CALL TO ACTIVE DUTY NOT VACANCY OR ABSENCE

(a) In this section, "active duty state attorney" means a district attorney, criminal district attorney, or county attorney who is on active duty or being mobilized or deployed for active duty as a member of: (1) the National Guard; (2) the armed forces of the United States; (3) a reserve component of the armed forces of the United States or the National Guard; or (4) any part of state military forces. (b) A court shall excuse from appearance or attendance during the term of the court an active duty state attorney who has: (1) delegated the attorney's responsibilities to: (A) the attorney's first assistant; or (B) another state attorney in the attorney's jurisdiction or in a jurisdiction overlapping the attorney's jurisdiction who agrees to accept the delegation of responsibilities; and (2) notified the presiding judge of the court's administrative judicial region of: (A) the attorney's military duty, mobilization, or deployment; and (B) the identity of the attorney to whom responsibilities were delegated under Subdivision (1). (c) An active duty state attorney who complies with Subsection (b) is not absent from office and has not vacated office.