1-1 By: Brown, et al. S.B. No. 328
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed January 28, 1997; February 3, 1997,
1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Finance;
1-4 February 18, 1997, reported favorably, as amended, by the following
1-5 vote: Yeas 13, Nays 0; February 18, 1997, sent to printer.)
1-6 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1 By: Brown
1-7 Amend S.B. No. 328 as follows:
1-8 (1) In SECTION 1, Section 35.103, Subsection (b),
1-9 Subdivision (7), (page 3, line 15) strike "overall".
1-10 (2) In SECTION 1, Section 35.103, Subsection (b),
1-11 Subdivision (7), (page 3, line 15) between "compensation" and
1-12 "presently" insert "from the state".
1-13 (3) In SECTION 1, SUBCHAPTER B, (page 2, line 50 to page 2,
1-14 line 59) strike Section 35.102 and renumber the subsequent sections
1-15 appropriately.
1-16 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 2 By: Brown
1-17 Amend S.B. No. 328 as follows:
1-18 In SECTION 1 (page 2, line 45) add Section 35.009 to read as
1-19 follows:
1-20 "Sec. 35.009. OPEN MEETINGS AND OPEN RECORDS. The
1-21 commission is subject to Chapters 551 and 552."
1-22 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 3 By: Wentworth, West
1-23 Amend S.B. No. 328 as follows:
1-24 In SECTION 1, SUBCHAPTER B, (page 2, lines 47 and 48) strike
1-25 ", either in person or by teleconference,".
1-26 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 4 By: Wentworth, West
1-27 Amend S.B. No. 328 as follows:
1-28 In SECTION 1, Section 35.002, page 1, line 42 strike three
1-29 and insert nine; and on page 1, line 44, substitute "three members"
1-30 for "one member".
1-31 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-32 AN ACT
1-33 relating to the creation of the Judicial Compensation Commission.
1-34 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-35 SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 2, Government Code, is amended
1-36 by adding Chapter 35 to read as follows:
1-37 CHAPTER 35. JUDICIAL COMPENSATION COMMISSION
1-38 SUBCHAPTER A. ORGANIZATION
1-39 Sec. 35.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "commission"
1-40 means the Judicial Compensation Commission.
1-41 Sec. 35.002. MEMBERSHIP; TERMS. The commission consists of
1-42 three members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent
1-43 of the senate. Members serve for staggered terms of six years with
1-44 the term of one member expiring on February 1 of each odd-numbered
1-45 year.
1-46 Sec. 35.003. VACANCY. In the event of a vacancy, the
1-47 governor shall appoint a replacement to fill the unexpired portion
1-48 of the term.
1-49 Sec. 35.004. PRESIDING OFFICER. The governor shall
1-50 designate a member of the commission as the presiding officer to
1-51 serve in that capacity at the pleasure of the governor. The
1-52 presiding officer may vote on all matters before the commission.
1-53 Sec. 35.005. QUALIFICATIONS. (a) Each member must be a
1-54 registered voter of the state.
1-55 (b) A member of the commission may not hold any other public
1-56 office or be an employee of any state department, agency, board, or
1-57 commission during the member's tenure on the commission.
2-1 (c) A person may not serve as a member of the commission or
2-2 act as the general counsel to the commission if the person is
2-3 required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305 because of the
2-4 person's activities for compensation on behalf of a profession
2-5 related to the operation of the commission.
2-6 (d) The governor shall make appointments to the commission
2-7 without regard to the race, color, disability, sex, religion, age,
2-8 or national origin of the appointees.
2-9 Sec. 35.006. REMOVAL. (a) It is grounds for removal from
2-10 the commission that a member:
2-11 (1) does not have at the time of appointment the
2-12 qualifications required by Section 35.005;
2-13 (2) does not maintain during service on the commission
2-14 the qualifications required by Section 35.005;
2-15 (3) violates a prohibition established by Section
2-16 35.005(b) or (c);
2-17 (4) cannot because of illness or disability discharge
2-18 the member's duties for a substantial part of the term for which
2-19 the member is appointed; or
2-20 (5) is absent from more than half of the regularly
2-21 scheduled meetings that the member is eligible to attend during a
2-22 calendar year unless the absence is excused by majority vote of the
2-23 commission.
2-24 (b) The validity of an action of the commission is not
2-25 affected by the fact that it was taken while a ground for removal
2-26 of a member of the commission existed.
2-27 Sec. 35.007. ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT. (a) The Office of
2-28 Court Administration shall provide administrative support for the
2-29 commission. The commission is entitled to receive staff support,
2-30 meeting facilities, temporary work facilities, including computer,
2-31 telephone, reproduction, and facsimile equipment, available data,
2-32 and other resources from the Office of Court Administration as
2-33 necessary to carry out the commission's powers and duties.
2-34 (b) The Office of Court Administration shall grant all
2-35 reasonable requests for staff support and resources under this
2-36 section.
2-37 Sec. 35.008. COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENT. (a) A member
2-38 of the commission may not receive compensation for the member's
2-39 service on the commission.
2-40 (b) The Office of Court Administration shall reimburse a
2-41 member for all actual and reasonable expenses incurred in the
2-42 exercise of powers and performance of duties under this chapter.
2-43 (c) A member shall follow the reimbursement procedures of
2-44 the Office of Court Administration.
2-45 (Sections 35.009 to 35.100 reserved for expansion
2-46 SUBCHAPTER B. POWERS AND DUTIES
2-47 Sec. 35.101. MEETINGS. The commission shall meet, either in
2-48 person or by teleconference, at the call of the presiding officer
2-49 or at the request of a majority of the members.
2-50 Sec. 35.102. INVESTIGATIONS. Each member of the commission
2-51 who is a member in good standing of the State Bar of Texas, and
2-52 each member of the State Bar of Texas who is designated by the
2-53 commission to serve, on a pro bono basis, as counsel to the
2-54 commission, has the power to administer oaths, to take testimony,
2-55 and to compel the attendance of witnesses located in this state and
2-56 the production of all books, papers, records, or documents
2-57 reasonably considered by the member or the counsel to be material
2-58 or pertinent to any subject within the scope of the studies and
2-59 investigations of the commission.
2-60 Sec. 35.103. BIENNIAL REPORTS. (a) Not later than December
2-61 1 of each even-numbered year, the commission shall make a biennial
2-62 report to the legislature. In the report, the commission shall
2-63 recommend the proper salaries to be paid by the state for all
2-64 justices and judges of the supreme court, the court of criminal
2-65 appeals, the courts of appeal, and the district courts.
2-66 (b) In recommending the proper salaries for all justices and
2-67 judges of the supreme court, the court of criminal appeals, the
2-68 courts of appeal, and the district courts, the commission shall
2-69 consider the following factors:
3-1 (1) the skill and experience required of the
3-2 particular judgeship at issue;
3-3 (2) the time required of the particular judgeship at
3-4 issue;
3-5 (3) the value of compensable service performed by
3-6 justices and judges, as determined by reference to judicial
3-7 compensation in other states and the federal government;
3-8 (4) the value of comparable service performed in the
3-9 private sector, including private judging, arbitration, and
3-10 mediation;
3-11 (5) the compensation of attorneys in the private
3-12 sector;
3-13 (6) the cost of living and changes in the cost of
3-14 living;
3-15 (7) the overall compensation presently received by
3-16 other public officials in the state, including:
3-17 (A) state constitutional officeholders;
3-18 (B) deans, presidents, and chancellors of the
3-19 public university systems;
3-20 (C) district attorneys; and
3-21 (D) chiefs of police, county attorneys, and city
3-22 attorneys in major metropolitan areas for which that information is
3-23 readily available;
3-24 (8) other factors that are normally or traditionally
3-25 taken into consideration in the determination of judicial
3-26 compensation; and
3-27 (9) most importantly, the level of overall
3-28 compensation adequate to attract the most highly qualified
3-29 individuals in the state, from a diversity of life and professional
3-30 experiences, to serve in the judiciary without unreasonable
3-31 economic hardship and with judicial independence unaffected by
3-32 financial concerns.
3-33 Sec. 35.104. BINDING NATURE OF REPORT. (a) The
3-34 recommendations made by the commission in its biennial report to
3-35 the legislature are binding and have full force of law on September
3-36 1 following the delivery of the report to the lieutenant governor,
3-37 the speaker of the house of representatives, and the members and
3-38 members-elect of the legislature, if neither the senate nor the
3-39 house of representatives, by majority vote, rejects the
3-40 recommendations before the 180th day after the date on which the
3-41 report is delivered.
3-42 (b) The comptroller shall make payments for the recommended
3-43 salaries unless either the senate or the house of representatives
3-44 rejects the recommendations as provided by Subsection (a).
3-45 SECTION 2. Section 659.011, Government Code, is amended to
3-46 read as follows:
3-47 Sec. 659.011. SALARIES SET IN APPROPRIATIONS ACT. Except as
3-48 provided by Chapter 35, the [The] salaries of all state officers
3-49 and employees are in the amounts provided by the biennial
3-50 appropriations act.
3-51 SECTION 3. Section 659.012, Government Code, is repealed.
3-52 SECTION 4. In appointing the initial members of the Judicial
3-53 Compensation Commission, the governor shall appoint one person to a
3-54 term expiring February 1, 1999, one person to a term expiring
3-55 February 1, 2001, and one person to a term expiring February 1,
3-56 2003.
3-57 SECTION 5. This Act takes effect on the date on which the
3-58 constitutional amendment proposed by __J.R. No. ___, 75th
3-59 Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, takes effect. If that
3-60 amendment is not approved by the voters, this Act has no effect.
3-61 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the
3-62 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-63 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-64 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-65 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
3-66 * * * * *