SB2127

Regular Session

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

LowStandard timeline

Low Cost

Effective:2025-09-01

Enforcing Agencies

Supreme Court of Texas (Chief Justice) • Administrative Judicial Regions (Presiding Judges)

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: September 1, 2025
Compliance Deadline: September 1, 2025 (Protocols must be active for any visiting judge assigned on/after this date).
Agency Rulemaking: The Supreme Court of Texas is not explicitly required to create new rules, but we anticipate the Chief Justice will issue updated certification forms for retired judges prior to the effective date.

Immediate Action Plan

1. Audit Outside Counsel: Identify any external counsel who serve as retired/visiting judges and map their judicial regions against your active litigation venues.
2. Update Litigation Checklists: Add a mandatory step for local counsel to request the SB2127 Certification for any visiting judge assigned after September 1, 2025.
3. Review Mediation Rosters: Ensure retired judges hired for ADR are not currently sitting as visiting judges in the same jurisdiction on related matters.
4. Distribute Memo: Forward the "Former Client" definition risk to your litigation department to prevent "home-cooked" judgments by opposing counsel using friendly visiting judges.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Outside Counsel Guidelines (OCGs): You must amend engagement letters with law firms employing retired judges.
New Clause: Require firms to disclose if their attorney-judges accept judicial assignments in the same Administrative Judicial Region where they represent your company. Under SB2127, an attorney cannot practice in the courts of a region where they also sit as a visiting judge.
Risk: If your lead counsel accepts a judicial assignment in your region, they may be statutorily barred from appearing as your attorney for two years.

Hiring/Training

Litigation Team Training: In-house counsel and local counsel must be trained to request and review the "Certification of Willingness" from any assigned visiting judge immediately upon assignment.
Vetting Protocol: Teams must verify that the visiting judge has not represented the opposing party as a "former client."

Reporting & Record-Keeping

Conflict Waivers: If a visiting judge discloses a former client relationship with your entity (or the opposition) and you wish to proceed, you must execute a formal, on-the-record waiver immediately.
Assignment Verification: Maintain a log of visiting judges' certifications to ensure they are not actively pleading/appearing as attorneys in the same Administrative Judicial Region.

Fees & Costs

No Direct Fee Increases: There are no statutory fee increases.
Potential Cost: Failure to identify a "former client" conflict early could result in a mistrial or a vacated judgment on appeal, significantly increasing litigation costs.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

"Former Client" Look-Back Period: The statute requires judges to certify they will not hear matters involving a "former client," but fails to define a time limit (e.g., 5 years vs. lifetime). Until the Supreme Court clarifies, businesses must assume any prior representation by the judge constitutes grounds for disqualification.
"Willingness" vs. Jurisdiction: The law requires a certification of *willingness* not to hear conflicting matters. It is unclear if a judgment is automatically void if a judge *unintentionally* hears a case involving a former client, or if the burden remains on the parties to object.

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsCourts Courts--judges Supreme Court

Official Analysis

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BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 2127
89R117 AMF-F	By: Zaffirini
	Jurisprudence
	3/31/2025
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

The Texas judicial system is experiencing a substantial backlog of civil and criminal cases, with a three-year or longer backlog in criminal cases alone. Appointed visiting judges often are utilized to alleviate these case backlogs. These judges can fill unforeseen judicial vacancies, handle cases that regular courts cannot manage without causing delays, and help alleviate the burden on already overwhelmed courts.

S.B. 2127 would help mitigate the statewide case backlog to ensure Texans have timely access to justice by reducing the time a retired or former judges must have served to be eligible for appointment as visiting judges from 96 months to 72 months.

As proposed, S.B. 2127 amends current law relating to the assignment of certain retired and former justices and judges.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 74.003(b), Government Code, as follows:

(b)� Requires a former or retired justice or judge, to be eligible for assignment under this subsection, to:

(1) have served as an active justice or judge for at least 72, rather than 96, months in a district, statutory probate, statutory county, or appellate court, with at least 48 of those months in an appellate court;

(2)-(3) makes no changes to these subdivisions;

(4) makes a nonsubstantive change to this subdivision;

(5) certify to the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas a willingness not to appear and plead as an attorney in any court of appeals in this state or district, statutory probate, or statutory county court in a county under the jurisdiction of the appellate court to which the justice or judge is assigned for a period of two years; and

(6) certify to the chief justice a willingness not to hear any matter involving a party who is a current or former client of the justice or judge for the duration of the assignment.

SECTION 2. Amends Section 74.041(6), Government Code, to redefine "retired judge."

SECTION 3. Amends Section 74.055(c), Government Code, as follows:

(c) Requires a retired or former judge, to be eligible to be named on the list of retired and former judges subject to assignment, to:

(1) have served as an active judge for at least 72, rather than 96, months in a district, statutory probate, statutory county, or appellate court;

(2)-(4) makes no changes to these subdivisions;

(5) makes a nonsubstantive change to this subdivision;

(6) certify to the presiding judge a willingness not to appear and plead as an attorney in any court in the administrative judicial region in which the judge is assigned for a period of two years, rather than any court in this state, for a period of two years; and

(7) certify to the presiding judge a willingness not to hear any matter involving a party who is a current or former client of the judge for the duration of the assignment.

SECTION 4. Makes application of Sections 74.003(b), 74.041(6), and 74.055(c), Government Code, as amended by this Act, prospective.

SECTION 5. Effective date: the 91st day after the last day of the legislative session.

Senate Authors

Sen. Judith ZaffiriniDemocrat · Primary Author

House Sponsors

Rep. Richard RaymondDemocrat · Primary Sponsor

Joint Sponsors

Trey Martinez Fischer (D)

Bill Text(with markup)

S.B. No. 2127

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

	AN ACT
	relating to the assignment of certain retired and former justices
	and judges.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 74.003(b), Government Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(b) The chief justice of the supreme court may assign a
	qualified former or retired justice or judge of the supreme court,
	of the court of criminal appeals, or of a court of appeals to a court
	of appeals for active service regardless of whether a vacancy
	exists in the court to which the justice or judge is assigned. To be
	eligible for assignment under this subsection, a former or retired
	justice or judge must:
	(1) have served as an active justice or judge for at
	least 72 [96] months in a district, statutory probate, statutory
	county, or appellate court, with at least 48 of those months in an
	appellate court;
	(2) not have been removed from office;
	(3) certify under oath to the chief justice of the
	supreme court, on a form prescribed by the chief justice, that:
	(A) the justice or judge has never been publicly
	reprimanded or censured by the State Commission on Judicial
	Conduct; and
	(B) the justice or judge:
	(i) did not resign or retire from office
	after the State Commission on Judicial Conduct notified the justice
	or judge of the commencement of a full investigation into an
	allegation or appearance of misconduct or disability of the justice
	or judge as provided in Section 33.022 and before the final
	disposition of that investigation; or
	(ii) if the justice or judge did resign from
	office under circumstances described by Subparagraph (i), the
	justice or judge was not publicly reprimanded or censured as a
	result of the investigation;
	(4) annually demonstrate that the justice or judge has
	completed in the past state fiscal year the educational
	requirements for active appellate court justices or judges; [~~and~~]
	(5) certify to the chief justice of the supreme court a
	willingness not to appear and plead as an attorney in any court of
	appeals in this state or district, statutory probate, or statutory
	county court in a county under the jurisdiction of the appellate
	court to which the justice or judge is assigned for a period of two
	years; and
	(6) certify to the chief justice a willingness not to
	hear any matter involving a party who is a current or former client
	of the justice or judge for the duration of the assignment.
	SECTION 2. Section 74.041(6), Government Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(6) "Retired judge" means:
	(A) a retiree; or
	(B) a person who served as an active judge for at
	least 72 [96] months in a statutory probate or statutory county
	court and has retired under the Texas County and District
	Retirement System.
	SECTION 3. Section 74.055(c), Government Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(c) To be eligible to be named on the list, a retired or
	former judge must:
	(1) have served as an active judge for at least 72 [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 the
	administrative judicial region in which the judge is assigned [~~this~~
	~~state~~] for a period of two years; and
	(7) certify to the presiding judge a willingness not
	to hear any matter involving a party who is a current or former
	client of the judge for the duration of the assignment.
	SECTION 4. Sections 74.003(b), 74.041(6), and 74.055(c),
	Government Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to the
	assignment of a justice or judge on or after the effective date of
	this Act. The assignment of a justice or judge before the effective
	date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date of the
	assignment, and the former law is continued in effect for that
	purpose.
	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
	last day of the legislative session.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 89TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


April 8, 2025

TO:	Honorable Bryan Hughes, Chair, Senate Committee on Jurisprudence

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	SB2127 by Zaffirini (Relating to the assignment of certain retired and former justices and judges.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

It is assumed that any costs associated with the bill could be absorbed using existing resources.

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council

LBB Staff:

JMc, KDw, NTh

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about SB2127

What does Texas SB2127 do?

SB2127 alters the eligibility and conflict-of-interest standards for retired "visiting" judges in Texas courts. While it expands the pool of available judges by lowering service requirements, it creates strict new disqualification protocols regarding a judge's former clients and geographic practice areas. This directly impacts litigation strategy, requiring immediate updates to outside counsel vetting procedures to prevent conflicts that could void judgments or disqualify your chosen legal representation.

Who authored SB2127?

SB2127 was authored by Texas Senator Judith Zaffirini during the Regular Session.

When was SB2127 signed into law?

SB2127 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.

Which agencies enforce SB2127?

SB2127 is enforced by Supreme Court of Texas (Chief Justice) and Administrative Judicial Regions (Presiding Judges).

How urgent is compliance with SB2127?

The compliance urgency for SB2127 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

What is the cost impact of SB2127?

The cost impact of SB2127 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

What topics does SB2127 address?

SB2127 addresses topics including courts, courts--judges and supreme court.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025

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