| 1 | 1 | | 85R1401 JSC-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: White H.B. No. 419 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to providing certain information to criminal defendants |
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| 8 | 8 | | charged with certain drug offenses before a plea is entered. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Article 26.13, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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| 11 | 11 | | amended by adding Subsections (j) and (k) to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (j) Before accepting a plea of guilty or nolo contendere |
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| 13 | 13 | | with reference to an offense under Chapter 481, 483, or 485, Health |
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| 14 | 14 | | and Safety Code, for which the indictment is based on the results of |
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| 15 | 15 | | a field test indicating the presence of a prohibited substance, the |
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| 16 | 16 | | court shall inform the defendant that the prohibited substance was |
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| 17 | 17 | | identified on the basis of a field test conducted by law enforcement |
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| 18 | 18 | | and not on the basis of a forensic analysis conducted by an |
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| 19 | 19 | | accredited crime laboratory. |
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| 20 | 20 | | (k) The court must substantially comply with Subsection |
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| 21 | 21 | | (j). The failure of the court to comply with Subsection (j) is not a |
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| 22 | 22 | | ground for reversal unless the defendant shows that the defendant |
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| 23 | 23 | | was harmed by the failure of the court to provide the information. |
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| 24 | 24 | | SECTION 2. Articles 26.13(j) and (k), Code of Criminal |
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| 25 | 25 | | Procedure, as added by this Act, apply to a plea of guilty or nolo |
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| 26 | 26 | | contendere entered on or after the effective date of this Act, |
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| 27 | 27 | | regardless of whether the offense with reference to which the plea |
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| 28 | 28 | | is entered is committed before, on, or after that date. |
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| 29 | 29 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
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