Bill Text: PA SB842 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishing the Appellate Court Nominating Commission.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 4-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-03-15 - Referred to JUDICIARY [SB842 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2011-SB842-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 862
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 842 Session of2011
INTRODUCED BY EARLL, ERICKSON, FONTANA, PICCOLA, M. WHITE AND LEACH, MARCH 15, 2011
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, MARCH 15, 2011
AN ACT
Amending Title 71 (State Government) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, establishing the Appellate Court
Nominating Commission.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 71 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding a part to read:
PART III
JUDICIAL MATTERS
Chapter
21. Appellate Court Nominating Commission
CHAPTER 21
APPELLATE COURT NOMINATING COMMISSION
Sec.
2101. Definitions.
2102. Establishment and purpose.
2103. Membership, qualifications and operation.
2104. Judicial nominee applicants.
§ 2101. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Business organization." An organization that represents the
interests of persons engaged in commercial, industrial or
agricultural enterprises.
"Civic group." A Pennsylvania nonprofit corporation that is
exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Public Law 99-514, 26 U.S.C. §
501(c)(3)). The term does not include any organization formed
for a religious purpose or any organization that does not have
members who are Pennsylvania residents.
"Commission." The Appellate Court Nominating Commission
established under section 14 of Article V of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania and under section 2102 (relating to establishment
and purpose).
"Department." The Department of State of the Commonwealth.
"Law school." A graduate school located in this
Commonwealth, accredited by the American Bar Association and
offering study leading to the degree of Juris Doctor.
"Law school dean" or "dean." The administrator in charge of
a law school.
"Lobbyist." As defined in 65 Pa.C.S. § 13A03 (relating to
definitions).
"Professional association." An organization that represents
the interests of its members who practice a profession. The term
does not include associations that represent lawyers.
"Public members." Members of the commission appointed under
section 2103(a)(3) (relating to membership, qualifications and
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operation).
"Public safety association." An organization that represents
the interests of its members who are engaged in an occupation
responsible for public safety, including law enforcement
agencies, district attorneys' associations, victims' rights
groups, fire departments or emergency medical service providers.
"Secretary." The Secretary of the Commonwealth.
"Union." An organization of employees, not dominated or
controlled by any employer or any employer organization, having
among its purposes that of collective bargaining as to the terms
and conditions of employment. The term includes a federation of
such organizations.
§ 2102. Establishment and purpose.
Under section 14 of Article V of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania, there is established an Appellate Court Nominating
Commission within the department. The purpose of the commission
shall be to nominate individuals for the offices of justice of
the Supreme Court and judge of the Superior Court and
Commonwealth Court.
§ 2103. Membership, qualifications and operation.
(a) Composition.--The commission shall be comprised of the
following:
(1) Four legislative appointees. The following shall
apply:
(i) Appointments are as follows:
(A) One individual appointed by the President
pro tempore of the Senate.
(B) One individual appointed by the Minority
Leader of the Senate.
(C) One individual appointed by the Speaker of
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the House of Representatives.
(D) One individual appointed by the Minority
Leader of the House of Representatives.
(ii) Each of the members appointed under
subparagraph (i) must be members of the bar of the
Supreme Court but may not be justices, judges or
magisterial district judges.
(iii) None of the members appointed under
subparagraph (i) may be members of the General Assembly
or their staff or a relative of a member of the General
Assembly. For purposes of this subparagraph, a relative
shall include a wife, husband, child, mother, father,
sister or brother.
(2) Four members appointed by the Governor. The
following shall apply:
(i) Only two individuals shall be members of the bar
of the Supreme Court and may not be justices, judges or
magisterial district judges.
(ii) At the time of appointment, all individuals
shall be residents of different counties.
(iii) No more than two individuals shall be
registered in the same political party.
(iv) None of the members appointed by the Governor
may be a member of the Governor's staff or a relative of
the Governor. For purposes of this subparagraph, a
relative shall include a wife, husband, child, mother,
father, sister or brother.
(3) Six public members. The following shall apply:
(i) One public member shall be a dean of one of the
law schools located in this Commonwealth, who shall be
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selected as follows:
(A) Within 30 days following the effective date
of this section and at least 120 days prior to the
expiration of each term of the law school dean member
of the commission, the secretary shall notify each
law school dean that they are to choose from among
themselves a law school dean to serve as a member of
the commission.
(B) Within 60 days following receipt of the
notification under clause (A), the deans shall choose
who among them will be a member of the commission.
(C) As soon as practicable following their
selection, the deans shall send a letter to the
secretary, signed by each dean, notifying the
secretary of their selection.
(D) Upon expiration of a dean's term on the
commission, the same process shall be used to fill
the vacancy, except that the successor dean shall
come from a different law school than the outgoing
dean.
(ii) Five public members, one each selected by
business organizations, civic organizations, professional
associations, public safety organizations and unions. The
following shall apply:
(A) Within 30 days following the effective date
of this section and at least 120 days prior to the
expiration of each term of the public members of the
commission other than the law school dean member, the
secretary shall transmit a notice for publication to
two newspapers in every county in this Commonwealth
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and to the Legislative Reference Bureau for
publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin that will
alert the organizations described under subparagraph
(ii) that they may apply to be included in the
process of appointing members of the commission. The
notice shall also describe details of the application
process and shall include a form of application to be
used. The notice and the form of application shall
also be posted on the department's Internet website.
(B) An organization described under this
subparagraph that desires to participate in the
nomination process shall submit an application to the
secretary. All applications shall be submitted by the
date occurring 30 days after the date of publication
in the Pennsylvania Bulletin of the notice described
under clause (A) and shall include all of the
following:
(I) The name and address of the organization
and the name and telephone number of a contact
person. The organization must indicate that its
principal place of business is in this
Commonwealth.
(II) A statement as to the specific category
for which the organization wishes to be
considered. An organization may only submit an
application for one of the categories listed
under this subparagraph for a given vacancy.
(III) A statement of the number of members
of the organization who are Commonwealth
residents as of the date of the application.
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(IV) Any other information required by the
department. Any person who makes a false
statement on an application submitted under this
subparagraph shall be subject to prosecution
under 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 4903 (relating to false
swearing) and 4904 (relating to unsworn
falsification to authorities).
(C) Within 15 days following the last day for
receipt of applications under clause (B), the
secretary shall notify the five organizations in each
of the categories listed under this subparagraph with
the highest number of members who are Commonwealth
residents that they are eligible to submit the name
of a person in their organization who meets the
requirements of subsection (b) who desires to be
considered for selection as a member of the
commission. The names shall be submitted in writing
to the secretary within 15 days following receipt of
the notification required under this clause.
(D) Within ten days following receipt of the
names of individuals submitted by organizations under
clause (C), the secretary shall publicly draw lots
from each of the five categories of organizations to
determine who shall serve as the public member of the
commission from each category.
(E) Upon expiration of a public member's term on
the commission, the same selection process shall be
used to fill the vacancy, except as provided in
subsection (c)(4)(iv).
(b) Qualifications of members.--
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(1) All members of the commission shall have been a
resident of this Commonwealth for at least one year prior to
the member's appointment.
(2) All members of the commission must be 18 years of
age or older as of the date of their appointment.
(3) During his or her term a member may not do any of
the following:
(i) Hold any office in any political party or
political organization or hold any elected or appointed
public office, compensated or uncompensated, except that
members may serve as part-time solicitors to a political
subdivision.
(ii) Be employed by the unified judicial system.
(4) No person who is a lobbyist may be appointed to
serve on the commission.
(5) In making appointments to the commission, each
nominating or appointing authority shall take into
consideration that the commission should include both men and
women as well as individuals from the civic, labor and
business communities and individuals who have racially and
ethnically diverse backgrounds and who reflect the geographic
diversity of this Commonwealth.
(c) Terms of office, removal and vacancies.--
(1) (i) Commission members shall serve a term of four
years, except as otherwise provided in this subsection.
(ii) The original members appointed by the Governor
shall serve the following terms: one member shall serve
for four years, one member shall serve for three years,
one member shall serve for two years and one member shall
serve for one year.
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(iii) The original members appointed by the General
Assembly shall serve the following terms: the member
appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate
shall serve for four years, the member appointed by the
Minority Leader of the Senate shall serve for two years,
the member appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives shall serve for three years and the
member appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of
Representatives shall serve for one year.
(2) Limitations on terms shall be as follows:
(i) Each member shall only serve until the end of
that member's term.
(ii) A member who has served a full term shall not
be permitted to serve during the next succeeding term.
(iii) For purposes of this paragraph, service for a
period of two years or less shall not be considered a
full term.
(3) Commission members may only be removed by the
commission for the following reasons:
(i) For a violation of the commission's rules
governing the conduct of members.
(ii) If the person, during the course of the
person's term, no longer meets the qualifications of
subsection (b)(1), (2), (3) or (4).
(4) In the event of a vacancy on the commission the
following shall apply:
(i) If the vacancy occurs for a reason stated under
paragraph (3), the vacancy shall be filled for the
remainder of the term in the same manner the outgoing
member was initially appointed, except that, if the
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vacancy is created because a public member selected under
subsection (a)(3)(ii) is removed from the commission, the
organization that appointed the member shall select a new
member.
(ii) If a vacancy occurs as a result of the
expiration of the term of a legislative or gubernatorial
appointee, a new member shall be appointed in the same
manner as the member was initially appointed.
(iii) If a vacancy occurs as a result of the
expiration of the term of a public member selected under
subsection (a)(3)(i), the vacancy shall be filled in the
same manner as the member was originally selected.
(iv) If a vacancy occurs as a result of the
expiration of the term of a public member selected under
subsection (a)(3)(ii), the secretary shall fill the
vacancy in the same manner as the member was initially
selected, except that the public organization that
nominated the commission member whose vacancy is being
filled may not participate in the process to select the
immediately succeeding commission member.
(d) Operation.--
(1) From among the commission's members, the commission
shall select a chairperson, vice chairperson and other
officers as the commission shall determine.
(2) The commission shall establish its own rules of
procedure and rules governing the conduct of its members.
(3) Nine members shall constitute a quorum. A majority
of the members present at any meeting of the commission shall
be required for all actions of the commission.
(4) Members shall not be compensated for their service
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as members of the commission but shall be reimbursed for
expenses necessarily incurred in the discharge of their
official duties in accordance with Commonwealth policy in
effect for community agencies under the Governor's
jurisdiction.
(5) The department shall provide administrative support
for the commission.
§ 2104. Judicial nominee applicants.
(a) Solicitation.--
(1) When it is known that a vacancy will occur, the
commission shall publicly announce the vacancy no later than
90 days prior to the expected date of the vacancy.
(2) If an unexpected vacancy occurs, the commission
shall publicly announce the vacancy within 30 days following
the vacancy.
(3) The commission shall develop the form of application
to be submitted and shall make the form available at the time
a public announcement regarding a vacancy is made.
Applications may be submitted by individuals desiring to be
considered for nomination to fill a vacancy commencing with
the date of the public announcement and ending on the date
occurring 30 days later.
(b) Review of applications and evaluation of applicants.--
(1) Following the date by which applications are due,
the commission shall review and perform an initial screening
of all applications submitted to fill vacancies.
(2) The commission shall use the initial screening
process to result in a list containing names of at least 50%
of those applicants who submitted applications. The
applicants on the list shall undergo further evaluation and
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consideration by the commission. At this time, information
such as names and biographical information pertaining to the
list of applicants who will undergo further evaluation and
consideration shall be made public.
(3) The commission shall interview the applicants and
may interview individuals with knowledge of the applicant.
(4) The commission may obtain any appropriate or
relevant documentation that relates to the applicant's
suitability to serve as a justice or judge, including
information submitted by the public.
(c) Selection.--
(1) From the applications received and reviewed under
subsection (b), the commission shall agree on five names of
the most qualified applicants whose names will be recommended
to the Governor. In order for an individual's name to appear
on the list, the individual must meet all of the following
requirements:
(i) Notwithstanding the provisions of section
2103(d)(3), (relating to membership, qualifications and
operation), received affirmative votes from at least
eight of the members of the commission.
(ii) Is a licensed member in good standing of the
bar of the Supreme Court.
(iii) Has either practiced law, served as a judge of
a Federal court, served on a court or courts of record of
this Commonwealth or been engaged in a law-related
occupation for an aggregate of at least ten years prior
to the date of the nomination.
(iv) Has demonstrated integrity, judicial
temperament, professional competence and experience and
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commitment to the community.
(2) The commission shall consider that each of the
appellate courts should include both men and women who come
from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds and who
reflect the geographic diversity of this Commonwealth.
(d) Presentation of applicants to the Governor.--
(1) The list of the most qualified applicants shall be
presented to the Governor no later than 30 days prior to the
expected date of the vacancy or, with respect to an
unexpected vacancy, no later than 60 days after the vacancy
occurs.
(2) The names of the applicants on the list shall appear
in alphabetical order. The commission shall submit
biographical information regarding each applicant along with
the list of names.
(3) Only one list may be provided to the Governor for
each vacancy. If there is more than one vacancy on the same
court, separate lists shall be submitted to the Governor for
each vacancy, and the lists shall contain no more than two
names in common.
(4) In the event of death or withdrawal of a person
whose name appears on the list presented to the Governor, the
commission shall submit to the Governor an addendum to the
list providing the name of a new applicant selected in the
same manner as the other individuals on the list.
(e) Publication.--
(1) Immediately following submission to the Governor,
the list shall be submitted to the Senate and shall be made
available to the public.
(2) The biographical information of the applicants shall
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be made available to the Senate and to the public.
(3) All other information submitted to or developed by
the commission concerning applicants, whether or not the
applicants' names appear on the list submitted to the
Governor, and all proceedings, deliberations and votes of the
commission shall remain confidential and shall not be subject
to disclosure under the act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6,
No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law.
Section 2. The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall transmit
notice to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in
the Pennsylvania Bulletin of passage of a constitutional
amendment providing for an Appellate Court Nominating
Commission.
Section 3. This act shall take effect as follows:
(1) Section 2 and this section shall take effect
immediately.
(2) The remainder of this act shall take effect upon
publication of the notice under section 2.
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