Bill Text: TX HB937 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced


Bill Title: Relating to the establishment of the inmate legal services office and to the appointment and compensation of certain legal counsel for certain indigent inmates and other persons in secure correctional facilities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-14 - Left pending in committee [HB937 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB937-Introduced.html
  88R2671 AJZ-D
 
  By: Dutton H.B. No. 937
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the establishment of the inmate legal services office
  and to the appointment and compensation of certain legal counsel
  for certain indigent inmates and other persons in secure
  correctional facilities.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subtitle F, Title 2, Government Code, is amended
  by adding Chapter 78A to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 78A.  INMATE LEGAL SERVICES
  SUBCHAPTER A.  GENERAL PROVISIONS
         Sec. 78A.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
               (1)  "Board" means the inmate legal services board of
  directors established under Subchapter B.
               (2)  "Office" means the inmate legal services office
  established under Subchapter C.
  SUBCHAPTER B.  INMATE LEGAL SERVICES BOARD
         Sec. 78A.051.  ESTABLISHMENT OF BOARD; DUTIES. (a)  The
  inmate legal services board of directors is established.  The
  provision of inmate legal services under this chapter is governed
  by the board.
         (b)  The board shall hire a director for the inmate legal
  services office as provided by Section 78A.053 when a vacancy
  exists for the position of director.
         Sec. 78A.052.  APPOINTMENT AND COMPOSITION OF BOARD. (a)  
  The board is composed of the following nine members to be appointed
  by the president of the State Bar of Texas, with ratification by the
  executive committee of the State Bar of Texas:
               (1)  five attorneys who are employed as executive
  directors or chief public defenders of a public defender's office,
  as defined by Article 26.044(a), Code of Criminal Procedure; and
               (2)  four criminal defense attorneys each of whom:
                     (A)  practices in a county in which there is a
  confinement facility operated by or under contract with the Texas
  Department of Criminal Justice; and
                     (B)  has experience representing indigent
  defendants in this state.
         (b)  Each member of the board must be a member of the State
  Bar of Texas and may not be employed as or otherwise performing the
  functions of a prosecutor or a law enforcement official.
         (c)  The board shall elect one member of the board to serve as
  the presiding officer of the board.
         (d)  Board members serve two-year terms expiring February 1
  of each even-numbered year.
         (e)  The board meets at least annually at the call of the
  presiding officer of the board.
         Sec. 78A.053.  APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTOR OF INMATE LEGAL
  SERVICES OFFICE.  (a)  The board, by a majority vote, shall hire a
  director of the inmate legal services office when a vacancy exists
  for the position of director.
         (b)  A person hired by the board under Subsection (a):
               (1)  must be committed to providing quality
  representation to indigent clients consistent with the principles
  of a public defense delivery system as established by the American
  Bar Association;
               (2)  may not have been found by a state or federal court
  to have rendered ineffective assistance of counsel during the trial
  or appeal of a criminal defense case;
               (3)  must be a member of the State Bar of Texas;
               (4)  must have practiced law for at least three years;
  and 
               (5)  must have substantial experience in the practice
  of criminal law.
         (c)  The board shall determine the director's compensation,
  which must maintain parity with the compensation of the chief of the
  special prosecution unit under Subchapter E, Chapter 41.
  SUBCHAPTER C.  INMATE LEGAL SERVICES OFFICE
         Sec. 78A.101.  ESTABLISHMENT.  The inmate legal services
  office is established and operates under the direction and
  supervision of the director of the office.
         Sec. 78A.102.  DIRECTOR; STAFF.  (a)  The board shall hire a
  director to direct and supervise the operation of the office as
  provided by Section 78A.053.  The director serves a four-year term
  and continues to serve until a successor has been hired and
  qualified. The board may remove the director only for good cause.  
  The director may be retained or rehired for a second or subsequent
  term.
         (b)  The director shall employ attorneys and employ or retain
  licensed investigators and other personnel necessary to perform the
  duties and accomplish the purposes of the office.
         (c)  The director and any attorney employed by the office may
  not:
               (1)  engage in the private practice of criminal law; or
               (2)  accept anything of value not authorized by law for
  services rendered under this subchapter.
         (d)  The board shall determine the compensation of office
  employees, which must maintain parity with the compensation of
  employees of the special prosecution unit under Subchapter E,
  Chapter 41.
         Sec. 78A.103.  POWERS AND DUTIES.  (a)  The office may not
  accept an appointment under Article 26.051, Code of Criminal
  Procedure, or Section 841.005, Health and Safety Code, if:
               (1)  a conflict of interest exists that has not been
  waived by the client;
               (2)  the office has insufficient resources to provide
  adequate representation for the client;
               (3)  the office is incapable of providing
  representation for the client in accordance with the rules of
  professional conduct;
               (4)  the acceptance of the appointment would require
  attorneys at the office to have a caseload that exceeds the maximum
  allowable caseload established by the office; or
               (5)  other good cause is shown for not accepting the
  appointment.
         (b)  On refusing to accept an appointment, the director shall
  file with the court a written statement that identifies the reason
  for the refusal.  The court shall determine whether the director has
  demonstrated adequate good cause for refusing the appointment and
  shall include the statement with the papers in the case.
         (c)  A director may not be terminated, removed, or sanctioned
  for refusing in good faith to accept an appointment under Article
  26.051, Code of Criminal Procedure, or Section 841.005, Health and
  Safety Code.
         Sec. 78A.104.  COMPENSATION OF OTHER APPOINTED ATTORNEYS.  
  If it is necessary that an attorney other than an attorney employed
  by the office be appointed, that attorney shall be compensated as
  provided by Article 26.051(h), Code of Criminal Procedure.
         Sec. 78A.105.  ACCESS TO CERTAIN FACILITIES, WITNESSES, AND
  DOCUMENTS FOR INVESTIGATION.  Attorneys and investigators employed
  or retained by the office shall be allowed access to a facility
  operated by or under contract with the Texas Department of Criminal
  Justice as necessary to:
               (1)  confer with a client of the office or witness to an
  offense alleged to have been committed by a client of the office; or
               (2)  comply with a court's order.
         SECTION 2.  Articles 26.051(a), (d), (e), (g), and (h), Code
  of Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  In this article:
               (1)  ["Board" means the Texas Board of Criminal
  Justice.
               [(2)]  "Correctional institutions division" means the
  correctional institutions division of the Texas Department of
  Criminal Justice.
               (2)  "Office" means the inmate legal services office
  established under Subchapter C, Chapter 78A, Government Code.
         (d)  A court shall:
               (1)  notify the office [board] if the court [it]
  determines that a defendant before the court is indigent and is an
  inmate charged with an offense committed while in the custody of the
  correctional institutions division or a correctional facility
  authorized by Section 495.001, Government Code; and
               (2)  request that the office [board] provide legal
  representation for the inmate.
         (e)  The office [board] shall provide legal representation
  for inmates described by Subsection (d) [of this section]. [The
  board may employ attorneys, support staff, and any other personnel
  required to provide legal representation for those inmates. All
  personnel employed under this article are directly responsible to
  the board in the performance of their duties.] The office [board]
  shall pay all fees and costs associated with providing legal
  representation for those inmates.
         (g)  The court shall appoint an attorney other than an
  attorney provided by the office [board] if the court determines for
  any of the following reasons that a conflict of interest could arise
  from the use of an attorney provided by the office [board] under
  Subsection (e) [of this article]:
               (1)  the case involves more than one inmate and the
  representation of more than one inmate could impair the attorney's
  effectiveness;
               (2)  the case is appealed and the court is satisfied
  that conflict of interest would prevent the presentation of a good
  faith allegation of ineffective assistance of counsel by a trial
  attorney provided by the office [board]; [or]
               (3)  any conflict of interest exists under the Texas
  Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of
  Texas that precludes representation by an attorney appointed by the
  office; or
               (4)  the office refuses to accept the appointment as
  provided by Section 78A.103(a), Government Code [board].
         (h)  When the court appoints an attorney other than an
  attorney provided by the office [board]:
               (1)  except as otherwise provided by this article, the
  inmate's legal defense is subject to Articles 1.051, 26.04, 26.05,
  and 26.052, as applicable; and
               (2)  the county in which a facility of the correctional
  institutions division or a correctional facility authorized by
  Section 495.001, Government Code, is located shall pay from its
  general fund the total costs of the aggregate amount allowed and
  awarded by the court for attorney compensation and expenses under
  Article 26.05 or 26.052, as applicable.
         SECTION 3.  Section 841.005, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 841.005.  INMATE LEGAL SERVICES OFFICE [OF STATE
  COUNSEL FOR OFFENDERS]. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b),
  the inmate legal services office established under Subchapter C,
  Chapter 78A, Government Code, [Office of State Counsel for
  Offenders] shall represent an indigent person subject to a civil
  commitment proceeding under this chapter.
         (b)  If for any reason the inmate legal services office 
  [Office of State Counsel for Offenders] is unable to represent an
  indigent person described by Subsection (a) at a civil commitment
  proceeding under this chapter, the court shall appoint other
  counsel to represent the indigent person.
         SECTION 4.  (a) Not later than December 1, 2023, the
  president of the State Bar of Texas shall appoint and the executive
  committee of the State Bar of Texas shall ratify the members of the
  inmate legal services board of directors as required by Section
  78A.052, Government Code, as added by this Act. Notwithstanding
  the terms of board member service provided by that section, the term
  of an initial member of the board of directors expires February 1,
  2026.
         (b)  Not later than January 1, 2024, the inmate legal
  services board of directors shall hire a director for the inmate
  legal services office as required by Section 78A.053, Government
  Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 5.  Article 26.051, Code of Criminal Procedure, and
  Section 841.005, Health and Safety Code, as amended by this Act,
  apply only to legal representation appointed under those provisions
  on or after February 1, 2024. Legal representation appointed
  before February 1, 2024, is governed by the law in effect
  immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the former
  law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 6.  (a) On the effective date of this Act, an
  employee of the Office of State Counsel for Offenders, other than
  the director of the office, becomes an employee of the inmate legal
  services office established under Subchapter C, Chapter 78A,
  Government Code, as added by this Act.
         (b)  On or after September 1, 2024, the director of the
  inmate legal services office shall evaluate the performance of each
  employee described by Subsection (a) of this section and determine
  whether there is good cause to remove an employee.
         SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
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