Bill Text: TX HB3334 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Relating to a criminal justice system sentencing database established by the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-05-13 - Placed on General State Calendar [HB3334 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-HB3334-Comm_Sub.html

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87R20220 MEW-D
By: Turner of Dallas, Sherman, Sr., Krause H.B. No. 3334
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3334:
By: Davis C.S.H.B. No. 3334

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a criminal justice system sentencing database
established by the Office of Court Administration of the Texas
Judicial System.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 72, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter H to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER H. CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM SENTENCING DATABASE
Sec. 72.201. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "database"
means the criminal justice system sentencing database maintained
under this subchapter.
Sec. 72.202. DATABASE. (a) The office shall create and
maintain a database to collect, compile, and analyze data regarding
the sentencing of defendants.
(b) The office shall compile data that includes, with
respect to each defendant who has been convicted of a Class B
misdemeanor or any higher category of offense:
(1) the defendant's age and the zip code of the
defendant's primary residence at the time of the alleged offense;
(2) whether the defendant was determined to be
indigent at any time during the defendant's criminal case;
(3) the defendant's race, ethnicity, and gender;
(4) the offenses, including the category of each
offense, for which the defendant was sentenced;
(5) the provision of law under which the defendant was
sentenced;
(6) the date on which the offense occurred and the date
of the defendant's sentencing for that offense;
(7) the length of any term of imprisonment to which the
defendant was sentenced, including any period of probation or
community supervision, and if multiple sentences were ordered,
whether the sentences were ordered to be served consecutively or
concurrently;
(8) any court fees, fines, or amounts of restitution
assessed or ordered and the amount of each;
(9) each charge brought against the defendant in a
single criminal action, including any dismissed, amended, or
reduced charges;
(10) any enhancements applied during sentencing;
(11) the amount and type of any bail ordered by the
court;
(12) any credit for time served;
(13) whether the defendant was required to attend a
diversionary or treatment program, and if so, which program;
(14) whether the defendant pleaded guilty, not guilty,
or nolo contendere;
(15) any plea bargain agreement approved or rejected
by the court;
(16) whether punishment was assessed by the jury, and
if so, the jury's recommended sentence;
(17) if the defendant was convicted following trial,
whether the trial was a bench or jury trial;
(18) whether the defendant was represented by a
private attorney, a court-appointed private attorney, or a
court-appointed public defender or waived the right to
representation;
(19) the category of correctional facility at which
the defendant will serve confinement, if applicable; and
(20) if the offense was a drug offense, the identity
and amount of controlled substance for which the defendant was
convicted.
(c) Information maintained in the database under this
section is not required to be removed from the database following an
order of expunction issued with respect to that information.
Sec. 72.203. SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION BY COURTS. On final
disposition of a defendant's case, the clerk of the sentencing
court shall submit to the office, within the time period prescribed
by the office, a written record of the data required under Section
72.202, with respect to the defendant's case.
Sec. 72.204. PUBLISHED INFORMATION. (a) The office shall
publish deidentified sentencing data from the information in the
database on the office's Internet website in a modern, open,
electronic format that is machine-readable and readily accessible
by the public, free of charge. The office shall update the
information on the Internet website on a monthly basis.
(b) The sentencing data must be searchable by:
(1) each data element described by Section 72.202(b);
and
(2) the county and circuit in which a court is located.
(c) The data published on the office's Internet website may
not disclose the name or identifying information of a defendant or
any other individual involved in the defendant's sentencing.
Sec. 72.205. REPORT. Not later than September 1 of each
even-numbered year, the office shall submit a report to the
governor and the legislature regarding the data compiled in the
database.
Sec. 72.206. RULES. The office may adopt rules as necessary
to implement this subchapter.
SECTION 2. The Office of Court Administration of the Texas
Judicial System shall create the database described by Subchapter
H, Chapter 72, Government Code, as added by this Act, as soon as
practicable after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. A court is not required to submit information to
the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System
under Section 72.203, Government Code, as added by this Act,
regarding any sentencing that occurred before January 1, 2022.
SECTION 4. The Office of Court Administration of the Texas
Judicial System shall begin publishing sentencing data under
Section 72.204, Government Code, as added by this Act, on the
office's Internet website not later than April 1, 2022.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2021.