Education Requirements

JUDGE
Coordinating body:
County Judges Education Committee
Texas Association of Counties
1204 San Antonio
Austin, Texas 78701

Contact:
Dwayne Holman or Joyce Francis
(512) 478-8753
Toll Free: (800) 456-5974
Fax: (512) 477-1324

* Texas Association of Counties is the official registrar and permanent contact for County Judges' hours.

Programs that qualify:
Any judicial education program approved by the Texas Association of Counties County Judges Education Committee.

Filing for Credit:
A Judge's Certification for Credit form must be completed by the Judge and returned to the Texas Association of Counties upon completion of an approved program. Forms are available from the program sponsor.

Continuing Education Requirements:
Judges are required to attain 30 hours for their first year in office; and 16 hours each 12-month reporting period thereafter.

Legal source:
Government Code, Section 74.025 (effective Sept. 1, 1987)

COMMISSIONERS
Coordinating body:
Mr. James P. Allison
General Counsel for the County Judges & Commissioners Association of Texas
Allison, Bass & Associates LLP
402 West 12th Street
Austin, Texas 78701

Contact:
Mary Manning
(512) 482-0701
Toll Free: (800) 733-0699

· James P. Allison's office is the official registrar and permanent contact for County Commissioner Hours.

Programs that qualify:
The Commissioners' Education Committee of the Judges and Commissioners Association reviews programs to advise membership of appropriate educational opportunities. Programs must be accredited by an institution of higher learning.

Filing for Credit:
A certificate of attendance is furnished by the sponsor of the conference that you attend. Commissioners should maintain a copy for their records. The program sponsor will assist by submitting forms to the Judges and Commissioner Association who will then furnish transcripts to commissioners after the end of the year.

Continuing Education Requirements:
Commissioners are required to attain 16 hours every 12-month period; may carry forward up to 8 hours. Some exceptions apply. See Sec. 81.0025 e-Local Government Code.

Legal source:
Commissioners: Local Government Code, Section 81.0025 effective Jan. 1, 1990

LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE  

ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT § 81.0025

§ 81.0025. Continuing Education

(a) A county commissioner must successfully complete at least 16 classroom hours of continuing education in the performance of the duties of county commissioners at least once in each 12-month period.

(b) Continuing education instruction required by this section must be certified by an accredited public institution of higher education.

(c) To satisfy the requirement of this section, a commissioner is entitled to carry forward from one 12-month period to the next not more than eight continuing education hours that the commissioner completes in excess of the required 16 hours.

(d) For the purposes of removal under Subchapter B, Chapter 87, “incompetency” in the case of a county commissioner includes the failure to complete hours of continuing education in accordance with this section.

(e) This section does not apply to a county commissioner who:

• (1) serves in a county with a population of 1.3 million or more;
• (2) has served continuously for 12 years or more; and
• (3) attends at least 15 hours of staff briefing on continuing education subjects in each 12-month period as approved by the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas.

(f) In addition to the exceptions under Subsection (e), this section does not apply to a county commissioner who serves in a county with a population of 225,000 or more and who:

• (1) has served continuously for 12 years or more; and
• (2) in the 12-month period, completes at least three semester credit hours of graduate-level course work in a field of study directly related to county government with a grade of B or higher in each course completed during the period.

Added by Acts 1989, 71 st Leg., ch. 413, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1990. Amended by Acts 1991, 72 nd Leg., ch. 111, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1995, 74 th Leg., ch. 294, § 1, eff. Aug. 28, 1995; Acts 1997, 75 th Leg., ch. 1235, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1998; Acts 2003, 78 th Leg., ch. 454, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2004.

Historical and Statutory Notes:
Section 2 of the 1991 amendatory act provides: “This Act takes effect January 1, 1992, and applies only to credit for continuing education hours that accrues on or after that date.”

V.T.C.A., Local Government Code § 87.011 et seq.