Bylaws and Resolutions Committee Report
The Bylaws and Resolutions Committee, chaired by Justice Greg Neeley, met and discussed several proposed amendments or improvements to the Section’s current bylaws. After thorough debate, the committee recommended that the council, followed by the full section, make the following changes and amendments to the section’s Bylaws:
Proposed Amendment Number 1:
1) The committee recommends that Article VII, Section 2 be updated to include video conferencing as an additional method to conduct regular council business meetings:
Section 2. Quorum. All binding actions of the Board of Directors shall be by a majority vote of the members of the Judicial Section Board of Directors voting who are present and voting, either in person or by telephone or video conferencing.
Proposed Amendment Number 2:
The committee recommended an addition to the end of Art. XI, Section 1, below.
Section 1. Advocacy. No position may be taken by the Judicial Section, or its members in the name of the Section, that advocates or advances a political or social policy position. However, this shall not be construed so as to prohibit the support for, or advancement of, proposed changes in state laws or court rules designed to improve the judicial branch of government. The Judicial Section Board of Directors may request permission from the State Bar Board of Directors to support, oppose, or advance a neutral opinion regarding any proposed legal or legislative issue, subject to an affirmative vote of at least three-fourths (3/4th) of the members of the Judicial Section Board of Directors who are present and voting.
Additional Proposed Amendments:
The committee recommended several additional grammatical or typographical corrections that were non-substantive, all of which were recommended to be approved.
The committee considered a number of other proposed amendments that were deemed unnecessary because they were already addressed within Roberts Rules of Order, which the section is bound to follow under the State Bar Act.
A full redline copy of the proposed amendment to the Judicial Section Bylaws can be found here.
The committee did not consider nor adopt any resolutions.
Council Approval
On June 17, 2021, the full Council of the Judicial Section met and discussed the recommendations of the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee. After hearing the committee’s report, the council voted to accept and approve all of the changes recommended by the committee and to submit the proposed changes to the full section for consideration and vote during the section’s annual business meeting.
Bylaws and Resolutions
The Bylaws and Resolutions Committee receives suggestions for and recommends changes to the section bylaws. The committee also solicits and presents any resolution proposed by a Section member at the Judicial Section’s Annual Meeting.
Our current bylaws require that we offer our members the opportunity to propose Resolutions and Bylaws Amendments to be adopted by the section. Proposals should be sent at least 60 days in advance of the Judicial Section’s Annual Meeting (which is always held on the first day of the Annual Judicial Conference) to allow time for review by the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee. Pursuant to the section’s bylaws, any proposed bylaws amendments must be posted on this website 30 days in advance of the Judicial Section Annual Meeting, for review by the section.
Email submissions are preferred. All proposals should be sent to by regular mail or email to
State Bar of Texas Judicial Section
c/o Sections Department
P.O. Box 12487
Austin, Texas 78711