82R4961 MAW-F
By: West S.B. No. 1233
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the promotion of efficiencies in and the administration
of certain county services and functions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 2, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 2.31 to read as follows:
Art. 2.31. COUNTY JAILERS. A jailer licensed under Chapter
1701, Occupations Code, may execute lawful process issued to the
jailer by any magistrate or court on a person confined in the jail
at which the jailer is employed to the same extent that a peace
officer is authorized to execute process under Article 2.13(b)(2),
including:
(1) a warrant under Chapter 15, 17, or 18;
(2) a capias under Chapter 17 or 23;
(3) a subpoena under Chapter 20 or 24; or
(4) an attachment under Chapter 20 or 24.
SECTION 2. Article 20.011(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) Only the following persons may be present in a grand
jury room while the grand jury is conducting proceedings:
(1) grand jurors;
(2) bailiffs;
(3) the attorney representing the state;
(4) witnesses while being examined or when necessary
to assist the attorney representing the state in examining other
witnesses or presenting evidence to the grand jury;
(5) interpreters, if necessary; [and]
(6) a stenographer or person operating an electronic
recording device, as provided by Article 20.012; and
(7) a person operating a video teleconferencing system
for use under Article 20.151.
SECTION 3. Article 20.02(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) A grand juror, bailiff, interpreter, stenographer or
person operating an electronic recording device, [or] person
preparing a typewritten transcription of a stenographic or
electronic recording, or person operating a video teleconferencing
system for use under Article 20.151 who discloses anything
transpiring before the grand jury, regardless of whether the thing
transpiring is recorded, in the course of the official duties of the
grand jury, is [shall be] liable to a fine as for contempt of the
court, not exceeding $500 [five hundred dollars], imprisonment not
exceeding 30 [thirty] days, or both the [such] fine and
imprisonment.
SECTION 4. Chapter 20, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 20.151 to read as follows:
Art. 20.151. CERTAIN TESTIMONY BY VIDEO TELECONFERENCING.
(a) With the consent of the foreman of the grand jury and the
attorney representing the state, a peace officer summoned to
testify before the grand jury may testify through the use of a
closed circuit video teleconferencing system that provides an
encrypted, simultaneous, compressed full motion video and
interactive communication of image and sound between the peace
officer, the attorney representing the state, and the grand jury.
(b) In addition to being administered the oath described by
Article 20.16(a), before being interrogated, a peace officer
testifying through the use of a closed circuit video
teleconferencing system under this article shall affirm that:
(1) no person other than a person in the grand jury
room is capable of hearing the peace officer's testimony; and
(2) the peace officer's testimony is not being
recorded or otherwise preserved by any person at the location from
which the peace officer is testifying.
(c) Testimony received from a peace officer under this
article shall be recorded and preserved.
SECTION 5. Article 26.13, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Subsection (j) to read as follows:
(j) Notwithstanding any provision of this code, a person who
is incarcerated in a facility operated by or under contract with the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice may submit in writing a plea of
guilty or plea of nolo contendere regarding any misdemeanor charge.
The plea may be transmitted to the court by mail, facsimile, or
other means. On receipt of a plea under this subsection, the court
shall make the admonitions required by this article to the
defendant in writing as provided by Subsection (d).
SECTION 6. Article 27.18, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (c-1) and
(c-2) to read as follows:
(c) A recording of the communication shall be made and
preserved until all appellate proceedings have been disposed of. A
court reporter or court recorder is not required to transcribe or
make a separate recording of a plea taken under this article.
(c-1) The defendant may obtain a copy of a [the] recording
made under Subsection (c) on payment of a reasonable amount to cover
the costs of reproduction or, if the defendant is indigent, the
court shall provide a copy to the defendant without charging a cost
for the copy.
(c-2) The loss or destruction of or failure to make a video
recording of a plea entered under this article is not alone
sufficient grounds for a defendant to withdraw the defendant's plea
or to request the court to set aside a conviction or sentence based
on the plea.
SECTION 7. Article 38.073, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 38.073. TESTIMONY OF INMATE WITNESSES. In a
proceeding in the prosecution of a criminal offense in which an
inmate in the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is
required to testify as a witness, any deposition or testimony of the
inmate witness may be conducted by a video teleconferencing system
in the manner described by Article 27.18 [electronic means, in the
same manner as permitted in civil cases under Section 30.012, Civil
Practice and Remedies Code].
SECTION 8. Article 49.25, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Section 13A to read as follows:
Sec. 13A. FEES. A medical examiner may charge reasonable
fees for services provided by the office of medical examiner under
this article, including cremation approvals, court testimonies,
consultations, and depositions.
SECTION 9. Section 31.037, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 31.037. SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT. The
employment of the county elections administrator may be suspended,
with or without pay, or terminated at any time for good and
sufficient cause on the four-fifths vote of the county election
commission and approval of that action by a majority vote of the
commissioners court.
SECTION 10. Sections 51.318(b) and (e), Government Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(b) The fees are:
(1) for issuing a subpoena, including one copy$8
(2) for issuing a citation, commission for deposition,
writ of execution, order of sale, writ of execution and order of
sale, writ of injunction, writ of garnishment, writ of attachment,
or writ of sequestration not provided for in Section 51.317, or any
other writ or process not otherwise provided for, including one
copy if required by law$8
(3) for searching files or records to locate a cause
when the docket number is not provided$5
(4) for searching files or records to ascertain the
existence of an instrument or record in the district clerk's
office$5
(5) for abstracting a judgment$8
(6) for approving a bond$4
(7) for a certified copy of a record, judgment, order,
pleading, or paper on file or of record in the district clerk's
office, including certificate and seal, for each page or part of a
page$1
(8) for a noncertified copy, for each page or part of a
page not to exceed $1
(9) notwithstanding Section 51.3195, for an
electronic certified copy of a record, judgment, order, pleading,
or paper on file or of record in the district clerk's office,
including certificate and seal, for each page or part of a
pagenot to exceed $1.
(e) The district clerk may not charge the United States
Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the United States
Citizenship and Immigration Services [Naturalization Service] a
fee for a copy of any document on file or of record in the clerk's
office relating to an individual's criminal history, regardless of
whether the document is certified.
SECTION 11. Subchapter D, Chapter 101, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 101.06118 to read as follows:
Sec. 101.06118. ADDITIONAL DISTRICT COURT FEES: GOVERNMENT
CODE. The clerk of a district court shall collect for an electronic
certified copy of a record, judgment, order, pleading, or paper on
file or of record in the district clerk's office, including
certificate and seal, a fee not to exceed $1 for each page or part of
a page under Section 51.318, Government Code.
SECTION 12. (a) Articles 20.011(a) and 20.02(b), Code of
Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act, and Article 20.151,
Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act, apply only to
testimony before a grand jury that is impaneled on or after the
effective date of this Act.
(b) Article 27.18, Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by
this Act, and Article 26.13(j), Code of Criminal Procedure, as
added by this Act, apply to a plea of guilty or nolo contendere
entered on or after the effective date of this Act, regardless of
whether the offense with reference to which the plea is entered is
committed before, on, or after that date.
(c) Article 38.073, Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended
by this Act, applies only to the testimony of an inmate witness that
is taken on or after the effective date of this Act.
(d) Section 13A, Article 49.25, Code of Criminal Procedure,
as added by this Act, applies only to a service provided by a
medical examiner's office on or after the effective date of this
Act. A service provided before the effective date of this Act is
covered by the law in effect on the date the service was provided,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(e) Section 51.318(b), Government Code, as amended by this
Act, applies only to a request for an electronic certified copy of a
record, judgment, order, pleading, or paper on file or of record in
the district clerk's office, including certificate and seal, made
on or after the effective date of this Act. A request made before
the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when
the request was made, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 13. 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, 2011.