State of Texas Proposition 12

The constitutional amendment regarding the membership of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, the membership of the tribunal to review the commission's recommendations, and the authority of the commission, the tribunal, and the Texas Supreme Court to more effectively sanction judges and justices for judicial misconduct.

The 2025 Explanatory Statements for the November 4, 2025 Constitutional Amendment Election document from the Texas Secretary of State website includes the following information:

SJR 27 [Proposition 12] proposes a constitutional amendment to change the membership and procedures of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct (SCJC). The proposed amendment would: (1) change the membership of the SCJC so that it is composed of six judges appointed by the Texas Supreme Court and seven citizens appointed by the Governor who are at least 35 years old, with both groups of appointees requiring the consent of the Texas Senate to be confirmed; (2) restrict the SCJC's power to issue a private reprimand (or impose a requirement that the person obtain additional training or education) to a person who has not previously been issued a private reprimand and in response to a complaint that does not allege criminal behavior; (3) require the SCJC to find that a person engaged in willful or persistent conduct that is clearly inconsistent with the proper performance of a judge's duties, or determine that there is other good cause, before issuing a public admonition or punishment; (4) expand the SCJC's power to order suspension without pay as punishment; (5) give the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court the power to select the appellate-court justices to serve on a tribunal to review the SCJC's recommendation for the removal or retirement of a person from office, without any requirement that each court of appeals designate one of its members for consideration by the chief justice; and (6) direct the Texas Supreme Court and Governor to appoint SCJC members to initial terms of two, four, and six years starting on January 1, 2026, with the succeeding terms to be six years, so that upon completion of the initial terms, the SCJC will be composed of members serving staggered six-year terms.