BILL ANALYSIS
By: King, Phil
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Justices of the Peace and attorneys are each subject to continuing education requirements. Justices of the Peace, however, are not always attorneys. The purpose of the bill is to relieve justices of the peace who are attorneys and have completed the required continuing legal education from certain additional education requirements imposed on justices of the peace.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
The bill would amend the Government Code to add a provision providing a credit against the required hours of continuing education requirement for justices of the peace for any hours of continuing legal education completed year by a justice of the peace who is also a licensed attorney.
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2007.
COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE
The original bill eliminated all additional continuing education requirements for lawyer-justices who complete the minimum continuing legal education in any year, while the substitute maintains some of the existing judicial education requirement by merely giving a credit.