Texas House to discuss Jeff Leach’s proposal — what does HB 797 say?

Rep. Jeff Leach introduced HB 797, a bill on Courts, to the Texas House on Wednesday, March 5 during the 89(R) legislative session, according to the Texas Legislature website.

More specifically, the official text was summarized by the state legislature as ’’Relating to the discipline of judges by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct and notice to the legislature of certain reprimands’’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

This bill amends various sections of the Government Code to enhance the discipline process for judges by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. It expands the definition of misconduct to include persistent or willful violations and specifies that the Commission must inform relevant authorities of public reprimands. It requires timely preliminary investigations and detailed reporting for complaints, allows suspension of judges without pay if convicted of certain offenses while under appeal, and mandates notice to the legislature about reprimands due to Article 17.15 violations. Additionally, the bill affects the eligibility criteria for retired judges to be listed for assignments and mandates the adoption of rules to implement these changes, effective Sept. 1, 2025.

Jeff Leach, chair of the House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence and member of the House Committee on Public Education, proposed another two bills during the 89(R) legislative session.

Leach graduated from Baylor University with a BS and again from SMU Dedman School of Law with a JD.

Jeff Leach is currently serving in the Texas State House, representing the state's 67th House district. He replaced previous state representative Jerry A. Madden in 2013.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.