Video & Transcript Research : 'Judges'

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TX
Transcript Highlights:
  • appointment as visiting judges from eight years to six years, and prevent visiting judges from practicing
  • Currently, most uncontested probate cases are heard by the county judge.
  • to hear a contested case, the county judge is required to assign the case to a traveling judge.
  • There are only 12 counties with a permanent probate judge out of 254.
  • traveling probate judge, they will have to pay for it.
TX

Texas 89th Regular

Jurisprudence (Part I) Apr 9th, 2025

Jurisprudence

Transcript Highlights:
  • Judges from 8 years to 6 years prevent visiting judges from practicing in their assigned judicial region
  • Senate Bill 302 traveling probate judge reimbursement is a rural county.
  • to hear a contested case, the county judge is required to assign the case to a traveling judge.
  • So, um, it costs, local, there's only 12 counties with a permanent probate judge.
  • A traveling probate judge, they're going to have to pay it.
TX
Transcript Highlights:
  • The only case currently is a first court of appeals case where the judge went outside of the code and
  • The first court of appeals told the judge he had abused his discretion, and that case... ...needs to
  • The guidelines give the judges no discretion on how to try the case when the trucking company... ...is
  • When it got back to the judge, it had been forensically wiped clean.
  • Judge Lindsey, later Senator Lindsey, worked on it. The county did it with citizens' approval.
TX
Transcript Highlights:
  • Senate Bill 2141 discusses specialty license plates for state and federal judges.
  • Current law requires specialty license plates issued to state and federal judges to display "state judge
  • " or "U.S. judge" providing clear identification.
  • This requirement, however, creates a security risk by making judges easily identifiable.
  • officials, particularly the United States Marshal Service, are concerned that this visibility makes judges
TX

Texas 89th Regular

S/C on County & Regional Government Mar 10th, 2025

S/C on County & Regional Government

Transcript Highlights:
  • County judges or the committee they designate can collaborate with an institution of higher learning.
  • House Bill 467 permits the county judges to place a dis- lose an election, on the ballot, and if approved
  • I did meet with our judges, county judges. met with the prosecutor.
NM

New Mexico 2026 Regular Session

House - Government, Elections And Indian Affairs Jan 28th, 2026 at 08:36 am

House Government, Elections & Indian Affairs

Transcript Highlights:
  • He's a professor, and he's a district judge. That's a lot of jobs just in between me and him.
  • “I'm Judge Jane Levy. I am a judge at the Second Judicial District Court in the family division.
  • “And I think we should have the fifth judicial—excuse me, the fifth judge added for family court.
  • That meant there was federal judge oversight of the operation.
  • That meant there was federal judge oversight of the operation.
Bills: HB70, HB93, HB95, HB139, HB140, HJR4
TX

Texas 89th Regular

Jurisprudence Apr 9th, 2025

Jurisprudence

Transcript Highlights:
  • appointment as visiting judges from eight years to six years, prevent visiting judges from practicing
  • Currently, most uncontested probate cases are heard by the county judge.
  • case, the county judge is required to assign the case to a traveling judge.
  • There's only 12 counties with a permanent probate judge. Out of 2,154, there's a...
  • Only 12 counties with a permanent probate judge.
Summary: The committee heard several probate, family law, judicial, property, and contract-related bills. Senate Bill 1335, relating to decedents’ estates, would remove outdated references to a clerk’s certificate, allow courts to remove personal representatives on their own motion with notice by qualified delivery method, and add independent administrators to provisions that referenced only independent executors; an estate-planning attorney testified in support, and the bill was left pending. Senate Bill 1760, concerning guardianship transfer fees and procedures, was described as setting a $45 filing fee for transferred guardianship cases and clarifying completion and dismissal procedures; it received no testimony and was left pending. Senate Bill 2127 would shorten the eligibility period for retired judges to serve as visiting judges from eight years to six, restrict practice in their assigned region for two years, and require conflict-related certification; it also was left pending without testimony. Senate Bill 302 would shift the cost of a traveling probate judge to the requesting estate or parties rather than the county; one witness registered in favor, no one testified, and the bill was left pending. The committee then considered a committee substitute for Senate Bill 252, which would clarify the parental presumption in conservatorship cases, require non-parents seeking relief against a parent to file an affidavit showing significant impairment to the child if relief is denied, require courts to state specific findings when overcoming the presumption, confirm the clear-and-convincing standard, and clarify that agreed prior orders do not defeat the presumption. The substitute was explained as consensus language from a work group, public testimony was reopened, and the bill was left pending. Senate Bill 1734, on deed fraud, would create a streamlined ex parte process for property owners to have fraudulent deeds declared void, modeled on the fraudulent lien statute; county clerk and title association representatives testified that it would provide a low-cost self-help remedy for a growing problem, and the bill was left pending subject to the chair. Senate Bill 1975 would prevent Texas contractors from being forced to litigate disputes in foreign jurisdictions and require disputes to be handled in the county where the project is located; it was presented as a repeat of a previously vetoed bill and was left pending. Finally, the committee took up a substitute for Senate Bill 1940, concerning transfer-on-death style beneficiary designations for manufactured homes. The substitute would allow one or more beneficiaries instead of only one, transfer the interest to surviving designated beneficiaries who survive by 120 hours, extend the application period for transfer to 365 days, void the designation if not timely filed, and require mailing by certified or registered mail with return receipt requested. The substitute was adopted without objection. The committee then recessed subject to the call of the chair.
LA

Louisiana 2026 Regular Session

Retirement Apr 29th, 2026

Retirement

Transcript Highlights:
  • Senate Bill 456 by Senator Talbot provides for the compensation of assigned retired judges.
  • It codifies current practices on ad hoc judges and improves some definitions.
  • Ad hoc judges are retired judges, as you all probably know, appointed to serve in lower courts when there
  • The chairman's pay remains tied to that of a Court of Appeal judge, which includes standard salary plus
  • The chairman's pay remains tied to that of a Court of Appeal judge, which includes standard salary plus
Summary: The Retirement Committee met on April 29, 2026, established a quorum, and heard a series of retirement-related bills, mostly cleanup or technical measures affecting various public retirement systems. SB 22 would extend Municipal Employees Retirement System eligibility to certain positions in the Second City Court constable’s office in New Orleans. SB 17 would create a funding deposit account for cost-of-living adjustments for registrars of voters’ employees’ retirement system. SB 455 would allow certain district and parish courts to participate in the Parochial Employees Retirement System. SB 456 would update compensation rules for assigned retired judges, and SB 8 would add the Louisiana Asset Management Pool as a participating employer in MERS. All of these bills were described as aligning statutes with current practice or expanding participation options, and each was reported favorably without objection. The committee also heard several Louisiana State Police retirement bills. SB 10 would repeal outdated priority allocation and retiree raise rules and adjust handling of surplus employee contributions; SB 11 would increase the funding cap for benefit increases from 2.5% to 3.5%; and SB 12 would update membership and definition language to reflect the State Police Commission rather than the Civil Service Commission. SB 18 would repeal a special exception allowing certain MERS retirees to return to part-time work while collecting full benefits, while protecting roughly 30 current participants. SB 20 and SB 21 would update actuarial gain/loss and unfunded liability funding rules for school employees’ retirement and LASERS, respectively, in light of the new permanent benefit increase funding structure. Each of these bills was supported by system officials as cleanup or modernization measures and was reported favorably. The committee spent the most time on education and return-to-work issues for teachers and public employees. SB 16 would reduce annual trustee training requirements for retirement system boards from 16 hours back to 12 hours, which witnesses said would better fit smaller systems and match the original intent of the law. SB 13 would similarly update TRSL’s actuarial funding rules after the sunset of the experience account. SB 14, based on a 2025 study work group, would consolidate and simplify TRSL return-to-work rules and expand options for retired teachers, with witnesses emphasizing teacher shortages and the need to retain experienced educators. All three were reported favorably. Finally, SB 416 would allow certain Department of Public Safety and Corrections retirees to return to critical shortage positions after one year, and SB 477 would classify the chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board as a full-time state employee for retirement purposes. Both bills drew questions and discussion, especially SB 416, and both were reported favorably. The chair announced the committee’s next meeting would be moved from Monday to Tuesday, and the meeting adjourned.
FL

Florida 2026 Regular Session

Appropriations Feb 18th, 2026

Appropriations

Transcript Highlights:
  • Under tab 8, we have SPB-2512 by appropriations relating to judges.
  • Relating to judges. Senator Garcia is recognized to explain the proposed bill.
  • The Senate proposal aligns with the Florida Supreme Court certification of need for additional judges
  • for fiscal year 2026-27, authorizing 13 new circuit court judges and 12 new county court judges.
Summary: The committee heard presentations on the Senate’s proposed 2026-2027 budget, SPB 2500, with chairs outlining major spending in K-12 education, higher education, health and human services, criminal and civil justice, transportation/tourism/economic development, and agriculture/environment/general government. Highlights included a $115 billion overall budget, pay raises for state employees and public safety workers, major K-12 funding increases and enrollment supplements, higher education workforce and nursing investments, expanded Medicaid/KidCare and behavioral health funding, corrections and law enforcement operational funding, transportation and housing investments, and significant environmental and water quality spending. Members asked about civic education funding, declining enrollment, professor retention, APD waiver waitlists, cultural grant allocations, and other line items. Public testimony also addressed HIV/AIDS drug assistance funding and prison air conditioning. SPB 2500 was adopted as a committee bill after amendment consideration and a roll call vote. The committee then took up implementing and related budget bills, including SPB 2502 (implementing the General Appropriations Act), SPB 2504 (state employee bargaining placeholder), SB 7028 (Florida Retirement System contribution rates and related retirement changes), SPB 2506 (fuel tax distributions), SPB 2508 (state agency law enforcement radio system surcharge), SPB 2510 (termination of an unused court trust fund), SPB 2512 (new judgeships), SPB 2514 (K-12 conforming changes), SPB 2516 (higher education conforming changes), and SPB 2518 (health conforming changes). Most were explained as technical or conforming measures tied to the budget, and all were reported favorably as committee bills, with SB 7028 amended to direct a portion of increased contributions to disability and line-of-duty death benefits in the FRS investment plan. The committee also heard and passed several member bills, including CS for SB 1074 on rounding rules for cash transactions in a world without pennies, CS for SB 678 restoring the alcohol loss deduction framework for distributors, and SB 964 on firefighter cancer benefits and prevention. SB 964 drew the most discussion, with questions about the one-year death-benefit window, the separate $25,000 cancer diagnosis payment, and whether the bill could create gaps in coverage for firefighters diagnosed or dying just outside the new time limits. Firefighter representatives testified in support, saying the bill would provide clearer protections for members and families. All of these measures were reported favorably.
TX
Bills: SB9, SB7, SB17, SB4, SB1, HB4
Summary: The Senate briefly convened and received a message from the House stating that the House was taking a vote. No bills, motions, or substantive policy matters were discussed in the exchange. Pursuant to a previously adopted motion, the Senate then adjourned until 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 21.
TX
Transcript Highlights:
  • Under current law, the expedited process in which a county or district judge can apply for...
  • An expedited license to carry only applies to judges currently serving in those roles.
  • carry, retired county and district judges are not eligible.
  • an expedited license to carry permit if the retired judge served at least 48 months on the bench.
  • I'm an election judge.
TX
Transcript Highlights:
  • Many lawyers and judges disagree with that ruling.
  • If you've read Judges, for example, you know that it includes sexual assault and other abusive acts.
TX

Texas 89th Regular

State Affairs (Part II) May 15th, 2025

State Affairs

Transcript Highlights:
  • Many lawyers and judges disagree with that ruling. Nevertheless, this bill would respond to that.
  • If you've read Judges, for example, you know that it includes sexual assault and other abusive acts.
Summary: The committee took up House Bill 186, which would require social media platforms to verify users are 18 or older before allowing account creation. Invited witnesses in support, including Mary Elizabeth Castle and David Dunmoyer, argued the bill would protect children from harmful algorithms, addictive design, bullying, sexual exploitation, and mental health harms, and emphasized parental rights and the idea that minors should not enter binding contracts with platforms. Committee members questioned them about how algorithms work, whether parents could realistically monitor content, and whether the bill would still allow educational use; the witnesses said the bill was narrowly aimed at harmful social media use and not educational content. Public testimony on HB 186 was largely in opposition, though several student witnesses said they supported the bill’s goals but wanted the age lowered to 16 or the bill amended to allow parental consent or joint accounts. Opponents argued the bill would be ineffective because teens could bypass age checks, would cut off access to educational tools, school communications, recruiting and NIL opportunities, and would burden free speech and privacy. Some witnesses also said social media helps teens with mental health, community, and creative or professional opportunities, while others warned the bill could disproportionately harm disabled and marginalized users. After public testimony closed, HB 186 was left pending. The committee then heard House Bill 5138, which Chairman Hughes said would respond to a court ruling limiting the Attorney General’s authority to prosecute election crimes unless invited by local prosecutors by changing the statute to require AG prosecution. Public testimony on HB 5138 was brief and opposed by at least one witness who argued it would further erode local control and expand state preemption. The bill was left pending after testimony. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 3225, a library bill aimed at keeping sexually explicit books and materials out of children’s sections in municipal libraries and requiring age verification for checkout, including digital access, with parental consent and other revisions added in the House. Supporters said the bill would protect children from explicit material and keep such content in adult sections, while opponents argued it would amount to censorship, be costly and difficult to implement, and could be used to target LGBTQ+ or other marginalized content. Library workers, parents, students, and advocates testified that existing library sections already separate age-appropriate materials and that the bill could reduce access to books, burden libraries, and infringe on parental choice and free expression.