85R4938 CAE-D
 
  By: White H.B. No. 650
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to qualifications to serve as a retired judge and
  eligibility of a retired or former judge for assignment in certain
  proceedings.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 74.041(6), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
               (6)  "Retired judge" means:
                     (A)  a retiree; or
                     (B)  a person who served as an active judge for at
  least 48 [96] months in a statutory probate or statutory county
  court and has retired under the Texas County and District
  Retirement System.
         SECTION 2.  Section 74.055(c), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (c)  To be eligible to be named on the list, a retired or
  former judge must:
               (1)  have served as an active judge for at least 48 [96]
  months in a district, statutory probate, statutory county, or
  appellate court;
               (2)  have developed substantial experience in the
  judge's area of specialty;
               (3)  not have been removed from office;
               (4)  certify under oath to the presiding judge, on a
  form prescribed by the state board of regional judges, that:
                     (A)  the judge has never been publicly reprimanded
  or censured by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct; and
                     (B)  the judge:
                           (i)  did not resign or retire from office
  after the State Commission on Judicial Conduct notified the judge
  of the commencement of a full investigation into an allegation or
  appearance of misconduct or disability of the judge as provided in
  Section 33.022 and before the final disposition of that
  investigation; or
                           (ii)  if the judge did resign from office
  under circumstances described by Subparagraph (i), was not publicly
  reprimanded or censured as a result of the investigation;
               (5)  annually demonstrate that the judge has completed
  in the past state fiscal year the educational requirements for
  active district, statutory probate, and statutory county court
  judges; and
               (6)  certify to the presiding judge a willingness not
  to appear and plead as an attorney in any court in this state for a
  period of two years.
         SECTION 3.  This Act applies only to the appointment of a
  retired or visiting judge that occurs on or after the effective date
  of this Act. The appointment of a retired or visiting judge before
  the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when
  the judge was appointed, and that law is continued in effect for
  that purpose.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2017.