Mandatory Retirement Age for Municipal Judges?

By Ned Minevitz

On November 7, 2023, Texans voted on 14 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution. The only amendment voters rejected was Proposition 13, which would have, among other things, increased the mandatory retirement age for certain state judges from 75 to 79. This age requirement, which is provided in Section 1-a(1), Article V of the Texas Constitution, was adopted in 1965. Proposition 13 made the ballot through House Joint Resolution 107 (2023), which passed both the House and Senate.

Publicity surrounding Proposition 13 has led some to question whether Section 1-a(1)’s mandatory retirement provision applies to municipal judges. Section 1-a(1) provides that it applies to “Justices and Judges of the Appellate Courts and District and Criminal District Courts.” Because municipal court judges do not fit this criteria, Section 1-a(1)’s age requirements do not apply to municipal judges. In other words, there is no statewide mandatory retirement age for municipal judges in Texas. If Proposition 13 had passed, it would not have impacted municipal judges.