Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4337 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Collier H.B. No. 4337
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to authority of a court to reduce or modify a defendant's
7	7	sentence.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Chapter 44, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
10	10	amended by adding Article 44.26 to read as follows:
11	11	Art. 44.26. SENTENCE REDUCTION OR MODIFICATION FOR CERTAIN
12	12	DEFENDANTS. (a) This article applies only to a defendant who has
13	13	served not less than 10 years of a term of imprisonment for an
14	14	offense other than an offense listed in Article 42A.054(a).
15	15	(b) The court in which a defendant was convicted may, on
16	16	motion of the defendant and with the consent of the attorney
17	17	representing the state, reduce or modify the defendant's sentence
18	18	in accordance with Subsection (d) if the court finds that:
19	19	(1) the defendant:
20	20	(A) is not a danger to the community or any
21	21	person;
22	22	(B) presents no credible risk of criminal
23	23	conduct; or
24	24	(C) demonstrates a readiness for reentry; and
25	25	(2) the interests of justice support the reduction or
26	26	modification.
27	27	(c) In determining whether to grant a motion under this
28	28	article, the court shall consider the following:
29	29	(1) the defendant's current age and age at the time of
30	30	the offense;
31	31	(2) relevant data on increasing age as correlated with
32	32	declining criminality;
33	33	(3) whether the defendant has demonstrated levels of
34	34	maturity, rehabilitation, and fitness to reenter society that are
35	35	sufficient to justify a sentence reduction or modification;
36	36	(4) the family and community circumstances of the
37	37	defendant at the time of the offense, including any history of abuse
38	38	or involvement in the child protective services system, and the
39	39	potential benefits to the defendant's children and other family
40	40	members of a reunification with the defendant;
41	41	(5) the extent of the defendant's role in the offense;
42	42	(6) if the defendant was a juvenile at the time of the
43	43	offense:
44	44	(A) the diminished culpability of juveniles
45	45	compared to adults; and
46	46	(B) whether and to what extent an adult was
47	47	involved in the commission of the offense;
48	48	(7) if available:
49	49	(A) any report and recommendation of the Board of
50	50	Pardons and Paroles, including information on the defendant's
51	51	completion of any educational, vocational, or other programs while
52	52	confined in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice;
53	53	(B) any report and recommendation of the attorney
54	54	representing the state in the county in which the defendant was
55	55	convicted;
56	56	(C) any statement from the victim of the offense
57	57	or a family member of the victim, if the victim is deceased; and
58	58	(D) any physical or mental examination of the
59	59	defendant; and
60	60	(8) any other relevant information.
61	61	(d) The authority of the court in granting a motion under
62	62	this article is limited to:
63	63	(1) reducing the number of years of imprisonment
64	64	remaining on the defendant's sentence; or
65	65	(2) modifying the defendant's sentence to require the
66	66	defendant to serve the remaining sentence or a reduced sentence
67	67	under any combination of imprisonment or community supervision
68	68	under Chapter 42A, except that any term of community supervision
69	69	required may not exceed five years.
70	70	(e) There is a rebuttable presumption that a defendant who
71	71	is 50 years of age or older satisfies the conditions described by
72	72	Subsection (b) that are necessary for the court to grant the motion
73	73	filed by the defendant.
74	74	(f) The court may hold a hearing to consider a motion filed
75	75	under this article. If the court holds a hearing, the court shall
76	76	provide notice of the hearing to the attorney representing the
77	77	state. The attorney representing the state shall provide notice of
78	78	the hearing to any victim of the defendant's offense who as a result
79	79	of the offense suffered bodily injury, as that term is defined by
80	80	Section 1.07, Penal Code.
81	81	(g) The court is not required to hold a hearing before
82	82	granting a motion if:
83	83	(1) the attorney representing the state consents in
84	84	writing to granting the motion; and
85	85	(2) the defendant has waived in writing the
86	86	defendant's right to be present when the motion is considered.
87	87	(h) If the court grants the motion, the court shall issue a
88	88	written order stating the court's reasons for entering the findings
89	89	described by this article. The court may deny the motion without
90	90	holding a hearing or without specifying in writing the reasons for
91	91	the denial.
92	92	(i) If the court denies the motion, the defendant may file
93	93	additional motions under this article only as follows:
94	94	(1) subject to Subsection (j), a second motion may be
95	95	filed on or after the fifth anniversary of the court's order denying
96	96	the motion;
97	97	(2) a third motion may be filed on or after the second
98	98	anniversary of, as applicable:
99	99	(A) the court's order denying the second motion;
100	100	or
101	101	(B) the disposition of the defendant's appeal of
102	102	the order denying the defendant's first motion; and
103	103	(3) a defendant who is 50 years of age or older may
104	104	file a fourth and final motion at any time after the court has
105	105	denied the third motion.
106	106	(j) The defendant or the attorney representing the state may
107	107	appeal an order of the court under this article only with respect to
108	108	a defendant's first motion or a final motion. For purposes of
109	109	Subsection (i), an appeal of a first motion by a defendant is
110	110	considered to be the defendant's second motion filed under this
111	111	article.
112	112	(k) A defendant may not waive the right to file a motion
113	113	under this article as part of a plea agreement. A waiver in
114	114	violation of this subsection is unenforceable. This subsection does
115	115	not prohibit the court from denying a defendant's motion based on
116	116	other grounds, including the failure of the defendant to comply
117	117	with the requirements of this article.
118	118	SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies to a
119	119	defendant serving a sentence described by Article 44.26(a), Code of
120	120	Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act, regardless of whether the
121	121	offense for which the defendant is serving the sentence occurred
122	122	before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
123	123	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect December 1, 2021, but only
124	124	if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 87th Legislature,
125	125	Regular Session, 2021, authorizing the legislature to enact laws
126	126	providing for a district court to reduce or modify a sentence
127	127	imposing a term of imprisonment for a person who has served not less
128	128	than 10 years of the term is approved by the voters. If that
129	129	amendment is not approved by the voters, this Act has no effect.