(a) Whenever a vacancy shall occur in the office of district magistrate judge in any judicial district which has approved the proposition of nonpartisan selection of district court judges, or whenever a vacancy will occur in such office on a specified future date, the chief justice of the supreme court shall give notice of such vacancy to the chairperson of the district judicial nominating commission of such judicial district not later than 120 days following the date the vacancy occurs or will occur. The chairperson, in consultation with members of the commission, within five days after receipt of such notice, shall set a schedule for accepting nominations and conducting interviews for the purpose of selecting a person to fill such vacancy. Any person so selected shall have the qualifications prescribed by subsection (c) of Kan. Stat. Ann. § 20-334, and amendments thereto, and in order to obtain the best qualified person as a district magistrate judge, the commission shall not limit its consideration of potential appointees to those persons whose names have been submitted to the commission or who have expressed a willingness to serve. The commission may authorize one or more members of the commission to tender an appointment to any qualified person in order to ascertain such person’s willingness to serve if appointed. Any such tender of appointment shall be subject to final action of the commission under the conditions prescribed by subsection (b) of Kan. Stat. Ann. § 20-2907, and amendments thereto.

(b) Any appointment made pursuant to subsection (a) shall be contingent upon the acceptance of such appointment by the person so appointed and, if such person is not regularly admitted to practice law in Kansas, the appointment shall be made on a temporary basis until such person has been certified by the supreme court as qualified to hold such office, in the manner provided by Kan. Stat. Ann. § 20-337, and amendments thereto.