| 1 | 1 | | 87R2339 AJZ-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: González of Dallas H.B. No. 659 |
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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 the disposal of exhibits used in criminal proceedings. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Article 2.21, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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| 10 | 10 | | amended by amending Subsections (d) and (e) and adding Subsection |
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| 11 | 11 | | (e-1) to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (d) In this article, "eligible exhibit" means an exhibit |
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| 13 | 13 | | filed with the clerk that: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (1) is not a firearm or contraband; |
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| 15 | 15 | | (2) has not been ordered by the court to be returned to |
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| 16 | 16 | | its owner; and |
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| 17 | 17 | | (3) is not an exhibit in any other [another pending] |
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| 18 | 18 | | criminal action that is pending final disposition. |
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| 19 | 19 | | (e) An eligible exhibit may be disposed of as provided by |
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| 20 | 20 | | this article: |
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| 21 | 21 | | (1) on or after the first anniversary of the date on |
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| 22 | 22 | | which a conviction becomes final in the case, if the case is a |
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| 23 | 23 | | misdemeanor [or a felony for which the sentence imposed by the court |
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| 24 | 24 | | is five years or less]; |
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| 25 | 25 | | (2) on or after the second anniversary of the date on |
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| 26 | 26 | | which a conviction becomes final in the case, if the case is a |
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| 27 | 27 | | [non-capital] felony for which the sentence imposed by the court is |
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| 28 | 28 | | [greater than] five years or less; |
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| 29 | 29 | | (3) on or after the 10th anniversary of the date on |
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| 30 | 30 | | which a conviction becomes final in the case, if the case is a |
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| 31 | 31 | | noncapital felony for which the sentence imposed by the court is |
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| 32 | 32 | | greater than five years; |
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| 33 | 33 | | (4) on or after the first anniversary of the date of |
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| 34 | 34 | | the acquittal of a defendant; or |
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| 35 | 35 | | (5) [(4)] on or after the first anniversary of the |
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| 36 | 36 | | date of the death of a defendant. |
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| 37 | 37 | | (e-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (e), if the exhibit is |
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| 38 | 38 | | filed in the trial of more than one criminal case, an eligible |
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| 39 | 39 | | exhibit may be disposed of beginning on the expiration of the |
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| 40 | 40 | | longest period that remains applicable, calculated for each trial |
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| 41 | 41 | | according to the dates specified under Subsection (e)(1), (2), (3), |
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| 42 | 42 | | (4), or (5), on the date the exhibit becomes an eligible exhibit |
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| 43 | 43 | | under Subsection (d). |
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| 44 | 44 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
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