Bill Text: TX SB520 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the confidentiality of and discovery procedures relating to certain material regarding the protection or security of a witness; creating a criminal offense.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-02-17 - Referred to Criminal Justice [SB520 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-SB520-Introduced.html

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88R3525 MZM-F
By: West S.B. No. 520

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the confidentiality of and discovery procedures
relating to certain material regarding the protection or security
of a witness; creating a criminal offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Tyrek Jenkins Act.
SECTION 2. Article 39.14(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Subject to the restrictions provided by Section
264.408, Family Code, and Articles [Article] 39.15 and 39.16 of
this code, as soon as practicable after receiving a timely request
from the defendant the state shall produce and permit the
inspection and the electronic duplication, copying, and
photographing, by or on behalf of the defendant, of any offense
reports, any designated documents, papers, written or recorded
statements of the defendant or a witness, including witness
statements of law enforcement officers but not including the work
product of counsel for the state in the case and their investigators
and their notes or report, or any designated books, accounts,
letters, photographs, or objects or other tangible things not
otherwise privileged that constitute or contain evidence material
to any matter involved in the action and that are in the possession,
custody, or control of the state or any person under contract with
the state. The state may provide to the defendant electronic
duplicates of any documents or other information described by this
article. The rights granted to the defendant under this article do
not extend to written communications between the state and an
agent, representative, or employee of the state. This article does
not authorize the removal of the documents, items, or information
from the possession of the state, and any inspection shall be in the
presence of a representative of the state.
SECTION 3. Chapter 39, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 39.16 to read as follows:
Art. 39.16. MATERIAL RELATED TO WITNESS PROTECTION OR
SECURITY. (a) This article applies to any record, claim, writing,
document, information, or other material:
(1) received, made, or kept by an agency or program
with the primary purpose of protecting, securing, or relocating
witnesses; or
(2) in the possession of the state and relating to the
protecting, securing, or relocating of a witness by an agency or
program described by Subdivision (1).
(b) Notwithstanding Article 39.14, the state may not
produce for the defendant or permit the inspection by the defendant
of material described by Subsection (a) before the material has
been submitted to the court for an in camera review and the court
has determined that the production or inspection of the material
is:
(1) required under the United States Constitution; or
(2) otherwise necessary for a matter before the court.
(c) To preserve material for appellate review, the court
shall place any material reviewed in camera under this article
under seal of the court.
(d) A prosecutor or other attorney representing an agency or
program with the primary purpose of protecting, securing, or
relocating witnesses has standing in any criminal action to oppose
the disclosure of material under this article.
SECTION 4. Chapter 30, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
amended by adding Section 30.0065 to read as follows:
Sec. 30.0065. MATERIAL RELATED TO WITNESS PROTECTION OR
SECURITY. (a) This section applies to any record, claim, writing,
document, information, or other material:
(1) received, made, or kept by an agency or program
with the primary purpose of protecting, securing, or relocating
witnesses; or
(2) in the possession of the state and relating to the
protecting, securing, or relocating of a witness by an agency or
program described by Subdivision (1).
(b) A party in a civil case may not produce or release
material described by Subsection (a) before the material has been
submitted to the court for an in camera review and the court has
determined that the production or release of the material is
necessary for a matter before the court.
(c) To preserve material for appellate review, the court
shall place any material reviewed in camera under this section
under seal of the court.
(d) A prosecutor or other attorney representing an agency or
program with the primary purpose of protecting, securing, or
relocating witnesses has standing in any civil action to oppose the
disclosure of material under this section.
SECTION 5. Subchapter C, Chapter 552, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 552.1082 to read as follows:
Sec. 552.1082. EXCEPTION: CONFIDENTIALITY OF CERTAIN
INFORMATION REGARDING WITNESS PROTECTION OR SECURITY. Information
is confidential and excepted from the requirements of Section
552.021 if the information is:
(1) received, made, or kept by an agency or program
with the primary purpose of protecting, securing, or relocating
witnesses; or
(2) in the possession of the state and relating to the
protecting, securing, or relocating of a witness by an agency or
program described by Subdivision (1).
SECTION 6. Chapter 38, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Section 38.20 to read as follows:
Sec. 38.20. UNLAWFUL DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL RELATED TO
WITNESS PROTECTION OR SECURITY. (a) A person commits an offense if
the person knowingly discloses any record, claim, writing,
document, information, or other material:
(1) in violation of Article 39.16, Code of Criminal
Procedure, or Section 30.0065, Civil Practice and Remedies Code; or
(2) in response to a request under Chapter 552,
Government Code, when the record, claim, writing, document,
information, or other material is confidential and excepted from
disclosure under Section 552.1082, Government Code.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
SECTION 7. (a) Article 39.14, Code of Criminal Procedure,
as amended by this Act, and Article 39.16, Code of Criminal
Procedure, as added by this Act, apply only to the prosecution of an
offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. The
prosecution of an offense committed before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was
committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed
before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
occurred before that date.
(b) Section 30.0065, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as
added by this Act, applies only to an action commenced on or after
the effective date of this Act.
(c) Section 552.1082, Government Code, as added by this Act,
applies only to a request for public information received on or
after the effective date of this Act. A request for public
information received before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the request was received,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.