Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB112 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Ellis, et al. S.B. No. 112
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the establishment of veterans court programs in this
7	7	state and to pretrial intervention programs.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subtitle E, Title 7, Health and Safety Code, is
10	10	amended by adding Chapter 617 to read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 617.001. VETERANS COURT PROGRAM DEFINED; PROCEDURES
12	12	FOR CERTAIN DEFENDANTS. (a) In this chapter, "veterans court
13	13	program" means a program that has the following essential
14	14	characteristics:
15	15	(1) the integration of services in the processing of
16	16	cases in the judicial system;
17	17	(2) the use of a nonadversarial approach involving
18	18	prosecutors and defense attorneys to promote public safety and to
19	19	protect the due process rights of program participants;
20	20	(3) early identification and prompt placement of
21	21	eligible participants in the program;
22	22	(4) access to a continuum of alcohol, controlled
23	23	substance, mental health, and other related treatment and
24	24	rehabilitative services;
25	25	(5) careful monitoring of treatment and services
26	26	provided to program participants;
27	27	(6) a coordinated strategy to govern program responses
28	28	to participants' compliance;
29	29	(7) ongoing judicial interaction with program
30	30	participants;
31	31	(8) monitoring and evaluation of program goals and
32	32	effectiveness;
33	33	(9) continuing interdisciplinary education to promote
34	34	effective program planning, implementation, and operations; and
35	35	(10) development of partnerships with public agencies
36	36	and community organizations, including the United States
37	37	Department of Veterans Affairs.
38	38	(b) If a defendant successfully completes a veterans court
39	39	program, as authorized under Section 76.011, Government Code, after
40	40	notice to the attorney representing the state and a hearing in the
41	41	veterans court at which that court determines that a dismissal is in
42	42	the best interest of justice, the court in which the criminal case
43	43	is pending shall dismiss the criminal action against the defendant.
44	44	Sec. 617.002. AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH PROGRAM; ELIGIBILITY.
45	45	(a) The commissioners court of a county may establish a veterans
46	46	court program for persons arrested for or charged with any
47	47	misdemeanor or felony offense. A defendant is eligible to
48	48	participate in a veterans court program established under this
49	49	chapter only if the attorney representing the state consents to the
50	50	defendant's participation in the program and if the court in which
51	51	the criminal case is pending finds that the defendant:
52	52	(1) is a veteran or current member of the United States
53	53	armed forces, including a member of the reserves, national guard,
54	54	or state guard; and
55	55	(2) suffers from a brain injury, mental illness, or
56	56	mental disorder, including post-traumatic stress disorder, that:
57	57	(A) resulted from the defendant's military
58	58	service in a combat zone or other similar hazardous duty area; and
59	59	(B) materially affected the defendant's criminal
60	60	conduct at issue in the case.
61	61	(b) The court in which the criminal case is pending shall
62	62	allow an eligible defendant to choose whether to proceed through
63	63	the veterans court program or otherwise through the criminal
64	64	justice system.
65	65	(c) Proof of matters described by Subsection (a) may be
66	66	submitted to the court in which the criminal case is pending in any
67	67	form the court determines to be appropriate, including military
68	68	service and medical records, previous determinations of a
69	69	disability by a veteran's organization or by the United States
70	70	Department of Veterans Affairs, testimony or affidavits of other
71	71	veterans or service members, and prior determinations of
72	72	eligibility for benefits by any state or county veterans office.
73	73	The court's findings must accompany any docketed case.
74	74	Sec. 617.003. DUTIES OF VETERANS COURT. (a) A veterans
75	75	court program established under this chapter must:
76	76	(1) ensure a person eligible for the program is
77	77	provided legal counsel before volunteering to proceed through the
78	78	program and while participating in the program;
79	79	(2) allow a participant to withdraw from the program
80	80	at any time before a trial on the merits has been initiated;
81	81	(3) provide a participant with a court-ordered
82	82	individualized treatment plan indicating the services that will be
83	83	provided to the participant; and
84	84	(4) ensure that the jurisdiction of the veterans court
85	85	continues for a period of not less than six months but does not
86	86	continue beyond the period of community supervision for the offense
87	87	charged.
88	88	(b) A veterans court program established under this chapter
89	89	shall make, establish, and publish local procedures to ensure
90	90	maximum participation of eligible defendants in the county or
91	91	counties in which those defendants reside.
92	92	(c) This chapter does not prevent the initiation of
93	93	procedures under Chapter 46B, Code of Criminal Procedure.
94	94	Sec. 617.004. ESTABLISHMENT OF REGIONAL PROGRAM. The
95	95	commissioners courts of two or more counties may elect to establish
96	96	a regional veterans court program under this chapter for the
97	97	participating counties.
98	98	Sec. 617.005. OVERSIGHT. (a) The lieutenant governor and
99	99	the speaker of the house of representatives may assign to
100	100	appropriate legislative committees duties relating to the
101	101	oversight of veterans court programs established under this
102	102	chapter.
103	103	(b) A legislative committee or the governor may request the
104	104	state auditor to perform a management, operations, or financial or
105	105	accounting audit of a veterans court program established under this
106	106	chapter.
107	107	(c) A veterans court program established under this chapter
108	108	shall:
109	109	(1) notify the criminal justice division of the
110	110	governor's office before or on implementation of the program; and
111	111	(2) provide information regarding the performance of
112	112	the program to that division on request.
113	113	Sec. 617.006. FEES. (a) A veterans court program
114	114	established under this chapter may collect from a participant in
115	115	the program:
116	116	(1) a reasonable program fee not to exceed $1,000; and
117	117	(2) a testing, counseling, and treatment fee in an
118	118	amount necessary to cover the costs of any testing, counseling, or
119	119	treatment performed or provided under the program.
120	120	(b) Fees collected under this section may be paid on a
121	121	periodic basis or on a deferred payment schedule at the discretion
122	122	of the judge, magistrate, or program director administering the
123	123	program. The fees must be:
124	124	(1) based on the participant's ability to pay; and
125	125	(2) used only for purposes specific to the program.
126	126	SECTION 2. Subsection (a), Article 55.01, Code of Criminal
127	127	Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
128	128	(a) A person who has been placed under a custodial or
129	129	noncustodial arrest for commission of either a felony or
130	130	misdemeanor is entitled to have all records and files relating to
131	131	the arrest expunged if:
132	132	(1) the person is tried for the offense for which the
133	133	person was arrested and is:
134	134	(A) acquitted by the trial court, except as
135	135	provided by Subsection (c) of this section; or
136	136	(B) convicted and subsequently pardoned; or
137	137	(2) each of the following conditions exist:
138	138	(A) an indictment or information charging the
139	139	person with commission of a felony has not been presented against
140	140	the person for an offense arising out of the transaction for which
141	141	the person was arrested or, if an indictment or information
142	142	charging the person with commission of a felony was presented, the
143	143	indictment or information has been dismissed or quashed, and:
144	144	(i) the limitations period expired before
145	145	the date on which a petition for expunction was filed under Article
146	146	55.02; or
147	147	(ii) the court finds that the indictment or
148	148	information was dismissed or quashed because the person completed a
149	149	pretrial intervention program authorized under Section 76.011,
150	150	Government Code, or because the presentment had been made because
151	151	of mistake, false information, or other similar reason indicating
152	152	absence of probable cause at the time of the dismissal to believe
153	153	the person committed the offense or because it was void;
154	154	(B) the person has been released and the charge,
155	155	if any, has not resulted in a final conviction and is no longer
156	156	pending and there was no court ordered community supervision under
157	157	Article 42.12 for any offense other than a Class C misdemeanor; and
158	158	(C) the person has not been convicted of a felony
159	159	in the five years preceding the date of the arrest.
160	160	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.