| 1 | 1 | | By: Huffman S.B. No. 780 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Filed February 25, 2015; March 2, 2015, |
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| 3 | 3 | | read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice; |
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| 4 | 4 | | May 7, 2015, reported adversely, with favorable Committee |
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| 5 | 5 | | Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 7, 2015, sent |
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| 6 | 6 | | to printer.) |
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| 7 | 7 | | COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 780 By: Huffman |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | |
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| 10 | 10 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 11 | 11 | | AN ACT |
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| 12 | 12 | | relating to the preservation of toxicological evidence collected in |
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| 13 | 13 | | connection with certain intoxication offenses. |
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| 14 | 14 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 15 | 15 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 38, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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| 16 | 16 | | amended by adding Article 38.50 to read as follows: |
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| 17 | 17 | | Art. 38.50. RETENTION AND PRESERVATION OF TOXICOLOGICAL |
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| 18 | 18 | | EVIDENCE OF CERTAIN INTOXICATION OFFENSES. (a) In this article, |
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| 19 | 19 | | "toxicological evidence" means a blood or urine specimen that was |
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| 20 | 20 | | collected as part of an investigation of an alleged offense under |
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| 21 | 21 | | Chapter 49, Penal Code. |
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| 22 | 22 | | (b) This article applies to a governmental or public entity |
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| 23 | 23 | | or an individual, including a law enforcement agency, prosecutor's |
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| 24 | 24 | | office, or crime laboratory, that is charged with the collection, |
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| 25 | 25 | | storage, preservation, analysis, or retrieval of toxicological |
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| 26 | 26 | | evidence. |
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| 27 | 27 | | (c) An entity or individual described by Subsection (b) |
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| 28 | 28 | | shall ensure that toxicological evidence collected pursuant to an |
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| 29 | 29 | | investigation or prosecution of an offense under Chapter 49, Penal |
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| 30 | 30 | | Code, is retained and preserved, as applicable: |
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| 31 | 31 | | (1) for the greater of two years or the period of the |
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| 32 | 32 | | statute of limitations for the offense, if the indictment or |
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| 33 | 33 | | information charging the defendant, or the petition in a juvenile |
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| 34 | 34 | | proceeding, has not been presented; |
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| 35 | 35 | | (2) for the duration of a defendant's sentence or term |
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| 36 | 36 | | of community supervision, as applicable, if the defendant is |
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| 37 | 37 | | convicted or placed on community supervision, or for the duration |
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| 38 | 38 | | of the commitment or supervision period applicable to the |
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| 39 | 39 | | disposition of a juvenile adjudicated as having engaged in |
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| 40 | 40 | | delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision; or |
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| 41 | 41 | | (3) until the defendant is acquitted or the indictment |
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| 42 | 42 | | or information is dismissed with prejudice, or, in a juvenile |
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| 43 | 43 | | proceeding, until a hearing is held and the court does not find the |
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| 44 | 44 | | child engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need |
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| 45 | 45 | | for supervision. |
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| 46 | 46 | | (d) For each offense subject to this article, the court |
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| 47 | 47 | | shall determine as soon as practicable the appropriate retention |
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| 48 | 48 | | and preservation period for the toxicological evidence under |
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| 49 | 49 | | Subsection (c) and notify the defendant or the child or child's |
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| 50 | 50 | | guardian and the entity or individual charged with storage of the |
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| 51 | 51 | | toxicological evidence of the period for which the evidence is to be |
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| 52 | 52 | | retained and preserved. If an action of the prosecutor or the court |
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| 53 | 53 | | changes the applicable period under Subsection (c), the court shall |
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| 54 | 54 | | notify the persons described by this subsection about the change. |
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| 55 | 55 | | (e) The entity or individual charged with storing |
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| 56 | 56 | | toxicological evidence may destroy the evidence on expiration of |
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| 57 | 57 | | the period provided by the notice most recently issued by the court |
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| 58 | 58 | | under Subsection (d). |
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| 59 | 59 | | (f) To the extent of any conflict between this article and |
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| 60 | 60 | | Article 2.21 or 38.43, this article controls. |
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| 61 | 61 | | SECTION 2. Article 38.50, Code of Criminal Procedure, as |
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| 62 | 62 | | added by this Act, applies to all toxicological evidence stored by |
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| 63 | 63 | | an entity or individual on or after the effective date of this Act, |
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| 64 | 64 | | regardless of whether the evidence was collected before, on, or |
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| 65 | 65 | | after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 66 | 66 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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| 67 | 67 | | * * * * * |
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