| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to recusal of a justice of the supreme court or judge of |
|
|
the court of criminal appeals based on political contributions |
|
|
accepted by the justice or judge from a person involved in a case |
|
|
before the justice or judge. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 22, Government Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Section 22.303 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 22.303. RECUSAL OF JUSTICE OR JUDGE BECAUSE OF |
|
|
ACCEPTANCE OF POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS. (a) Except as provided by |
|
|
Subsection (d), a justice of the supreme court or judge of the court |
|
|
of criminal appeals shall recuse himself or herself from any case in |
|
|
which the justice or judge has in the preceding four years accepted |
|
|
political contributions, as defined by Section 251.001, Election |
|
|
Code, in a total amount of $2,500 or more from: |
|
|
(1) a party to the case; |
|
|
(2) an attorney of record in the case; |
|
|
(3) the law firm of an attorney of record in the case; |
|
|
(4) the managing agent of a party to the case; |
|
|
(5) a member of the board of directors of a party to |
|
|
the case; or |
|
|
(6) a general-purpose committee, as defined by Section |
|
|
251.001, Election Code, that is established or administered by a |
|
|
person who is a party to the case. |
|
|
(b) For purposes of this section, a political contribution |
|
|
made by a person to a general-purpose committee that makes a |
|
|
political contribution to a justice or judge is considered to be a |
|
|
political contribution made directly by the person to the justice |
|
|
or judge. The total amount of political contributions considered |
|
|
under this subsection to have been made directly from the person to |
|
|
the justice or judge during the period specified by Subsection (a) |
|
|
is equal to the lesser of: |
|
|
(1) the total amount of political contributions the |
|
|
person made to the general-purpose committee during that period; or |
|
|
(2) the total amount of political contributions the |
|
|
general-purpose committee made to the justice or judge during that |
|
|
period. |
|
|
(c) A party filing any motion, brief, or pleading before the |
|
|
supreme court or court of criminal appeals must disclose in writing |
|
|
to the court each political contribution made in the four years |
|
|
preceding the date the motion, brief, or pleading is filed to a |
|
|
justice or judge of that court by: |
|
|
(1) the party; |
|
|
(2) a person affiliated with the party as described by |
|
|
Subsection (a)(2), (3), (4), (5), or (6); or |
|
|
(3) a general-purpose committee to whom the party or a |
|
|
person affiliated with the party has made a political contribution |
|
|
during that period. |
|
|
(d) A justice or judge is not required to recuse himself or |
|
|
herself from a case as provided by Subsection (a) if each party in |
|
|
the case who is in opposition to the party who made the political |
|
|
contribution, or with whom the person who made the political |
|
|
contribution is affiliated, agrees to waive the required recusal. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 22.303, Government Code, as added by |
|
|
this Act, applies only to a political contribution accepted on or |
|
|
after the effective date of this Act. A political contribution |
|
|
accepted before the effective date of this Act is governed by the |
|
|
law in effect on the date the contribution is accepted, and the |
|
|
former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
|
|
SECTION 3. 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. |