Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB743 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R2047 EAS-F
2	2	By: Collier H.B. No. 743
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to a maximum allowable caseload for certain attorneys.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Article 26.04(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
10	10	amended to read as follows:
11	11	(b) Procedures adopted under Subsection (a) shall:
12	12	(1) authorize only the judges of the county courts,
13	13	statutory county courts, and district courts trying criminal cases
14	14	in the county, or the judges' designee, to appoint counsel for
15	15	indigent defendants in the county;
16	16	(2) apply to each appointment of counsel made by a
17	17	judge or the judges' designee in the county;
18	18	(3) ensure that each indigent defendant in the county
19	19	who is charged with a misdemeanor punishable by confinement or with
20	20	a felony and who appears in court without counsel has an opportunity
21	21	to confer with appointed counsel before the commencement of
22	22	judicial proceedings;
23	23	(4) require appointments for defendants in capital
24	24	cases in which the death penalty is sought to comply with any
25	25	applicable requirements under Articles 11.071 and 26.052;
26	26	(5) ensure that each attorney appointed from a public
27	27	appointment list to represent an indigent defendant perform the
28	28	attorney's duty owed to the defendant in accordance with the
29	29	adopted procedures, the requirements of this code, and applicable
30	30	rules of ethics; [and]
31	31	(6) ensure that appointments are allocated among
32	32	qualified attorneys in a manner that is fair, neutral, and
33	33	nondiscriminatory; and
34	34	(7) ensure that an appointment will not result in the
35	35	applicable attorney having a caseload that is larger than the
36	36	maximum allowable caseload established under Section 79.043,
37	37	Government Code.
38	38	SECTION 2. Article 26.047(c), Code of Criminal Procedure,
39	39	is amended to read as follows:
40	40	(c) The commissioners court or commissioners courts shall
41	41	require a written plan of operation from an entity operating a
42	42	program under this article. The plan of operation must include:
43	43	(1) a budget for the program, including salaries;
44	44	(2) a description of each personnel position,
45	45	including the program's director;
46	46	(3) the maximum allowable caseload for each attorney
47	47	appointed by the program, not to exceed the maximum allowable
48	48	caseload established under Section 79.043, Government Code;
49	49	(4) provisions for training personnel of the program
50	50	and attorneys appointed under the program;
51	51	(5) a description of anticipated overhead costs for
52	52	the program;
53	53	(6) a policy regarding licensed investigators and
54	54	expert witnesses used by attorneys appointed under the program;
55	55	(7) a policy to ensure that appointments are
56	56	reasonably and impartially allocated among qualified attorneys;
57	57	and
58	58	(8) a policy to ensure that an attorney appointed
59	59	under the program does not accept appointment in a case that
60	60	involves a conflict of interest for the attorney that has not been
61	61	waived by all affected clients.
62	62	SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 79, Government Code, is
63	63	amended by adding Section 79.043 to read as follows:
64	64	Sec. 79.043. MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE CASELOAD FOR CRIMINAL
65	65	DEFENSE ATTORNEYS. (a) The commission shall establish a maximum
66	66	allowable caseload for a criminal defense attorney that,
67	67	considering the attorney's total caseload, including appointments
68	68	made under Article 26.04, Code of Criminal Procedure, appointments
69	69	made under Title 3, Family Code, and other work, would allow the
70	70	attorney to give each criminal defendant the time and effort
71	71	necessary to ensure effective and diligent representation.
72	72	(b) The commission shall revise the maximum allowable
73	73	caseload established under Subsection (a) as necessary.
74	74	(c) The commission shall post the maximum allowable
75	75	caseload established under Subsection (a) on the commission's
76	76	Internet website.
77	77	(d) The commission shall adopt rules to promote compliance
78	78	by each county in this state with the maximum allowable caseload
79	79	established under Subsection (a). The commission shall impose a
80	80	remedy for noncompliance occurring in any county in which the
81	81	commission provided, for the preceding state fiscal year, grant
82	82	funds under Section 79.037 in an amount that equaled more than 50
83	83	percent of the county's expenditures on indigent defense services
84	84	for that year.
85	85	SECTION 4. Not later than November 1, 2021, the Texas
86	86	Indigent Defense Commission shall establish and post on its
87	87	Internet website the maximum allowable caseload described by
88	88	Section 79.043, Government Code, as added by this Act.
89	89	SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
90	90	a criminal case in which the indictment or information is filed on
91	91	or after November 1, 2021. A criminal case in which the indictment
92	92	or information was filed before November 1, 2021, is governed by the
93	93	law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and
94	94	the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
95	95	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.