Sec. 2003.0451.  TRAINING.  (a)  The office shall provide at least 30 hours of continuing legal education and judicial training to each new administrative law judge employed by the office who has less than three years of presiding experience.  The office shall provide the training required by this subsection during the administrative law judge's first year of employment with the office.  The office may provide the training through office personnel or through external sources, including state and local bar associations, the Texas Center for the Judiciary, and the National Judicial College.  The training may include the following areas:
(1)  conducting fair and impartial hearings;
(2)  ethics;
(3)  evidence;
(4)  civil trial litigation;
(5)  administrative law;
(6)  managing complex litigation;
(7)  conducting high-volume proceedings;
(8)  judicial writing;
(9)  effective case-flow management;
(10)  alternative dispute resolution methods;  and
(11)  other areas that the office considers to be relevant to the work of an administrative law judge.
(b)  The office shall provide continuing legal education and advanced judicial training for other administrative law judges employed by the office to the extent that money is available for this purpose.
(c)  Subsection (a) does not apply to a temporary administrative law judge.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 371, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.  Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 85, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.