Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB125 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R1812 PEP-D
2	2	By: Ellis S.B. No. 125
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the right of a foreign national to contact a foreign
8	8	consular official.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Article 15.17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
11	11	amended by adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
12	12	(h)(1) If a magistrate knows or suspects that a person
13	13	brought before the magistrate after an arrest is a foreign
14	14	national, other than a national of Canada or the United Mexican
15	15	States, the magistrate shall inform the person that after an arrest
16	16	a foreign national has a right to communicate with an official from
17	17	the consulate of the person's country. If the person chooses to
18	18	exercise the right to communicate with the consular official, the
19	19	magistrate shall notify an official of the penal institution in
20	20	which the person is confined that the person wants a foreign
21	21	consular official to be notified.
22	22	(2) If a magistrate knows or suspects that a person
23	23	brought before the magistrate after an arrest is a national of
24	24	Canada or the United Mexican States, the magistrate shall:
25	25	(A) inform the person that, after an arrest, a
26	26	foreign national has a right to communicate with an official from
27	27	the consulate of the person's country; and
28	28	(B) notify the consulate of Canada or the United
29	29	Mexican States, as applicable, of the person's arrest and
30	30	detention.
31	31	(3) The official of the penal institution in which the
32	32	person is confined shall allow the person to communicate with,
33	33	correspond with, and be visited by a consular official of the
34	34	person's country.
35	35	(4) In providing a foreign national with rights
36	36	described by this subsection, the magistrate and official of the
37	37	penal institution shall comply with policies and procedures adopted
38	38	by the United States Department of State that apply to the
39	39	notification of foreign consular officials on the arrest of foreign
40	40	nationals.
41	41	SECTION 2. Title 1, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended
42	42	by adding Chapter 65 to read as follows:
43	43	CHAPTER 65. MOTION FOR RELIEF BASED
44	44	ON INTERNATIONAL TREATY
45	45	Art. 65.01. MOTION FOR RELIEF AUTHORIZED. A person who is
46	46	convicted of an offense for which a sentence of death was imposed
47	47	and whose rights, during and in relation to the investigation or
48	48	prosecution of the offense, were infringed by a violation by any
49	49	nonforeign governmental authority of Article 36 of the Vienna
50	50	Convention on Consular Relations may file a motion under this
51	51	chapter to obtain any appropriate relief required to remedy the
52	52	harm done by the violation, including a vitiation of the death
53	53	sentence.
54	54	SECTION 3. Section 1701.253, Occupations Code, is amended
55	55	by adding Subsection (k) to read as follows:
56	56	(k) As part of the minimum curriculum requirements, the
57	57	commission shall establish a statewide comprehensive education and
58	58	training program on the requirements for handling the arrest and
59	59	detention of a foreign national as provided by Article 15.17(h),
60	60	Code of Criminal Procedure. An officer shall complete a program
61	61	established under this subsection not later than the second
62	62	anniversary of the date the officer is licensed under this chapter
63	63	or the date the officer applies for an intermediate proficiency
64	64	certificate, whichever date is earlier.
65	65	SECTION 4. Section 1701.402, Occupations Code, is amended
66	66	by adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
67	67	(h) As a requirement for an intermediate proficiency
68	68	certificate, an officer must complete an education and training
69	69	program on the requirements for handling the arrest of a foreign
70	70	national that are established by the commission under Section
71	71	1701.253(k).
72	72	SECTION 5. (a) Not later than January 1, 2010, the
73	73	Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education shall
74	74	establish the curriculum for a comprehensive education and training
75	75	program for peace officers as required by Section 1701.253(k) and
76	76	Section 1701.402(h), Occupations Code, as added by this Act.
77	77	(b) A person who, on September 1, 2009, holds an
78	78	intermediate proficiency certificate issued under Section
79	79	1701.402, Occupations Code, or has held a peace officer license
80	80	issued by the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and
81	81	Education for more than two years shall complete an educational
82	82	training program on the requirements for handling the arrest of a
83	83	foreign national that are established under Section 1701.253(k),
84	84	Occupations Code, as added by this Act, not later than September 1,
85	85	2011.
86	86	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.