| 1 | 1 | | By: Toth H.B. No. 2282 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to district and county attorney counsel in federal |
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| 7 | 7 | | enforcement of laws regulating firearms, firearm accessories, and |
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| 8 | 8 | | firearm ammunitions within the State of Texas. |
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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 2.08, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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| 11 | 11 | | amended by adding new subsection (c) to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Art. 2.08. DISQUALIFIED. (a) District and county |
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| 13 | 13 | | attorneys shall not be of counsel adversely to the State in any |
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| 14 | 14 | | case, in any court, nor shall they, after they cease to be such |
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| 15 | 15 | | officers, be of counsel adversely to the State in any case in which |
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| 16 | 16 | | they have been of counsel for the State. |
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| 17 | 17 | | (b) A judge of a court in which a district or county attorney |
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| 18 | 18 | | represents the State shall declare the district or county attorney |
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| 19 | 19 | | disqualified for purposes of Article 2.07 on a showing that the |
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| 20 | 20 | | attorney is the subject of a criminal investigation by a law |
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| 21 | 21 | | enforcement agency if that investigation is based on credible |
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| 22 | 22 | | evidence of criminal misconduct for an offense that is within the |
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| 23 | 23 | | attorney's authority to prosecute. A disqualification under this |
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| 24 | 24 | | subsection applies only to the attorney's access to the criminal |
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| 25 | 25 | | investigation pending against the attorney and to any prosecution |
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| 26 | 26 | | of a criminal charge resulting from that investigation. |
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| 27 | 27 | | (c) In this section: |
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| 28 | 28 | | (1) "Firearm" has the meaning assigned in Section |
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| 29 | 29 | | 46.01. |
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| 30 | 30 | | (2) "Firearm accessory" means an item that is used in |
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| 31 | 31 | | conjunction with or mounted on a firearm but is not essential to the |
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| 32 | 32 | | basic function of a firearm. The term includes a detachable firearm |
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| 33 | 33 | | magazine. |
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| 34 | 34 | | (d) District and county attorneys shall not be of counsel in |
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| 35 | 35 | | federal court for any action involving enforcement of a federal |
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| 36 | 36 | | statute, order, rule, or regulation purporting to regulate a |
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| 37 | 37 | | firearm, a firearm accessory, or firearm ammunition. |
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| 38 | 38 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
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