) Place 9 is composed of ;
9-23 (10) Place 10 is composed of ;
9-24 (11) Place 11 is composed of ;
9-25 (12) Place 12 is composed of ;
9-26 (13) Place 13 is composed of ;
9-27 (14) Place 14 is composed of ;
10-1 (15) Place 15 is composed of ;
10-2 (16) Place 16 is composed of ;
10-3 (17) Place 17 is composed of ;
10-4 (18) Place 18 is composed of .
10-5 SECTION 4. Section 22.203, Government Code, is amended to
10-6 read as follows:
10-7 Sec. 22.203. Second Court of Appeals. (a) The Court of
10-8 Appeals for the Second Court of Appeals District shall be held in
10-9 the City of Fort Worth.
10-10 (b) The court may transact its business in any county in the
10-11 district as the court determines is necessary or convenient.
10-12 <(c) The Court of Appeals for the Second Court of Appeals
10-13 District is composed of a chief justice and of six justices holding
10-14 places numbered consecutively beginning with Place 2.>
10-15 <(d) The designation of offices and places under this
10-16 section identifies the offices and places for all purposes,
10-17 including identification on official ballots for primary and
10-18 general elections notwithstanding Section 52.092, Election Code.>
10-19 <(e) A vacancy in the office of justice or chief justice of
10-20 the Court of Appeals for the Second Court of Appeals District shall
10-21 be filled by designation of office and, in the case of a justice,
10-22 by designation of place.>
10-23 <(f) The court by a majority vote of its members shall
10-24 promulgate rules establishing a seniority system to determine which
10-25 office and place is held by each member of the court. The chief
10-26 justice shall file the names and place numbers of the court members
10-27 with the secretary of state and the clerk of the court.>
11-1 <(g) If any additional offices of justices of the court are
11-2 created, the designation for those offices shall be in consecutive
11-3 numerical order beginning with Place 8. If two or more offices of
11-4 justice are created to take effect the same date, and the
11-5 legislature does not specify places for those offices, the court
11-6 shall by rule determine places for each office. If the court does
11-7 not determine places before a person is appointed or elected to
11-8 fill the initial vacancy, the places are determined by the
11-9 seniority system established as provided by Subsection (f).>
11-10 SECTION 5. Section 52.092(d), Election Code, is amended to
11-11 read as follows:
11-12 (d) District offices of the state government shall be listed
11-13 in the following order:
11-14 (1) member, State Board of Education;
11-15 (2) state senator;
11-16 (3) state representative;
11-17 (4) <chief justice, court of appeals;>
11-18 <(5)> justice, court of appeals;
11-19 (5) <(6)> district judge;
11-20 (6) <(7)> criminal district judge;
11-21 (7) <(8)> family district judge;
11-22 (8) <(9)> district attorney;
11-23 (9) <(10)> criminal district attorney.
11-24 SECTION 6. (a) This Act takes effect January 1, 1995, but
11-25 only if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 73rd
11-26 Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, authorizing the election of
11-27 justices to the court of appeals by place is approved by the
12-1 voters.
12-2 (b) This Act applies only to primary and general elections
12-3 held on or after January 1, 1995.
12-4 SECTION 7. The importance of this legislation and the
12-5 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
12-6 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
12-7 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
12-8 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.