| 1 | 1 | | By: Wentworth S.B. No. 1066 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Filed February 23, 2009; March 13, 2009, read |
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| 3 | 3 | | first time and referred to Committee on Jurisprudence; |
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| 4 | 4 | | March 30, 2009, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 6, |
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| 5 | 5 | | Nays 0; March 30, 2009, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 9 | 9 | | AN ACT |
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| 10 | 10 | | relating to posttrial psychological counseling for jurors in a |
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| 11 | 11 | | criminal trial or juvenile adjudication hearing involving graphic |
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| 12 | 12 | | evidence or testimony. |
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| 13 | 13 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 14 | 14 | | SECTION 1. Subsection (f), Article 56.04, Code of Criminal |
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| 15 | 15 | | Procedure, is amended to read as follows: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (f) The commissioners court may approve a program in which |
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| 17 | 17 | | the crime victim liaison or victim assistance coordinator may offer |
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| 18 | 18 | | not more than 10 hours of posttrial psychological counseling for a |
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| 19 | 19 | | person who serves as a juror or an alternate juror in a criminal |
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| 20 | 20 | | [the] trial [of an offense under Section 19.02, 19.03, 21.11, |
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| 21 | 21 | | 22.011, 22.021, 43.05, 43.25, or 43.251, Penal Code,] involving |
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| 22 | 22 | | graphic evidence or testimony and who requests the posttrial |
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| 23 | 23 | | psychological counseling not later than the 180th day after the |
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| 24 | 24 | | date on which the jury in the trial is dismissed. The crime victim |
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| 25 | 25 | | liaison or victim assistance coordinator may provide the counseling |
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| 26 | 26 | | using a provider that assists local criminal justice agencies in |
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| 27 | 27 | | providing similar services to victims. |
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| 28 | 28 | | SECTION 2. The heading to Section 57.003, Family Code, is |
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| 29 | 29 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 30 | 30 | | Sec. 57.003. DUTIES [DUTY] OF JUVENILE BOARD AND VICTIM |
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| 31 | 31 | | ASSISTANCE COORDINATOR. |
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| 32 | 32 | | SECTION 3. Section 57.003, Family Code, is amended by |
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| 33 | 33 | | adding Subsection (g) to read as follows: |
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| 34 | 34 | | (g) The juvenile board may approve a program in which the |
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| 35 | 35 | | victim assistance coordinator may offer not more than 10 hours of |
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| 36 | 36 | | posttrial psychological counseling for a person who serves as a |
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| 37 | 37 | | juror or an alternate juror in an adjudication hearing involving |
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| 38 | 38 | | graphic evidence or testimony and who requests the posttrial |
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| 39 | 39 | | psychological counseling not later than the 180th day after the |
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| 40 | 40 | | date on which the jury in the adjudication hearing is dismissed. |
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| 41 | 41 | | The victim assistance coordinator may provide the counseling using |
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| 42 | 42 | | a provider that assists local juvenile justice agencies in |
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| 43 | 43 | | providing similar services to victims. |
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| 44 | 44 | | SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 45 | 45 | | to a criminal trial or juvenile adjudication hearing for which a |
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| 46 | 46 | | jury is selected on or after the effective date of this Act. A |
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| 47 | 47 | | criminal trial or juvenile adjudication hearing for which a jury is |
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| 48 | 48 | | selected before the effective date of this Act is governed by the |
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| 49 | 49 | | law as it existed immediately before that date, and that law is |
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| 50 | 50 | | continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 51 | 51 | | SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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| 52 | 52 | | * * * * * |
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