Texas Proposition 13, the 2023 constitutional amendment that would have raised the mandatory judge retirement age from 75 to 79, failed at the polls. Roughly 63 percent of voters rejected it on November 7, 2023, so the existing age-75 cap in the Texas Constitution still governs when state judges and justices must leave the bench.
What the Amendment Would Have Changed
House Joint Resolution 107, filed during the 88th Legislative Session, proposed two changes to Article V, Section 1-a of the Texas Constitution. It would have raised the mandatory retirement age for judges from 75 to 79. It would also have raised the floor on any earlier retirement age the legislature can set, moving that minimum from 70 to 75.1Texas Legislature Online. Texas House Joint Resolution 107
The resolution also carried a transition rule. A judge’s seat would not have opened the day they turned 79. Instead, the office would have stayed filled until the end of the term during which the judge reached that age. A judge who turned 79 early in a six-year term could therefore have served into their early eighties before the seat became vacant.1Texas Legislature Online. Texas House Joint Resolution 107
The Retirement Rule Still in Effect
With Proposition 13 defeated, Article V, Section 1-a(1) continues to govern. The mandatory retirement age is 75, and the legislature may set an earlier age so long as it is not lower than 70.2Justia. Texas Constitution Article 5 Section 1-a
A judge who turns 75 mid-term does not have to step down on their birthday. The office becomes vacant at the end of the term in which the judge reaches 75. There is one exception for six-year terms: if the judge hits 75 during the first four years of that term, the seat becomes vacant on December 31 of the fourth year rather than at the end of the full term.3Texas Attorney General. Opinion KP-0404 That cutoff keeps a judge from serving years past 75 on the strength of a long term.
Which Courts the Rule Applies To
The age cap applies uniformly across the main levels of the Texas court system. That includes both of the state’s high courts: the Texas Supreme Court for civil matters and the Court of Criminal Appeals for criminal matters. Texas is one of only two states with separate courts of last resort for civil and criminal law, and both fall under the same retirement rule.1Texas Legislature Online. Texas House Joint Resolution 107
The rule also reaches the 14 intermediate Courts of Appeals and the District Courts and Criminal District Courts that handle serious trial-level civil and criminal cases.1Texas Legislature Online. Texas House Joint Resolution 107
Why Voters Split the Way They Did
Supporters of raising the age said the current cap is outdated. People live longer and stay sharper longer, and forcing experienced judges off the bench at 75 costs the judiciary institutional knowledge. Judge Doug Woodburn of the 108th District Court said people are more capable at 75 today than they were when the original provision was written. The Texas Trial Lawyers Association warned the state would lose “great jurists with decades of experience and stable judgment.”
Opponents pushed back on two fronts. State Representative Steve Toth argued that regular turnover is healthy in government, particularly for a judiciary that has accumulated more authority than the state’s founders anticipated. Others focused on the term-end rule: because a seat only opens at the end of a term, raising the ceiling to 79 would have let some judges serve into their early eighties. The True Texas Project called that “a severe roadblock to young attorneys challenging long-term incumbent judges.”
How Texas Compares to Other States
Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia impose some form of mandatory judicial retirement age. The most common cutoff is 70, used by states including New York, New Jersey, Ohio, and Connecticut. Texas sits with Florida, Pennsylvania, and Oregon at 75. Colorado, Iowa, and the Carolinas use 72. Vermont stands apart at 90. Federal judges have no mandatory retirement age; they hold their appointments for life. Had Proposition 13 passed, Texas would have adopted an age-79 cap used by no other state.