(A) There shall be one or more magistrates of the Municipal Court known as the Municipal Court Judge, who shall be a competent and licensed attorney practicing law in the State of Texas, and shall be appointed by the City Council to serve for a term of two (2) years, or until his successor in office shall have been appointed and qualified. The judge may be removed by the City Council at any time for incompetency, misconduct, malfeasance, or disability, after notice and an opportunity to be heard before the Council. A judge shall receive such salary as fixed in the budget by the Council. In the event of removal of a Municipal Court Judge by action of the City Council, the City Council may appoint a duly qualified attorney practicing law in the State of Texas, and otherwise qualified under the laws of the State of Texas, to fill the vacancy caused by such removal.
(B) The judge shall have power to punish for contempt to the same extent and under the same circumstances as the State court with concurrent jurisdiction and may punish for contempt in all criminal cases. In the event the judge of the Municipal Court should, for any reason, be disqualified, or deemed himself to be disqualified, to sit as judge in any cause pending before the court, then the judge shall notify the Mayor in writing of the disqualification. The Mayor shall appoint a duly licensed attorney to sit as special judge in such cause. The special judge shall take any oath as may be required by law and shall perform all duties of the Municipal Judge with regard to that matter. The term of the Municipal Judge shall run concurrently with that of the Mayor, and any appointment to fill the position of Municipal Judge when a vacancy occurs shall only be for the remainder of that unexpired term. A special judge shall receive such compensation as may be fixed by the City Council.
(Adopted by electorate, May 11, 2013)