September 28, 2023
By Bill Raftery
Every year citizens and state legislators send dozens of proposals to the ballot in the form of initiatives, referenda, bills, and other items. In the 2023-2024 election cycle, there are already 3 ballot items that could directly impact state judicial systems.
Two states will look to increase their mandatory judicial retirement ages.
- Texas’s Proposition 13 (introduced in the legislature as HJR 107 of 2023) on the November 2023 ballot would let the state legislature set a retirement age of between 75 and 79 and eliminate a current provision that would force out a judge midterm. Currently, the Texas constitution allows the state legislature to set a retirement age of between 70 and 75 (the state legislature has set it to 75). Moreover, if a judge elected to serve or fill the remainder of a 6-year term reaches the age of 75 years during the first 4 years of their term, they must leave office on December 31 of the fourth year.
- New Hampshire CACR 6 of 2023 (no proposition number assigned yet) proposed raising the mandatory judicial retirement ages for judges in that state from 70 to 75 on the November 2024 ballot.
In 2023 other states proposed legislation on increasing judicial retirement age:
- Missouri HB 35 (implementing legislation) and HJR 1 (constitutional amendment) of 2023 would have raised the mandatory retirement age from 70 to 75. HB 35 cleared the House Pensions Committee but proceeded no further.
- Hawaii SB 992 of 2023 would have also raised the mandatory retirement age from 70 to 75. SB 992 cleared the full Senate but proceeded no further.
A Colorado constitutional amendment that rewrites how the state handles judicial discipline is going to voters in November 2024. The Colorado Independent Judicial Discipline Adjudicative Board Amendment (no proposition number has been assigned) approved by the Colorado General Assembly as HCR 1001 of 2023 includes several provisions:
- Creates an Independent Judicial Discipline Adjudicative Board to conduct disciplinary hearings and to hear appeals of informal remedial action orders from the Commission on Judicial Discipline.
- Creates a 13-member Rulemaking Committee to propose rules for the Commission on Judicial Discipline. The Rulemaking Committee must propose rules for proceedings initiated on or after April 1, 2025, that include the standards and degree of proof to be applied in judicial discipline proceedings, confidential reporting procedures, and complainant rights.
- Allows the Commission on Judicial Discipline to release information about the status of an evaluation, investigation, or proceeding to the victim of misconduct or the complainant; release information about a complaint that resulted in discipline to specified government agencies; and to make aggregate information publicly available.
A complete list of all constitutional amendments impacting the judiciary can be found on the Gavel to Gavel website (www.ncsc.org/gaveltogavel). While there, sign up for the weekly newsletter published during state spring legislative sessions.
What legislation impacting your courts might appear at the ballot box? Email us at Knowledge@ncsc.org or call 800-616-6164 and let us know. Follow the National Center for State Courts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Vimeo.