By Puente                                        H.B. No. 949

      75R4420 SAW-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to objection to an assigned judge.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 74.053, Government Code, is amended by

 1-5     amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (e) to read

 1-6     as follows:

 1-7           (b)  If a party to a civil case files a timely objection to

 1-8     the assignment, the judge shall not hear the case.  Except as

 1-9     provided by Subsections [Subsection] (d) and (e), each party to the

1-10     case is only entitled to one objection under this section for that

1-11     case.

1-12           (c)  Except as provided by Subsection (e), an [An] objection

1-13     under this section must be filed before the first hearing or trial,

1-14     including pretrial hearings, over which the assigned judge is to

1-15     preside.

1-16           (e)  A party may object to a judge assigned to preside over a

1-17     trial regardless of whether:

1-18                 (1)  the party did not object to the assignment of the

1-19     same judge to preside over a pretrial hearing in the case; or

1-20                 (2)  the party objected to another judge assigned to

1-21     preside over a pretrial hearing in the case.

1-22           SECTION 2.  This Act applies only to the assignment of a

1-23     judge under Chapter 74, Government Code, made on or after the

1-24     effective date of this Act.  An assignment made before the

 2-1     effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the

 2-2     time the assignment is made, and  that law is continued in effect

 2-3     for that purpose.

 2-4           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

 2-5     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 2-6     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 2-7     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 2-8     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.