Bill Text: TX HB970 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to prosecutorial transparency.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-04-19 - No action taken in committee [HB970 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-HB970-Introduced.html

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87R3430 YDB-F
By: Dutton H.B. No. 970

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to prosecutorial transparency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 2, Government Code, is amended
by adding Chapter 47 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 47. PROSECUTORIAL TRANSPARENCY
Sec. 47.0001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Case number" means the unique number assigned to
a criminal case associated with a charged offense.
(2) "Charge" means an accusation by a prosecutor's
office that an individual committed an offense, including a
violation of an ordinance, an offense punishable by fine only, a
misdemeanor, or a felony brought by ticket, citation, information,
complaint, indictment, or other charging instrument.
(3) "Disposition" means the action concluding the
prosecution of a charge, including an entry of nolle prosequi,
diversion, dismissal, dismissal as part of plea bargain, conviction
as part of plea bargain, conviction at trial, or acquittal.
(4) "Office" means the Office of Court Administration
of the Texas Judicial System.
(5) "Policy" means any formal or informal policy,
procedure, guideline, manual, training material, direction,
instruction, or other information that contains guidance for
employees of a prosecutor's office.
(6) "Prosecutor" means a district attorney, criminal
district attorney, county attorney performing the duties of a
district attorney, or municipal prosecutor.
(7) "Unique identifier" means a randomly generated
number assigned in place of a defendant's name.
Sec. 47.0002. INFORMATION COLLECTED AND MAINTAINED BY
PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE. (a) Except as provided by this section, a
prosecutor's office shall collect the following information, as
applicable, for each case presented to the office:
(1) the case number;
(2) the indictment number;
(3) the docket number;
(4) the unique identifier;
(5) the defendant's race;
(6) the defendant's gender;
(7) the defendant's disability status, including, as
applicable, the status of the defendant as having:
(A) an intellectual disability;
(B) a physical disability; or
(C) a sensory disability;
(8) the source of the information provided in
Subdivision (7), including, as applicable:
(A) the defendant's advocate or attorney;
(B) observation by defense attorney; or
(C) another source;
(9) the date the offense was committed or incident
occurred;
(10) the arrest date;
(11) the district, precinct, or neighborhood of the
arrest;
(12) the primary arresting law enforcement agency;
(13) other governmental agencies involved in the
arrest;
(14) the charges listed on the arresting law
enforcement agency's paperwork;
(15) if the prosecutor declines to prosecute an
alleged offense, the reason for that decision;
(16) any charges filed by the prosecutor;
(17) the name of the prosecutor who approved each
filed charge;
(18) the defendant's eligibility for court-appointed
counsel and the proceeding in which that determination was made;
(19) the arraignment date;
(20) the date the charge was modified;
(21) the charge following any modification;
(22) whether diversion was offered;
(23) the date diversion was offered;
(24) the judge's position on diversion if stated on the
record;
(25) whether the defendant accepted any diversion
offered;
(26) the diversion terms, including the amount of any
fees the defendant is ordered to pay;
(27) whether the punishment for the offense prescribes
a mandatory minimum sentence;
(28) whether the offense charged was eligible for
punishment by death sentence;
(29) the prosecutor's recommendation on the amount of
bail or bond, including release conditions;
(30) whether bail or bond was imposed on the
defendant;
(31) whether bond was secured, unsecured, or payable
from another type of arrangement;
(32) the date bail or bond was imposed;
(33) any court-ordered release conditions;
(34) the dates and length of any pretrial detention
the defendant served;
(35) whether a risk assessment or other quantitative
tool was used in determining pretrial detention or the amount of
bail or bond and, if used:
(A) the name of the office or agency that
conducted the assessment; and
(B) the name of offices, agencies, individuals,
or attorneys that received the assessment results;
(36) whether any statutory or constitutional rights of
defendants were waived by stipulation or in the court's record and,
if waived:
(A) the dates of the waiver;
(B) the rights waived; and
(C) whether and which rights were waived as a
condition of a plea bargain;
(37) whether a plea was offered;
(38) whether a time limit for acceptance was included
with a plea offer;
(39) the terms of all pleas offered to the defendant,
including:
(A) any charges dismissed;
(B) the sentence ranges for charges dismissed;
(C) the charges included in the plea;
(D) the sentence ranges for charges included in
the plea;
(E) any charges included in the plea but not
included in the convicted offenses; and
(F) any punishment or sentence offered for
accepting the plea;
(40) whether the plea was accepted or rejected;
(41) whether discovery was disclosed to the defense or
defendant before the plea;
(42) the date discovery was disclosed to the defense
or defendant;
(43) the judges presiding over pretrial proceedings;
(44) the case's disposition, including:
(A) whether the case or charges were dismissed by
the prosecutor or dismissed on the motion of the prosecutor and the
reason for the dismissal;
(B) the offenses of which the defendant was
convicted;
(C) if the defendant was convicted, whether by
plea, jury trial, or bench trial; and
(D) if a judge dismisses the case, the reason for
the dismissal;
(45) the presiding judge at disposition;
(46) the disposition date;
(47) the sentence type, including fines, probation,
suspended sentences, and incarceration;
(48) the sentence length;
(49) the presiding judge at sentencing;
(50) the supervision terms;
(51) any services required or provided to the defense
or defendant;
(52) any fines, reimbursement fees, or court costs
imposed; and
(53) any forfeiture of property required.
(b) The prosecutor's office shall maintain a record of the
information required by Subsection (a) for each case until at least
the 10th anniversary of the date the alleged offense for the case
was committed.
(c) The prosecutor's office shall collect all office
policies, including policies related to the following:
(1) case dismissal and charging of offenses;
(2) bail;
(3) sentencing;
(4) plea bargains;
(5) grand jury practices;
(6) discovery practices;
(7) witness treatment, including the timing and
procedures to procure material witness warrants;
(8) the procedure for deciding whether to prosecute
juveniles as adults;
(9) the manner in which fines, reimbursement fees, and
court costs are assessed;
(10) asset forfeiture practices;
(11) mental health screening and history;
(12) substance abuse screening and history;
(13) domestic violence survivors;
(14) diversion practices;
(15) human resources, including hiring, evaluation,
firing, promotion, and rotation among divisions or units in the
prosecutor's office;
(16) internal discipline and related procedures;
(17) victim services;
(18) restorative justice programs;
(19) office trainings offered in the prosecutor's
office in the preceding year;
(20) procedures for tracking and responding to
incarcerated individuals' applications for parole or resentencing;
and
(21) vulnerable populations, including members of the
immigrant, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer
communities.
(d) The prosecutor's office shall collect the following
information for each attorney employed in the office with the name
and other personally identifying information redacted or otherwise
ensuring the anonymity of the attorney:
(1) age;
(2) gender;
(3) race;
(4) date hired;
(5) title; and
(6) disciplinary history.
(e) The prosecutor's office must collect the following
information:
(1) the number of attorneys on staff;
(2) the average number of cases handled by an attorney
each year;
(3) the number of attorneys who worked for the office
in a temporary or contract capacity during the preceding calendar
year;
(4) the number of paralegals and administrative staff
employed by the office;
(5) the number of investigators who provided services
to the office during the preceding calendar year;
(6) the number of experts who provided services to the
office during the preceding calendar year; and
(7) the number of peace officers or detectives who
work directly for the prosecutor's office.
Sec. 47.0003. PUBLIC POSTING REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN
INFORMATION. (a) A prosecutor's office shall make publicly
available the information required by Sections 47.0002(c)-(e) by:
(1) posting the information on the office's Internet
website; and
(2) otherwise making the information available on
request.
(b) The information made available under Subsection (a)
must include the effective date of each policy or the date the
information was gathered. The prosecutor's office at least
annually shall post revised or newly drafted policies or newly
collected information.
(c) A prosecutor's office that does not maintain a policy
related to a topic listed in Section 47.0002(c) shall affirmatively
disclose that fact.
Sec. 47.0004. REPORT OF CERTAIN INFORMATION TO OFFICE. (a)
The office shall:
(1) establish a uniform and consistent method for a
prosecutor's office to transmit the information required under
Section 47.0002(a) to the office; and
(2) develop an implementation schedule and plan for
all prosecutors' offices in this state to report the information
required under Section 47.0002(a), which may include, as determined
by the office, a staggered implementation that prioritizes a subset
of the information or prioritizes reporting by prosecutors' offices
from counties with the largest populations.
(b) In accordance with Subsection (a), on or before January
31 of each year, a prosecutor's office shall transmit required
information for the preceding calendar year that does not contain
any personally identifying information about an individual
arrested or prosecuted to the office.
Sec. 47.0005. USE OF INFORMATION TRANSMITTED TO OFFICE.
The office shall:
(1) on May 1 of each year, publish on the office's
Internet website the information received from all prosecutors'
offices under Section 47.0004 in an open electronic format that is
machine-readable, machine-searchable, and readily accessible to
the public, provided the information does not contain personally
identifying information about any individual arrested or
prosecuted;
(2) on September 1 of each year, issue a report
analyzing the information received from all prosecutors' offices
that compares and contrasts the practices and trends among
prosecutors' offices in this state and identifies any prosecutors'
offices that are not in compliance with this chapter;
(3) biannually publish issue-specific reports with
more in-depth analysis of one or more areas of prosecutorial
decision-making; and
(4) annually publish at least one report focusing on
racial disparities in prosecutorial decision-making.
Sec. 47.0006. ADVISORY BOARD. (a) An advisory board is
established to advise the office under this chapter. The advisory
board shall meet at least quarterly with the office to provide
comments and guidance to the office on any draft rules, policies,
plans, reports, or other decisions made by the office related to
this chapter.
(b) The advisory board:
(1) is composed of at least seven members, appointed
by the governor; and
(2) must include at least:
(A) two members who are public defenders or other
criminal defense attorneys; and
(B) two members with direct experience as
criminal defendants prosecuted under this state's criminal justice
system.
(c) An advisory board member is not entitled to compensation
for service on the advisory board.
Sec. 47.0007. NONCOMPLIANCE. Notwithstanding any other
law, if the office determines that a prosecutor's office is not in
compliance with this chapter, the prosecutor's office is ineligible
to receive funding from this state's general revenue fund or other
fund or any state grant program administered by the attorney
general or other entity controlling grants to the prosecutor's
office. The office shall inform the comptroller and the
Legislative Budget Board of the ineligibility. Eligibility for
funding may be restored only after:
(1) the prosecutor's office fully complies with this
chapter and provides the required information; and
(2) the office certifies that the prosecutor's office
is in compliance with this chapter.
Sec. 47.0008. RELATION TO PUBLIC RECORDS ACTS. (a)
Notwithstanding any other law, a prosecutor's office that is in
compliance with this chapter and that receives a request for
information under Chapter 552 that the prosecutor's office
reasonably and in good faith believes can be satisfied by reference
to information publicly available under this chapter may satisfy
the obligation under Chapter 552 by referring the requesting party
to the Internet website that contains the information. The
prosecutor's office is not required to otherwise collect and
disclose the requested information.
(b) A requesting party that does not agree that the party's
request can be satisfied with information collected under this
chapter and published on the relevant website may file suit in
accordance with Chapter 552 to compel disclosure.
SECTION 2. (a) Not later than December 1, 2021, the
governor shall make the initial appointments to the advisory board
established under Section 47.0006, Government Code, as added by
this Act.
(b) Not later than March 1, 2022, a prosecutor's office
shall post on the Internet website for the office the initial
information as required by Section 47.0003, Government Code, as
added by this Act.
(c) Not later than September 1, 2022, the Office of Court
Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall make the
determinations required under Section 47.0004(a), Government Code,
as added by this Act.
(d) Not later than May 1, 2023, the Office of Court
Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall post on the
office's Internet website the initial information required under
Section 47.0005(1), Government Code, as added by this Act.
(e) Not later than September 1, 2023, the Office of Court
Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall produce the
initial reports required under Sections 47.0005(2), (3), and (4),
Government Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.