HF1083 Summary

• Proposes constitutional amendment to replace judicial elections with gubernatorial appointments from merit selection commission nominees, followed by public retention elections every six years.

• Establishes independent Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission with 24 members (8 appointed by governor, 8 by Supreme Court, 8 by legislature) to evaluate judges using nonpartisan standards including legal knowledge, integrity, impartiality, and temperament.

• Commission must conduct midterm evaluations for all judges and retention-year evaluations rating judges as "well-qualified," "qualified," or "unqualified" before retention elections; ratings published publicly at least one month before filing deadlines.

• Modifies campaign finance laws to require 72-hour registration for committees advocating judge retention/defeat and establish reporting deadlines 42 and 10 days before retention elections.

• Requires judges currently seated at amendment adoption to complete existing terms before becoming subject to retention election process; constitutional amendment submitted to voters at 2014 general election; implementation effective July 1, 2015 if amendment passes.