Bill Text: TX SB834 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Engrossed
Bill Title: Relating to the confidentiality of certain grand juror information, including making former district court jurors instead of former grand jurors eligible for service on certain public committees.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2013-05-13 - Left pending in committee [SB834 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-SB834-Engrossed.html
By: Estes | S.B. No. 834 |
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relating to the confidentiality of certain grand juror information, | ||
including making former district court jurors instead of former | ||
grand jurors eligible for service on certain public committees. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Article 19.42, Code of Criminal Procedure, is | ||
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), information | ||
collected by the court, court personnel, or prosecuting attorney | ||
during the grand jury selection process about a person who serves as | ||
a grand juror, including the person's name, home address, home | ||
telephone number, social security number, driver's license number, | ||
and other personal information, is confidential and may not be | ||
disclosed by the court, court personnel, or prosecuting attorney. | ||
(c) On request, the court shall permit disclosure of a list | ||
of the names, races, ethnicities, and genders of the grand jurors to | ||
an attorney representing a party to the proceeding for the purpose | ||
of a constitutional challenge to the array after indictment. On | ||
disclosing the list of the names, races, ethnicities, or genders of | ||
the grand jurors, the court shall order the attorney representing a | ||
party to the proceeding and any investigator, expert, consulting | ||
legal counsel, secretary, or paralegal for the attorney not to | ||
disclose the names, races, ethnicities, or genders of the grand | ||
jurors to a party to the proceeding or to any other person. | ||
SECTION 2. Subsection (b), Section 152.015, Local | ||
Government Code, is amended to read as follows: | ||
(b) Before the meeting, the county clerk shall place on a | ||
separate slip the name of each person who served on a district court | ||
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the meeting the slips shall be folded, placed in an appropriate | ||
container, and mixed. The county judge shall draw at random a | ||
number of slips equal to the number of public members needed for the | ||
committee and shall announce the names on the slips. At the meeting | ||
the county judge may repeat this process and make a list of | ||
alternates. A person whose name is drawn becomes a member of the | ||
committee or an alternate on submitting written acceptance to the | ||
clerk. If a person refuses or is unable to serve on the committee, a | ||
replacement shall be appointed from the list of alternates. If the | ||
list of alternates is exhausted or does not exist, a replacement | ||
shall be selected at the next regular or called commissioners court | ||
meeting by random selection of a slip from the remaining slips. | ||
This process shall be repeated until the required number of public | ||
members is selected. | ||
SECTION 3. 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, 2013. |