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Texas House Bill HB3919

Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3919 Compare Versions

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11 86R10463 PMO-F
22 By: Dutton H.B. No. 3919
33
44
55 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
66 AN ACT
77 relating to prosecutorial transparency.
88 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
99 SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 2, Government Code, is amended
1010 by adding Chapter 47 to read as follows:
1111 CHAPTER 47. PROSECUTORIAL TRANSPARENCY
1212 Sec. 47.0001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1313 (1) "Case number" means the unique number assigned to
1414 a criminal case associated with a particular criminal charge.
1515 (2) "Charge" means any accusation of a crime by a
1616 prosecutor's office, including an ordinance, citation, summary,
1717 misdemeanor, felony, or other type of crime, and an accusation
1818 brought by ticket, citation, information, complaint, indictment,
1919 or other charging instrument.
2020 (3) "Disposition" means the conclusion of the
2121 prosecution of a charge, including an entry of nolle prosequi,
2222 diversion, dismissal, dismissal as part of plea bargain, conviction
2323 as part of plea bargain, conviction at trial, or acquittal.
2424 (4) "Policy" means any policy, procedure, guideline,
2525 manual, training material, direction, instruction, or other
2626 information, formal or informal, and written or unwritten, that
2727 contains guidance for employees of the prosecutor's office.
2828 (5) "Unique identifier" means a randomly generated
2929 number assigned in place of a defendant's name.
3030 Sec. 47.0002. INFORMATION COLLECTED, MAINTAINED, AND
3131 DISCLOSED. (a) Except as provided by this section, a prosecutor's
3232 office shall collect and disclose the following information for
3333 each case prosecuted by the office:
3434 (1) the case number;
3535 (2) the indictment number;
3636 (3) the docket number;
3737 (4) the unique identifier;
3838 (5) the defendant's race;
3939 (6) the defendant's gender;
4040 (7) the defendant's disability status, including, as
4141 applicable:
4242 (A) mental disability;
4343 (B) physical disability; or
4444 (C) sensory disability;
4545 (8) the source of the information in Subdivision (7),
4646 including, as applicable:
4747 (A) the defendant's advocate or attorney;
4848 (B) observation by defense attorney; or
4949 (C) another source;
5050 (9) the incident date;
5151 (10) the arrest date;
5252 (11) the district or neighborhood of the arrest;
5353 (12) the primary arresting agency;
5454 (13) other agencies involved in the arrest;
5555 (14) the charges listed on arresting agency paperwork;
5656 (15) if the prosecutor declines to prosecute the
5757 arrest, the reason for not prosecuting the alleged offense;
5858 (16) any charges brought by the prosecutor;
5959 (17) the prosecutor who approved each charge;
6060 (18) the defendant's eligibility for court-appointed
6161 counsel and the proceeding in which the determination was made;
6262 (19) the arraignment date;
6363 (20) the charge modification date;
6464 (21) the charge following modification;
6565 (22) whether diversion was offered;
6666 (23) the date diversion was offered;
6767 (24) the judge's position on diversion if stated on the
6868 record;
6969 (25) if diversion was offered, whether it was accepted
7070 by the defendant;
7171 (26) the diversion terms, including the amount of any
7272 fees, the defendant must pay;
7373 (27) whether the charge carried a mandatory minimum
7474 sentence;
7575 (28) whether the charge was death penalty-eligible;
7676 (29) the prosecutor's recommendation on amount of bail
7777 or bond, including release conditions;
7878 (30) whether bail or bond was imposed on the
7979 defendant;
8080 (31) whether bond was secured, unsecured, or another
8181 type of arrangement;
8282 (32) the date bail or bond was imposed;
8383 (33) any ordered release conditions;
8484 (34) the date range of any pretrial detention;
8585 (35) whether a risk assessment or other
8686 algorithm-based or quantitative tool was used in determining
8787 pretrial detention or the amount of bail or bond and, if so:
8888 (A) the name of the office or agency that
8989 conducted the risk assessment; and
9090 (B) the name of offices, agencies, individuals,
9191 or attorneys that received the risk assessment results;
9292 (36) whether any statutory or constitutional rights of
9393 defendants were waived by stipulation or in the court's record and,
9494 if so:
9595 (A) the dates of the waiver;
9696 (B) the rights waived; and
9797 (C) whether and which rights were waived as a
9898 condition of a plea bargain;
9999 (37) whether a plea was offered;
100100 (38) whether an acceptance time was included with a
101101 plea offer;
102102 (39) the terms of all pleas offered to the defendant,
103103 including:
104104 (A) any charges dismissed;
105105 (B) the sentence ranges for charges dismissed;
106106 (C) the charges in the plea;
107107 (D) the sentence ranges for charges in the plea;
108108 (E) any charges covered by the plea but not the
109109 conviction; and
110110 (F) any penalties or sentence offered for
111111 accepting the plea;
112112 (40) whether the plea was accepted or rejected;
113113 (41) whether discovery was offered to the defendant
114114 before the plea;
115115 (42) the date discovery was disclosed to the defense
116116 or defendant;
117117 (43) the presiding judges for pretrial proceedings;
118118 (44) the case's disposition, including:
119119 (A) whether the case or charges were dropped by
120120 the prosecutor or dismissed on the motion of the prosecutor and the
121121 reason for the dismissal;
122122 (B) the charges of which the defendant was
123123 convicted;
124124 (C) if the defendant was convicted, whether by
125125 plea, jury trial, or bench trial; and
126126 (D) if the case was dismissed by a judge, the
127127 reason for the dismissal;
128128 (45) the presiding judge at disposition;
129129 (46) the disposition date;
130130 (47) the sentence type;
131131 (48) the sentence length;
132132 (49) the presiding judge at sentencing;
133133 (50) the supervision terms;
134134 (51) any services required or provided to the defense
135135 or defendant;
136136 (52) any fines, fees, or surcharges imposed; and
137137 (53) any forfeiture of property required.
138138 (b) The prosecutor's office shall maintain a record of the
139139 information required by Subsection (a) for each case until at least
140140 the 10th anniversary of the date of the alleged offense that is the
141141 subject of the case.
142142 (c) The prosecutor's office shall collect and publish all
143143 office policies including the policies listed in this subsection.
144144 If the prosecutor's office does not maintain a policy related to any
145145 topics listed in this subsection, the prosecutor's office shall
146146 affirmatively disclose that fact. The policies may include:
147147 (1) charge dismissal and charging;
148148 (2) bail;
149149 (3) sentencing;
150150 (4) plea bargains;
151151 (5) grand jury practices;
152152 (6) discovery practices;
153153 (7) witness treatment, including the timing and
154154 procedures to procure material witness warrants;
155155 (8) the procedure for deciding whether to prosecute
156156 juveniles as adults;
157157 (9) the manner in which fines and fees are assessed;
158158 (10) criminal and civil forfeiture practices;
159159 (11) mental health screening and mental health
160160 history;
161161 (12) substance abuse screening and history;
162162 (13) domestic violence survivors;
163163 (14) diversion policies and practices;
164164 (15) human resources, including hiring, evaluation,
165165 firing, promotion, and rotation among divisions or units in the
166166 prosecutor's office;
167167 (16) internal discipline policies and procedures in
168168 the prosecutor's office;
169169 (17) victim services;
170170 (18) restorative justice programs;
171171 (19) office trainings offered in the prosecutor's
172172 office in the preceding year;
173173 (20) practices involving tracking and responding to
174174 prison inmates' applications for parole or resentencing; and
175175 (21) policies specific to vulnerable populations,
176176 including members of the immigrant, lesbian, gay, bisexual,
177177 transgender, or queer communities.
178178 (d) The prosecutor's office shall collect and publish the
179179 following information for each attorney employed in the office,
180180 redacting the names and other personally identifying information or
181181 otherwise ensuring the anonymity of each attorney:
182182 (1) age;
183183 (2) gender;
184184 (3) race;
185185 (4) date hired;
186186 (5) title; and
187187 (6) disciplinary history.
188188 (e) The prosecutor's office must collect and publish the
189189 following information:
190190 (1) the number of attorneys on staff;
191191 (2) the number of cases handled by an attorney each
192192 year;
193193 (3) the number of attorneys who worked for the office
194194 in a temporary or contract capacity during the preceding calendar
195195 year;
196196 (4) the number of paralegals and administrative staff
197197 employed by the office;
198198 (5) the number of investigators used during the
199199 preceding calendar year;
200200 (6) the number of experts, on staff or in another
201201 capacity, used during the preceding calendar year; and
202202 (7) the number of police or detectives who work
203203 directly for the prosecutor's office.
204204 Sec. 47.0003. PUBLIC POSTING REQUIREMENTS. (a) A
205205 prosecutor's office shall make publicly available the information
206206 required by Section 47.0002(c)-(e) by posting the information on
207207 the office's Internet website and making the information available
208208 on request.
209209 (b) The information made available under Subsection (a)
210210 must include the effective date of the policy or the date the
211211 information was gathered. The prosecutor's office shall ensure
212212 that the office posts revised or newly drafted policies or newly
213213 collected information in a timely manner, and not less frequently
214214 than annually.
215215 Sec. 47.0004. REPORT TO OFFICE OF COURT ADMINISTRATION.
216216 (a) A prosecutor's office shall report the information required
217217 under Section 47.0002(a) to the Office of Court Administration of
218218 the Texas Judicial System.
219219 (b) The Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial
220220 System shall:
221221 (1) determine the manner in which information required
222222 under Section 47.0002(a) is transmitted to the office by a
223223 prosecutor's office in a uniform and consistent fashion;
224224 (2) determine an implementation schedule and plan for
225225 all prosecutors' offices in the state to report the information
226226 required under Section 47.0002(a). That plan may include, at the
227227 sole discretion of the office, implementation on a rolling basis
228228 that starts by prioritizing a subset of the information or starts by
229229 prioritizing reporting from prosecutors' offices from counties
230230 with the largest population;
231231 (3) on May 1 of each year, publish on the office's
232232 Internet website the information collected under Section
233233 47.0002(a) in an open electronic format that is machine-readable,
234234 machine-searchable, and readily accessible to the public, provided
235235 the information does not contain personally identifying
236236 information about any person arrested or prosecuted;
237237 (4) on September 1 of each year, produce an annual
238238 report that analyzes the information received from all prosecutors'
239239 offices, comparing and contrasting the practices and trends among
240240 prosecutors' offices in this state, and identifying any
241241 prosecutors' offices that are not in compliance with this chapter;
242242 and
243243 (5) biannually publish issue-specific reports that
244244 provide a deeper analysis of one or more areas of prosecutorial
245245 decision-making, with at least one report each year focusing on
246246 racial disparities in prosecutorial decision-making.
247247 (c) In accordance with the plan implemented under
248248 Subsections (b)(1) and (2), on or before January 31 of each year, a
249249 prosecutor's office shall transmit information that does not
250250 contain any personally identifying information about a person
251251 arrested or prosecuted to the Office of Court Administration of the
252252 Texas Judicial System for the preceding calendar year.
253253 Sec. 47.0005. ADVISORY BOARD. (a) A board is established
254254 to advise the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial
255255 System under this chapter. The board shall meet at least quarterly
256256 with the office to provide comments and guidance to the office on
257257 any draft rules, policies, plans, reports, or other decisions made
258258 by the office related to this chapter.
259259 (b) The advisory board:
260260 (1) is composed of at least seven members, appointed
261261 by the governor; and
262262 (2) must include at least:
263263 (A) two members who are public defenders or
264264 criminal defense attorneys; and
265265 (B) two members who have direct experience being
266266 prosecuted in the state's criminal justice system.
267267 (c) An advisory board member is not entitled to compensation
268268 for service on the advisory board.
269269 Sec. 47.0006. NONCOMPLIANCE. Notwithstanding any other
270270 law, if the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial
271271 System determines that a prosecutor's office is not in compliance
272272 with this chapter, the prosecutor's office is ineligible to receive
273273 funding from the state's general revenue fund or other fund or any
274274 state grant program administered by the attorney general or other
275275 entity controlling grants to the prosecutor's office, and the
276276 office shall inform the comptroller and the Legislative Budget
277277 Board of the ineligibility. Eligibility for funding may be
278278 restored only after:
279279 (1) the prosecutor's office fully complies with this
280280 chapter and provides the required information; and
281281 (2) the Office of Court Administration of the Texas
282282 Judicial System certifies that the prosecutor's office is in
283283 compliance with this chapter.
284284 Sec. 47.0007. RELATION TO PUBLIC RECORDS ACTS. (a) If the
285285 prosecutor's office is in compliance with this chapter and receives
286286 a request for information under Chapter 552 that the prosecutor's
287287 office reasonably and in good faith believes can be satisfied by
288288 reference to information publicly available under this chapter, the
289289 prosecutor's office may satisfy the obligation under Chapter 552 by
290290 referring the requesting party to the Internet website of the
291291 Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System that
292292 contains the information and is not required to otherwise collect
293293 and disclose the requested information.
294294 (b) If the requesting party does not agree that the party's
295295 request can be satisfied with information collected and published
296296 under this chapter on the relevant website, the requesting party
297297 may file suit in accordance with Chapter 552 to compel disclosure.
298298 SECTION 2. (a) Not later than March 1, 2020, a prosecutor's
299299 office shall post on the prosecutor's office's Internet website the
300300 initial information required under Section 47.0002(c)-(e),
301301 Government Code, as added by this Act.
302302 (b) Not later than September 1, 2020, the Office of Court
303303 Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall make the initial
304304 determinations required under Sections 47.0004(b)(1) and (2),
305305 Government Code, as added by this Act.
306306 (c) Not later than May 1, 2021, the Office of Court
307307 Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall post on the
308308 office's Internet website the initial information required under
309309 Section 47.0004(b)(3), Government Code, as added by this Act.
310310 (d) Not later than September 1, 2021, the Office of Court
311311 Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall produce the
312312 initial reports required under Sections 47.0004(b)(4) and (5),
313313 Government Code, as added by this Act.
314314 (e) Not later than December 1, 2020, the governor shall make
315315 the initial appointments to the advisory board required under
316316 Section 47.0005, Government Code, as added by this Act.
317317 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.