79R11062 QS-D
By: Naishtat H.B. No. 3519
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the appointment of temporary justices of the peace in
certain counties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 27.055, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (c), (d), and (e) and adding Subsection (f) to
read as follows:
(c) In Subsections [Subsection] (b) and (f), "qualified
person" means a person who has served as a justice of the peace for
not less than 4 1/2 years and who has not been convicted of a
criminal offense that involves moral turpitude.
(d) A person appointed under Subsection (b) or (f) may
reside in a county other than the county in which the person is
appointed as a temporary justice of the peace.
(e) The county judge may appoint any qualified voter under
Section 11.002, Election Code, to serve as a temporary justice of
the peace if the judge or the judge's designee, as applicable,
cannot find a qualified person who agrees to serve under Subsection
(b) or (f).
(f) In a county that has a population of more than 800,000
and that has not more than five justices of the peace, the county
judge or the judge's designee may appoint a qualified person to
serve as a temporary justice of the peace to hold court when
necessary to dispose of accumulated business in the precinct.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.