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Election subcommittee amends and advances bill allowing party nominations for judicial vacancies
Summary
On Jan. 20, 2026 the Election and Campaign Finance Subcommittee amended and advanced HB 0458 to permit political parties to convene and nominate judicial candidates when a vacancy occurs after the primary filing deadline; the motion passed 6-0 and the bill moves to full State and Local.
The Election and Campaign Finance Subcommittee amended and voted to advance House Bill 0458 on Jan. 20, 2026, clearing the measure to the full State and Local Committee.
Chairman Rudd presented the amendment (drafting code 111640) and said the change uses language from last year to fix an unforeseen problem relating to judicial candidacies when a vacancy occurs after the primary filing deadline. "We used a bill from last year to open the code up to correct an issue with the bill last year," he said. He added the amendment addresses cases "where there's a vacancy, a death or resignation for some reason past the deadline that the party can meet and convene and to nominate officers for the ballot." The clerk then announced the motion to attach the amendment passed with six ayes and no nos.
Supporters framed the amendment as a narrow fix to permit parties to select nominees for judicial vacancies that arise after statutory filing deadlines, rather than reopen a statewide primary. The committee recorded a 6-0 vote; the clerk stated the bill "is moved on to full State and Local." No roll-call votes with individual member names were recorded in the transcript.
Next step: HB 0458 as amended will be considered by the full State and Local Committee. The committee record shows Representative Powell absent because he was presenting in another committee.
