87R9283 MEW-D
By: Turner of Dallas H.B. No. 3334
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a criminal justice system sentencing database
established by the Office of Court Administration of the Texas
Judicial System.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 72, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter H to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER H. CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM SENTENCING DATABASE
Sec. 72.201. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "database"
means the criminal justice system sentencing database maintained
under this subchapter.
Sec. 72.202. DATABASE. (a) The office shall create and
maintain a database to collect, compile, and analyze data regarding
the sentencing of defendants.
(b) The office shall compile data that includes, with
respect to each defendant:
(1) the defendant's age, zip code of primary
residence, and indigence status at the time of the alleged offense;
(2) the defendant's race, ethnicity, and gender;
(3) the offenses, including the category of each
offense, for which the defendant was sentenced;
(4) the provision of law under which the defendant was
sentenced;
(5) the date on which the offense occurred and the date
of the defendant's sentencing for that offense;
(6) the court and presiding judge before which the
sentencing took place;
(7) the length of any term of imprisonment to which the
defendant was sentenced, including any period of probation or
community supervision;
(8) any court fees, fines, or amounts of restitution
assessed or ordered and the amount of each;
(9) any dismissed or downgraded charges;
(10) any cash bail or bond payments, including whether
the defendant used an agent to execute the bail bond on behalf of a
corporation acting as surety;
(11) the amount of time the defendant served in
confinement for the offense that is credited to the defendant to
reduce the defendant's actual length of time in confinement the
defendant is required to serve following the disposition of the
case;
(12) whether the defendant was offered or required to
attend a diversionary or treatment program, and if so, which
program;
(13) whether the defendant pleaded guilty, not guilty,
or nolo contendere;
(14) any plea bargain agreement negotiations,
including:
(A) any plea bargain offer extended to a
defendant and whether the defendant accepted or rejected the offer;
and
(B) any plea bargain agreement approved or
rejected by the court;
(15) whether punishment is assessed by the jury, and
if so, the jury's recommended sentence;
(16) if the defendant was convicted following trial,
whether the trial was a bench or jury trial;
(17) whether the defendant was represented by a
private attorney or a court-appointed attorney or waived the right
to representation;
(18) the category of correctional facility at which
the defendant will serve confinement, if applicable; and
(19) if the offense was a drug offense, the identity
and amount of controlled substance for which the defendant was
convicted.
Sec. 72.203. SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION BY COURTS. The
clerk of each court in this state shall submit to the office, within
the time period prescribed by the office, a written record of the
data required under Section 72.202, with respect to defendants
sentenced in that court.
Sec. 72.204. PUBLISHED INFORMATION. (a) The office shall
publish deidentified sentencing data from the information in the
database on the office's Internet website in a modern, open,
electronic format that is machine-readable and readily accessible
by the public, free of charge. The office shall update the
information on the Internet website on a monthly basis.
(b) The sentencing data must be searchable by:
(1) each data element described by Section 72.202(b);
and
(2) the district, county, and circuit in which a court
is located.
(c) The data published on the office's Internet website may
not disclose the name or identifying information of a defendant.
Sec. 72.205. REPORT. Not later than September 1 of each
even-numbered year, the office shall submit a report to the
governor and the legislature regarding the data compiled in the
database.
Sec. 72.206. RULES. The office may adopt rules as necessary
to implement this subchapter.
SECTION 2. The Office of Court Administration of the Texas
Judicial System shall create the database described by Subchapter
H, Chapter 72, Government Code, as added by this Act, as soon as
practicable after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. A court is not required to submit information to
the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System
under Section 72.203, Government Code, as added by this Act,
regarding any sentencing that occurred before September 1, 2021.
SECTION 4. The Office of Court Administration of the Texas
Judicial System shall begin publishing sentencing data under
Section 72.204, Government Code, as added by this Act, on the
office's Internet website not later than January 1, 2022.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2021.