HB 1181 Texas House · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to the assignment of certain retired and former justices and judges.

HB 1181 amends Texas law to allow the chief justice of the Supreme Court to assign retired or former justices and judges to active appellate courts without requiring a vacancy. To qualify, individuals must have served at least 72 months (with 48 in appellate court), certify no judicial misconduct history, complete annual education requirements, and agree to recusal from cases involving former clients or attorney work in their assigned court for two years. The bill directly affects retired judges who meet these criteria, enabling them to fill temporary judicial roles. This policy change aims to address judicial staffing needs while maintaining ethical safeguards.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

May 2025

House Passage

May 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 7, 2025 Last action May 8, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Engrossed · 5 edits · May 8, 2025

MODERATE

This bill updates the eligibility requirements for assigning retired or former Texas judges and justices to active service. The main substantive change is the addition of a new requirement that eligible judges must not have resigned or retired after being notified of a misconduct investigation, unless they were not publicly reprimanded as a result. This strengthens ethical standards for judicial assignments.

Scope change

The bill applies to the assignment of retired and former justices and judges under Sections 74.003(b), 74.041(6), and 74.055(c) of the Government Code, effective 91 days after the legislative session ends.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a new eligibility requirement that judges must not have resigned or retired after receiving notice of a misconduct investigation, unless they were not publicly reprimanded as a result of that investigation.

Updated service experience requirements to specify 72 months (with 48 months in appellate court) for justices and judges, with an alternative option of 72 months in statutory probate or county courts for retired judges.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement for judges to certify their willingness not to appear as attorneys in courts where they are assigned for two years.

Added a requirement for judges to certify they will not hear cases involving current or former clients for the duration of their assignment.

TECHNICAL

Removed extraneous text including bill tracking numbers, metadata, and formatting artifacts from the original draft.

Floor votes · House May 8, 2025

How they voted

126–19

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 146

May 8, 2025

D Democratic60

57 Yea 2 Nay 1

95% Yea

R Republican86

69 Yea 17 Nay

80% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 8, 2025

Introduced

Received from the House

upper

May 8, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed

lower

May 7, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed to engrossment

lower

May 1, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report sent to Calendars

lower

May 1, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report distributed

lower

Apr 24, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)

lower

Apr 2, 2025

Lower · Passed

Left pending in committee

lower

Apr 2, 2025

Lower · Passed

Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee

lower

Mar 7, 2025

Committee

Referred to Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

lower

Mar 7, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

lower

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors