JUDGES
Coordinating body:
County Judges Education Committee
Texas Association of Counties
1210 San Antonio
Austin, Texas 78701
Contact:
TAC Judicial Education Department
(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
Senior General Counsel for the County Judges & Commissioners Association of Texas
Allison, Bass & Magee, LLP
1301 Nueces St Ste 201
Austin, Texas 78701
Contact:
Administrative Assistant
cjca@allison-bass.com
(512) 482-0701
FAX (512) 480-0902
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 a public 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 County Judges and Commissioner Association of Texas 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 as Amended
LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE
TITLE 3. ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT
SUBTITLE B. COMMISSIONERS COURT AND COUNTY OFFICERS
CHAPTER 81. COMMISSIONERS COURT
SUBCHAPTER A. ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURE
Sec. 81.0025. CONTINUING EDUCATION. (a) A county commissioner must successfully complete at least 16 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 institutions of higher education. The instruction may be completed online with the approval of the commissioners court, except a county commissioner must complete the instruction in person in the first 12-month period of the commissioner's first term.
(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) meets at least one of the following requirements:
(A) has served continuously for 12 years or more; or
(B) is an attorney licensed to practice law in this state for 12 years or more and has completed at least 64 hours of continuing education approved by the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas; 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.
GOVERNMENT CODE
Sec. 418.005 (g) The hours spent in an [emergency management] training course required by Subsection (b) may be applied toward the continuing education requirements for county commissioners under Section 81.0025, Local Government Code.