Proposal 12 Would Shift Balance of Texas Judicial Conduct Commission

A proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot could give Texas Gov. Greg Abbott significant new influence over the state body that oversees judicial conduct.

Proposition 12 would allow the governor to appoint a majority —seven out of 13 members— of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, which investigates complaints and disciplines judges. The Texas Supreme Court would continue to appoint the remaining six members, all of whom must be judges.

Currently, the commission includes two lawyer appointees selected by the State Bar of Texas. If the amendment passes, those seats would be eliminated, giving the governor more flexibility to appoint lawyers, citizens, or state employees without restrictions. All appointees would still require confirmation by the Republican-controlled Texas Senate.

Supporters of the measure, including state Sen. Joan Huffman, who authored the amendment, argue it increases transparency by banning private reprimands and enhances public involvement in judicial oversight.

Critics warn the changes could politicize the commission by consolidating control under the executive branch. The amendment comes as Abbott has increasingly criticized Democratic judges, particularly over bail decisions, and pushed for tighter oversight.

“The governor would unilaterally control that commission now,” said Jesse Hoffman, a Dallas lawyer to the Houston Chronicle. “If any judge disrupts the governor, or anybody who the governor is willing to take marching orders from, he would now have a powerful tool to get that judge back in line or get him or her out of the way entirely.”

According to the Houston Chronicle, Abbott has already intervened in the commission. In 2019, Abbott removed two members who had voted to sanction a judge for refusing to officiate same-sex marriages.

If passed, the amendment would also authorize the commission to discipline judges “if misconduct is found to be willful or persistent.”

According to a 2024 University of Wisconsin Law School white paper, most states use mixed appointment methods for their judicial conduct boards. Texas would join a minority of states where one authority appoints most members.