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Senate advances bill expanding removal process for local officials to judges from other regions
Summary
The Senate advanced House Bill 27 15 to third reading after debate on expanding removal petitions to be heard by judges assigned from outside the affected county; objections focused on judicial workload and centralizing appointment authority.
Senator Middleton, State Senator, moved that the Senate take up House Bill 27 15, a proposal to expand the process for removing certain local elected officials from office.
The bill would expand removal provisions under chapter 87 to cover a broader set of local officials and require petitions for removal to be directed to the presiding judge of the administrative judicial region, who would appoint a judge from outside the affected county to preside over the case.
"This bill strengthens accountability for elected officials who are incompetent, unfit for office, or refuse to enforce state law," Middleton said, describing the measure as modelled on prior legislation affecting prosecutors.
Senator Menendez asked a series of questions about existing oversight and the need for the change, noting that judicial oversight already exists and asking whether the bill was necessary. Middleton replied that the measure mirrors the process adopted under House Bill 17 and "does not change anything in the law right now about the reasons for removal" but makes modifications to the process to ensure impartiality.
Menendez also questioned delegating assignment authority to presiding judges of the 11 administrative judicial regions. Middleton said the presiding judge would appoint a judge "not gonna be from the county in which that elected official . . . resides" to avoid local influence. Menendez asked whether that would place broad discretion in 11 judges; Middleton said the change is intended to provide impartiality and noted the prior HB 17 experience had not shown abuse.
Concern about judicial workload was raised: Menendez asked whether the bill would add to existing backlogs in the judiciary. Middleton responded, "No. I'm not concerned with that in this case." The exchange and follow-up questions were captured on the Senate floor before a roll-call on the suspension motion.
On the motion to suspend the regular order of business, the result was 21 ayes and 10 nays; the chair then laid the bill out on second reading. The Senate later recorded the same tally advancing the bill to third reading.
The discussion clarified that the bill changes procedure (who hears removal petitions) rather than the statutory grounds for removal. The measure was advanced for further consideration but not finally passed during the floor sequence captured.
Less critical details: Senators emphasized the bill’s alignment with prior prosecutor-removal procedure and the intended safeguard of appointing judges from outside the county.
