Southwest Border Judgeship Expansion Act of 2011
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law.
Southwest Border Judgeship Expansion Act of 2011 - Directs the President to appoint, by and with the Senate's advice and consent, specified additional: (1) permanent district judges for various federal judicial districts in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas; and (2) temporary district judges for various federal districts in such states. Prohibits, for each of the districts in which a temporary district judge is required to be appointed under this Act, filling the first vacancy arising on such a district court 10 years or more after a judge is first confirmed to fill the temporary district judgeship created in that district.
Converts to permanent judgeships certain existing temporary judgeships for the district of Arizona, the central district of California, the district of New Mexico, and the eastern district of Texas.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on June 24, 2011. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on August 25, 2011: Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
RUBEN HINOJOSA (D-TX) introduced it on June 24, 2011, and 13 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 12 Democrats, 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 24, 2011, 5557 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5495 days ago, on August 25, 2011.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers