85R4497 JCG-D
By: Canales H.B. No. 2680
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation and promulgation of certain standard forms
for statewide use in criminal actions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 72, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 72.0245 to read as follows:
Sec. 72.0245. STANDARD FORMS IN CRIMINAL ACTIONS. (a) The
office shall create and promulgate for use in criminal actions by
the courts standard forms for:
(1) waiving a jury trial and entering a plea of guilty
or nolo contendere in a felony case under Article 1.15, Code of
Criminal Procedure, including for:
(A) the waiver of appearance, confrontation, and
cross-examination of witnesses;
(B) the defendant's consent to an oral
stipulation of evidence and testimony; and
(C) the introduction of any documentary
evidence;
(2) waiving a jury trial and entering a plea of guilty
or nolo contendere in a misdemeanor case under Article 27.14, Code
of Criminal Procedure;
(3) a trial court to admonish a defendant under
Article 26.13, Code of Criminal Procedure, and, if applicable,
Article 27.14(e), Code of Criminal Procedure, before accepting the
defendant's plea of guilty or nolo contendere;
(4) a defendant who receives admonitions in writing
under Article 26.13, Code of Criminal Procedure, to acknowledge
that the defendant understands the admonitions and is aware of the
consequences of the defendant's plea;
(5) a trial court to enter into the record the court's
certification of a defendant's right to appeal under Rule
25.2(a)(2), Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure;
(6) waiving the defendant's right to discovery under
Article 39.14, Code of Criminal Procedure;
(7) acknowledging the disclosure, receipt, and list of
all evidence provided to the defendant under Article 39.14, Code of
Criminal Procedure, as required by Subsection (j) of that article;
(8) documenting the punishment that the prosecutor
recommends as part of a plea bargain agreement, including a
defendant's consent to waiving certain appeal rights under Rule
25.2(a)(2), Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, if the punishment
assessed by the court does not exceed the punishment recommended by
the prosecutor and agreed to by the defendant; and
(9) waiving a defendant's right to an expunction or to
an order of nondisclosure of criminal history record information.
(b) The office shall update the forms as necessary.
(c) The supreme court by rule shall set the date by which all
courts with jurisdiction over criminal actions must adopt and use
the forms created under Subsection (a), and if updated, the date by
which those courts must adopt and use a form updated under
Subsection (b).
(d) A court shall accept a form promulgated by the office
under this section unless the form has been completed in a manner
that causes a substantive defect that cannot be cured.
SECTION 2. Not later than September 1, 2018, the Office of
Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall create and
promulgate the forms required by Section 72.0245, Government Code,
as added by this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.