HB 4278

relating to the assignment as a visiting judge of certain retired
and former constitutional county court judges and justices of the
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1.  Section 74.054(a), Government Code, is amended
(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
(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
(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
(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
SECTION 2.  Section 74.055, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (c) and (e) and adding Subsection (d) to read
(c)  To be eligible to be named on the list, a retired or
(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
(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
(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
(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
(6)  certify to the presiding judge a willingness not
to appear and plead as an attorney in any court in this state for a
(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.