89R15614 BCH-D     By: Martinez Fischer H.B. No. 4278       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the assignment as a visiting judge of certain retired   and former constitutional county court judges and justices of the   peace.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 74.054(a), Government Code, is amended   to read as follows:          (a)  Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (c), the   following judges may be assigned as provided by this chapter by the   presiding judge of the administrative region in which the assigned   judge resides:                (1)  an active district, constitutional county, or   statutory county court judge in this state;                (2)  a senior judge who has consented to be subject to   assignment and who is on the list maintained by the presiding judge   under this chapter;                (3)  a former district or appellate judge, retired or   former statutory probate court judge, [or] retired or former   statutory county court judge, or, as applicable, a retired or   former constitutional county court judge or justice of the peace   who certifies to the presiding judge a willingness to serve and who   is on the list maintained by the presiding judge as required by this   chapter;                (4)  a retiree or a former judge whose last judicial   office before retirement was justice or judge of the supreme court,   the court of criminal appeals, or a court of appeals and who has   been assigned by the chief justice to the administrative judicial   region in which the retiree or former judge resides for   reassignment by the presiding judge of that region to a district or   statutory county court in the region; and                (5)  an active judge or justice of the supreme court,   the court of criminal appeals, or a court of appeals who has had   trial court experience.          SECTION 2.  Section 74.055, Government Code, is amended by   amending Subsections (c) and (e) and adding Subsection (d) to read   as follows:          (c)  To be eligible to be named on the list, a retired or   former judge must:                (1)  except as provided by Subsection (d), have served   as an active judge for at least 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.          (d)  If a presiding judge of an administrative region is   unable to name to the list a sufficient number of eligible retired   or former judges to dispose of the accumulated business in the   region, the presiding judge may consider service as a   constitutional county court judge or a justice of the peace toward   the 96-month active service requirement described by Subsection   (c)(1) when naming an eligible retired or former judge to the list.          (e)  For purposes of Subsections [Subsection] (c)(1) and   (d), a month of service is calculated as a calendar month or a   portion of a calendar month in which a judge was authorized by   election or appointment to preside.          SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.