Texas Bar Journal • September 2025

The Legislative Update

Texas Judiciary

Written by Alfonso Charles and Megan LaVoie

The 89th Texas Legislature passed several bills that impact the way the Texas judiciary operates and how it is compensated. The following is a brief overview of some of the major legislation passed this session concerning the judiciary. All bills are effective September 1, 2025, unless otherwise indicated.

SB 293: Judicial Accountability and Compensation

SB 293 is extremely important to the Texas judiciary. This bill goes a long way to ensure that Texas judges are fairly compensated. The bill establishes timelines in which a judge must hear and rule on a motion for summary judgment. The bill also makes changes to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct (SCJC) and the grounds judges can be disciplined for.

• SB 293 provides the judiciary with a 25% increase to the base salary of a district judge. The bill raises the base salary from the current $140,000 to $175,000. The bill also keeps the current tier system in place with 10% increases for judges after four and eight years on the bench.¹ In addition, the maximum supplement that a county can pay a district judge increases from $18,000 to $25,000. All state judicial salaries are tied to the base salary of a district judge providing increases for appellate, constitutional county and statutory county supplements, and state associate judges.²

• SB 293 also requires that a court must either hear arguments on a motion for summary judgment or take the case by submission within 45 days after the response is filed. If the court considers the motion without oral argument, the court must record on the docket the date the court considered the motion. In addition, the court must issue a ruling on the motion no later than 90 days after the motion was argued or the court took it under submission. The “clerk of the court” is required to report the court’s compliance with these timelines to the Office of Court Administration (OCA) at least once per quarter.

• The bill adds additional items for which a judge may be disciplined. It adds “failure to meet deadlines, performance measures or standards, or clearance rate requirements set by statute, administrative rule, or binding court order” as a ground that a judge may be disciplined for. It further adds that a persistent or willful violation of Article 17.15 (setting bail), Code of Criminal Procedure; or a persistent or willful violation of Section 22.302(a) (use of teleconference technology) as an additional ground for discipline.

• The law establishes new time frames for how the SCJC should conduct the investigations and when it should rule on its cases. The bill also creates a seven-year statute of limitations for the SCJC.

• SB 293 requires that each district court judge report twice per year, by July 20 and by January 20 to the presiding judge of the administrative regions where they sit, the following information: (1) “the number of hours the judge presided over the judge’s court at the courthouse or another court facility”; and (2) “the number of hours the judge performed judicial duties other than those described” by above, “including the number of hours the judge: (A) performed case-related duties; (B) performed administrative tasks; and (C) completed continuing education.” The bill further requires the Supreme Court of Texas to draft rules on these reporting requirements.

• The bill makes significant changes to the supplements received by the local administrative district judges and chiefs of the appellate courts. The supplements had not been increased in more than 20 years. The supplements range between 3% and 7% of the judges’ or justices’ base salary.

• Finally, the bill delinks legislative retirement from the salary of a district judge going forward. The new law will require the Texas Ethics Commission to formulate a methodology for determining the amount of the annuity to be paid to a retired legislator.

SB 2127: Visiting Judges

SB 2127 makes changes to the number of years a judge must sit as an active judge or justice to be eligible to serve as an assigned or visiting judge. It also makes changes allowing a visiting judge to have a limited practice of law.

• SB 2127 reduces the number of months someone must serve as an active judge from 96 months to 72 months for them to be eligible to serve as a visiting judge.

• In addition, the new law allows a visiting judge to practice in a different administrative judicial region from the region they are assigned as a judge or a different appellate district if they are assigned as an appellate justice.

SB 9: Bail Reform

SB 9 builds upon the bail reform changes made in SB 6 during the second called special session of the 87th Legislature. The bill makes changes to the factors a court must consider when setting bail. In addition, it limits which magistrates can set bail in certain cases and provides a process for reviewing a bail decision.

• SB 9 makes changes to the public safety report, a document all judges must review before setting bail, to require that the report include if the defendant is on community supervision or parole, if the defendant has any outstanding warrants, and any current protective orders.

• The new law does not allow a magistrate appointed under Chapter 54, Texas Government Code to release on bail a defendant charged with a felony if the defendant was:

  °out on bail, parole, or community supervision for a felony offense at the time the new felony offense was alleged to have been committed;

  °has previously been finally convicted of two or more felony offenses for which the defendant was imprisoned in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice;

  °is subject to an immigration detainer issued by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement; or

  °is charged with committing the offenses of murder, capital murder, aggravated kidnapping, or aggravated sexual assault.

• SB 9 gives jurisdiction to a district judge to review and modify the bail decision made by a magistrate in the county who does not have jurisdiction to try the felony offense. The district judge must review the bail decision no later than the next business day after the request for review is filed.

• This bill grants the state the right to appeal the bail decision if the state believes the amount set is insufficient. The appeal is expedited and the court of appeals shall conduct a de novo review of the bail decision and may affirm, modify, or reject the bail decision and send it back to the court, with or without guidance.

SJR 5: Preventative Detention

SJR 5, if approved by voters, would amend the constitution to provide that a person accused of certain offenses punishable as a felony must be denied bail pending trial if the attorney representing the state demonstrates, “by a preponderance of the evidence after a hearing, that the granting of bail is insufficient to reasonably: (1) prevent the person’s willful nonappearance in court,” or (2) “by clear and convincing evidence, ensure the safety of the community, law enforcement, and the victim of the alleged offense.” This amendment will be presented to voters in an election for constitutional amendment on November 4, 2025.

HB 40: Business Court

HB 40 makes changes to the jurisdiction and governance of the Texas Business Court. The Business Court was created by the 88th Legislature and came online September 1, 2024.

• HB 40 clarifies the pay structure of the Business Court judges to ensure the judges are paid the same salary as a district judge with comparable years of service.

• The bill lowers the amount in controversy from S10 million to $5 million for matters that the Business Court has jurisdiction over. It further adds certain insurance and arbitration disputes to the Business Court jurisdiction.

• HB 40 moves Montgomery County from the 2nd Business Court Division to the 11th Business Court Division. In addition, the bill keeps the 2nd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, and 10th Business Court divisions in existence subject to funding by a future Legislature.

• The new law adds the Business Court to certain sections of the Texas Government Code and Civil Practice and Remedies Code that address the administration of the Business Court. In addition, it clarifies the duties of the administrative presiding judge of the Business Court.

• HB 40 establishes the procedure for the transfer of civil actions within the Business Court jurisdiction that commenced before September 1, 2024.

SB 387: Bonds for Probate and Guardianship Courts

SB 387 increases the minimum bond amount that a judge of a statutory county court presiding over guardianship or probate matters must execute to $500,000, regardless of the population of the county in which the court is located.

SB 2878: Omnibus Court Bill (Vetoed)

SB 2878, the omnibus court bill, was vetoed by the governor. On July 9, 2025, the governor issued a proclamation calling for a special session to begin on July 21, 2025. Eighteen items were included on the agenda, including legislation to address the following: Legislation, similar to SB 2878 from the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, relating to the operation and administration of the Judicial Department of state government.

ALFONSO CHARLES has served as judge of the 124th District Court in Gregg County since December 4, 2009. Prior to that, he served as the first judge of the County Court at Law #2 of Gregg County for almost seven years. Charles was appointed as the first presiding judge of 10th Administrative Judicial Region by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2018 and reappointed on February 22, 2022. He has served as chair of the Legislative Committee for the State Bar of Texas Judicial Section

MEGAN LAVOIE is the administrative director of the Texas Office of Court Administration and executive director of the Texas Judicial Council. She previously served as general counsel and communications director for state Sen. Robert Duncan and as senior director of advocacy for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. LaVoie is a graduate of Texas Tech University and St. Mary’s University School of Law.