SB664

SB664 adds common qualifications, bail-training requirements and oversight for appointed judicial officers under Government Code Chapter 54, and raises experience requirements for specified Chapter 54A associate judges. It is not a new qualification rule for every elected Texas judge. For Chapter 54 appointments, the general rule requires residence in Texas and the appointment county and at least five years licensed in Texas and in good standing with the State Bar, in addition to other applicable qualifications. Seven expressly listed appointment provisions instead use a two-year licensing-and-good-standing minimum. New Section 54.001 and listed exceptions.

Chapter 54 appointees may not have lost reelection to judicial office in the election immediately preceding appointment. They also may not have been removed through the listed processes—including abolition of their court—or resigned after notice of formal judicial-conduct proceedings and before final disposition. A past election loss is not an unlimited lifetime disqualification under the final new provision. Section 54.001(a)(3)–(5).

Covered Chapter 54 officers whose duties include setting, adjusting or revoking bail must comply with the existing Article 17.024 training requirements. Local administrative judges must ensure compliance with Chapter 54 and Article 15.17, which governs duties when arrested people appear before magistrates. Violations must be reported to the county commissioners court, regional presiding judge and Office of Court Administration; reporting to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct is required if the local administrative judge finds the referring court culpable. Sections 54.002–.003 and 74.092(a)(8-a); Referenced bail-training law; Referenced magistrate duties.

The act also permits removal under Article V, Section 24 of the Texas Constitution, in addition to other removal provisions. That constitutional route involves a district judge, written grounds and a jury finding; it is not automatic removal merely because a report was made. New Section 54.003(a); Texas Constitution, Article V, Section 24.

For Chapter 54A, Sections 54A.003 and 54A.103 move from four to five years of Texas law licensure. The attorney-experience route in Section 54A.305 adds five years of licensure while retaining four years of guardianship/protective-services experience; the separate judicial-assignment eligibility routes remain. Signed May 30, the act took effect September 1, 2025, but its changes apply only to appointments on or after that date. Earlier appointees remain governed by the law in effect at their appointment. Sections 12–14 and 17–18; History.