Relating to the discipline of judges by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, notice of certain reprimands, judicial compensation and related retirement benefits, and the reporting of certain judicial transparency information; authorizing an administrative penalty.

Contracts

• Dispute Resolution Clauses: Review Master Service Agreements (MSAs) immediately. If your standard arbitration clauses were inserted primarily to avoid court delays, re-evaluate them. With the new 4.5-month statutory cap on Summary Judgment resolution (45 days to hear + 90 days to rule), Texas courts may now offer a faster, cheaper resolution path than arbitration.

Hiring/Training

• Outside Counsel Guidelines: Update engagement letters to mandate that outside counsel track the new 45/90-day statutory clocks. Counsel must be authorized to file a "Notice of Statutory Deadline" if a judge fails to set a hearing or issue a ruling within the mandated timeframe.
• Litigation Management: Train in-house legal teams to utilize the new "exigent circumstances" standard to demand remote oral arguments, reducing travel expenses for routine hearings.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Docketing Systems: Update internal legal matter management software to flag two new critical dates upon filing a Motion for Summary Judgment:
• 1. Hearing Deadline: 45 days post-response.
• 2. Ruling Deadline: 90 days post-hearing/submission.
• Venue Analysis: Integrate the forthcoming Office of Court Administration (OCA) Annual Reports into your venue selection process. You must now assess jurisdictions based on their reported "clearance rates" and compliance with the 90-day ruling mandate.

Fees & Costs

• New Liability Risk: A new administrative penalty of up to $10,000 applies to the filing of a "knowingly false" complaint against a judge. Ensure any ethics complaints filed by your organization against the judiciary are vetted by General Counsel to avoid this penalty and associated reputational damage.