Bill Text: TX HB1690 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Enrolled

---

Bill Title: Relating to the investigation and prosecution of offenses against public administration, including ethics offenses.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 73)

Status: (Passed) 2015-06-18 - Effective on 9/1/15 [HB1690 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-HB1690-Enrolled.html

---

H.B. No. 1690

AN ACT
relating to the investigation and prosecution of offenses against
public administration, including ethics offenses.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 411, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter B-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER B-1. PUBLIC INTEGRITY UNIT
Sec. 411.0251. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Offense" means a prohibited act for which state
law imposes a criminal or civil penalty.
(2) "Prosecuting attorney" means a district attorney,
criminal district attorney, or county attorney.
(3) "State agency" means a department, commission,
board, office, council, authority, or other agency in the executive
branch of state government that is created by the constitution or a
statute of this state, including a university system or institution
of higher education as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code.
(4) "State employee" means an individual, other than a
state officer, who is employed by:
(A) a state agency;
(B) the Supreme Court of Texas, the Court of
Criminal Appeals of Texas, a court of appeals, or the Texas Judicial
Council; or
(C) either house of the legislature or a
legislative agency, council, or committee, including the
Legislative Budget Board, the Texas Legislative Council, the State
Auditor's Office, and the Legislative Reference Library.
(5) "State officer" means an elected officer, an
appointed officer, a salaried appointed officer, an appointed
officer of a major state agency, or the executive head of a state
agency.
Sec. 411.0252. OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION. For
purposes of this subchapter, the following are offenses against
public administration:
(1) an offense under Title 8, Penal Code, committed by
a state officer or a state employee in connection with the powers
and duties of the state office or state employment;
(2) an offense under Chapter 301, 302, 571, 572, or
2004 committed by a state officer or a state employee in connection
with the powers and duties of the state office or state employment
or by a candidate for state office;
(3) an offense under Chapter 573 committed by a state
officer in connection with the powers and duties of the state
office; and
(4) an offense under Title 15, Election Code,
committed in connection with:
(A) a campaign for or the holding of state
office; or
(B) an election on a proposed constitutional
amendment.
Sec. 411.0253. PUBLIC INTEGRITY UNIT. (a) The Texas
Rangers division of the department shall establish and support a
public integrity unit.
(b) On receiving a formal or informal complaint regarding an
offense against public administration or on request of a
prosecuting attorney or law enforcement agency, the public
integrity unit may perform an initial investigation into whether a
person has committed an offense against public administration.
(c) The Texas Rangers have authority to investigate an
offense against public administration, any lesser included
offense, and any other offense arising from conduct that
constitutes an offense against public administration.
(d) If an initial investigation by the public integrity unit
demonstrates a reasonable suspicion that an offense against public
administration occurred, the matter shall be referred to the
prosecuting attorney of the county in which venue is proper under
Section 411.0256 or Chapter 13, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
applicable.
(e) The public integrity unit shall, on request of the
prosecuting attorney described by Subsection (d), assist the
attorney in the investigation of an offense against public
administration.
Sec. 411.0254. NOTIFICATION REGARDING DISPOSITION OF CASE.
The prosecuting attorney shall notify the public integrity unit of:
(1) the termination of a case investigated by the
public integrity unit; or
(2) the results of the final disposition of a case
investigated by the public integrity unit, including the final
adjudication or entry of a plea.
Sec. 411.0255. RECUSAL OF PROSECUTING ATTORNEY; SELECTION
OF PROSECUTING ATTORNEY BY PRESIDING JUDGE OF ADMINISTRATIVE
JUDICIAL REGION. (a) In this section, "judges" means the presiding
judges of the administrative judicial regions.
(b) A prosecuting attorney may request that the court with
jurisdiction over the complaint permit the attorney to recuse
himself or herself for good cause in a case investigated under this
subchapter, and on submitting the notice of recusal, the attorney
is disqualified.
(c) Following the recusal of a prosecuting attorney under
Subsection (b), the judges shall appoint a prosecuting attorney
from another county in that administrative judicial region by
majority vote. A prosecuting attorney selected under this
subsection has the authority to represent the state in the
prosecution of the offense.
(d) The prosecutor selected under this section may pursue a
waiver to extend the statute of limitations by no more than two
years. If the waiver adds less than two years to limitations, the
prosecutor may pursue a successive waiver for good cause shown to
the court, providing that the total time of all waivers does not
exceed two years.
Sec. 411.0256. VENUE. Notwithstanding Chapter 13, Code of
Criminal Procedure, or other law, if the defendant is a natural
person, venue for prosecution of an offense against public
administration and lesser included offenses arising from the same
transaction is the county in which the defendant resided at the time
the offense was committed.
Sec. 411.0257. RESIDENCE. For the purposes of this
subchapter, a person resides in the county where that person:
(1) claims a residence homestead under Chapter 41,
Property Code, if that person is a member of the legislature;
(2) claimed to be a resident before being subject to
residency requirements under Article IV, Texas Constitution, if
that person is a member of the executive branch of this state;
(3) claims a residence homestead under Chapter 41,
Property Code, if that person is a justice on the supreme court or
judge on the court of criminal appeals; or
(4) otherwise claims residence if no other provision
of this section applies.
Sec. 411.0258. COOPERATION OF STATE AGENCIES AND LOCAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES. (a) To the extent allowed by law, a state
agency or local law enforcement agency shall cooperate with the
public integrity unit and prosecuting attorney by providing
resources and information requested by the unit as necessary to
carry out the purposes of this subchapter.
(b) Information disclosed under this section is
confidential and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552.
Sec. 411.0259. SUBPOENAS. (a) In connection with an
investigation of an alleged offense against public administration,
the public integrity unit may issue a subpoena to compel the
production, for inspection or copying, of relevant evidence that is
in this state.
(b) A subpoena may be served personally or by certified
mail.
(c) If a person fails to comply with a subpoena, the public
integrity unit, acting through the general counsel of the
department, may file suit to enforce the subpoena in a district
court in this state. On finding that good cause exists for issuing
the subpoena, the court shall order the person to comply with the
subpoena. The court may punish a person who fails to obey the court
order.
SECTION 2. Chapter 41, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter F to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER F. PAYMENTS FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY PROSECUTIONS
Sec. 41.351. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Offense against public administration" means an
offense described by Section 411.0252.
(2) "Prosecuting attorney" means a county attorney,
district attorney, or criminal district attorney.
Sec. 41.352. PAYMENT FOR EXTRAORDINARY COSTS OF
PROSECUTION. The comptroller shall pay from funds appropriated to
the comptroller's judiciary section, from appropriations made
specifically for enforcement of this section, reasonable amounts
incurred by a prosecuting attorney for extraordinary costs of
prosecution of an offense against public administration.
SECTION 3. Sections 301.027(b) and (c), Government Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(b) If the president of the senate or speaker receives a
report or statement of facts as provided by Subsection (a), the
president of the senate or speaker shall certify the statement of
facts to the appropriate prosecuting [Travis County district]
attorney as provided under Section 411.0253(d) under the seal of
the senate or house of representatives, as appropriate.
(c) The prosecuting [Travis County district] attorney to
whom a statement of facts is certified under Subsection (a) or the
prosecutor selected under Section 411.0255, if applicable, shall
bring the matter before the grand jury for action. If the grand
jury returns an indictment, the prosecuting [district] attorney
shall prosecute the indictment.
SECTION 4. Section 411.022, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) An officer of the Texas Rangers has the authority to
investigate offenses against public administration prosecuted
under Subchapter B-1.
SECTION 5. (a) Not later than three months after the
effective date of this Act, the Department of Public Safety shall
establish the public integrity unit under Subchapter B-1, Chapter
411, Government Code, as added by this Act.
(b) Subchapter B-1, Chapter 411, Government Code, as added
by this Act, applies only to the investigation and prosecution of an
offense under Subchapter B-1, Chapter 411, Government Code,
committed on or after the date that the Department of Public Safety
establishes the public integrity unit. For purposes of this
subsection, an offense is committed if any element of the offense
occurs before the date described by this subsection.
(c) The prosecution of an offense committed before the date
described in Subsection (b) of this section is covered by the law in
effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 6. If any provision of this Act or its application
to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does
not affect other provisions or applications of this Act that can be
given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to
this end the provisions of this Act are severable.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1690 was passed by the House on April
21, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 95, Nays 49, 1 present, not
voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
H.B. No. 1690 on May 27, 2015, and requested the appointment of a
conference committee to consider the differences between the two
houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report
on H.B. No. 1690 on May 30, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 96,
Nays 51, 1 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1690 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 25, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 20, Nays
11; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and
that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.
1690 on May 30, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 20, Nays 11.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor