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Texas House Bill HB970

Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB970 Compare Versions

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11 87R3430 YDB-F
22 By: Dutton H.B. No. 970
33
44
55 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
66 AN ACT
77 relating to prosecutorial transparency.
88 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
99 SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 2, Government Code, is amended
1010 by adding Chapter 47 to read as follows:
1111 CHAPTER 47. PROSECUTORIAL TRANSPARENCY
1212 Sec. 47.0001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1313 (1) "Case number" means the unique number assigned to
1414 a criminal case associated with a charged offense.
1515 (2) "Charge" means an accusation by a prosecutor's
1616 office that an individual committed an offense, including a
1717 violation of an ordinance, an offense punishable by fine only, a
1818 misdemeanor, or a felony brought by ticket, citation, information,
1919 complaint, indictment, or other charging instrument.
2020 (3) "Disposition" means the action concluding the
2121 prosecution of a charge, including an entry of nolle prosequi,
2222 diversion, dismissal, dismissal as part of plea bargain, conviction
2323 as part of plea bargain, conviction at trial, or acquittal.
2424 (4) "Office" means the Office of Court Administration
2525 of the Texas Judicial System.
2626 (5) "Policy" means any formal or informal policy,
2727 procedure, guideline, manual, training material, direction,
2828 instruction, or other information that contains guidance for
2929 employees of a prosecutor's office.
3030 (6) "Prosecutor" means a district attorney, criminal
3131 district attorney, county attorney performing the duties of a
3232 district attorney, or municipal prosecutor.
3333 (7) "Unique identifier" means a randomly generated
3434 number assigned in place of a defendant's name.
3535 Sec. 47.0002. INFORMATION COLLECTED AND MAINTAINED BY
3636 PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE. (a) Except as provided by this section, a
3737 prosecutor's office shall collect the following information, as
3838 applicable, for each case presented to the office:
3939 (1) the case number;
4040 (2) the indictment number;
4141 (3) the docket number;
4242 (4) the unique identifier;
4343 (5) the defendant's race;
4444 (6) the defendant's gender;
4545 (7) the defendant's disability status, including, as
4646 applicable, the status of the defendant as having:
4747 (A) an intellectual disability;
4848 (B) a physical disability; or
4949 (C) a sensory disability;
5050 (8) the source of the information provided in
5151 Subdivision (7), including, as applicable:
5252 (A) the defendant's advocate or attorney;
5353 (B) observation by defense attorney; or
5454 (C) another source;
5555 (9) the date the offense was committed or incident
5656 occurred;
5757 (10) the arrest date;
5858 (11) the district, precinct, or neighborhood of the
5959 arrest;
6060 (12) the primary arresting law enforcement agency;
6161 (13) other governmental agencies involved in the
6262 arrest;
6363 (14) the charges listed on the arresting law
6464 enforcement agency's paperwork;
6565 (15) if the prosecutor declines to prosecute an
6666 alleged offense, the reason for that decision;
6767 (16) any charges filed by the prosecutor;
6868 (17) the name of the prosecutor who approved each
6969 filed charge;
7070 (18) the defendant's eligibility for court-appointed
7171 counsel and the proceeding in which that determination was made;
7272 (19) the arraignment date;
7373 (20) the date the charge was modified;
7474 (21) the charge following any modification;
7575 (22) whether diversion was offered;
7676 (23) the date diversion was offered;
7777 (24) the judge's position on diversion if stated on the
7878 record;
7979 (25) whether the defendant accepted any diversion
8080 offered;
8181 (26) the diversion terms, including the amount of any
8282 fees the defendant is ordered to pay;
8383 (27) whether the punishment for the offense prescribes
8484 a mandatory minimum sentence;
8585 (28) whether the offense charged was eligible for
8686 punishment by death sentence;
8787 (29) the prosecutor's recommendation on the amount of
8888 bail or bond, including release conditions;
8989 (30) whether bail or bond was imposed on the
9090 defendant;
9191 (31) whether bond was secured, unsecured, or payable
9292 from another type of arrangement;
9393 (32) the date bail or bond was imposed;
9494 (33) any court-ordered release conditions;
9595 (34) the dates and length of any pretrial detention
9696 the defendant served;
9797 (35) whether a risk assessment or other quantitative
9898 tool was used in determining pretrial detention or the amount of
9999 bail or bond and, if used:
100100 (A) the name of the office or agency that
101101 conducted the assessment; and
102102 (B) the name of offices, agencies, individuals,
103103 or attorneys that received the assessment results;
104104 (36) whether any statutory or constitutional rights of
105105 defendants were waived by stipulation or in the court's record and,
106106 if waived:
107107 (A) the dates of the waiver;
108108 (B) the rights waived; and
109109 (C) whether and which rights were waived as a
110110 condition of a plea bargain;
111111 (37) whether a plea was offered;
112112 (38) whether a time limit for acceptance was included
113113 with a plea offer;
114114 (39) the terms of all pleas offered to the defendant,
115115 including:
116116 (A) any charges dismissed;
117117 (B) the sentence ranges for charges dismissed;
118118 (C) the charges included in the plea;
119119 (D) the sentence ranges for charges included in
120120 the plea;
121121 (E) any charges included in the plea but not
122122 included in the convicted offenses; and
123123 (F) any punishment or sentence offered for
124124 accepting the plea;
125125 (40) whether the plea was accepted or rejected;
126126 (41) whether discovery was disclosed to the defense or
127127 defendant before the plea;
128128 (42) the date discovery was disclosed to the defense
129129 or defendant;
130130 (43) the judges presiding over pretrial proceedings;
131131 (44) the case's disposition, including:
132132 (A) whether the case or charges were dismissed by
133133 the prosecutor or dismissed on the motion of the prosecutor and the
134134 reason for the dismissal;
135135 (B) the offenses of which the defendant was
136136 convicted;
137137 (C) if the defendant was convicted, whether by
138138 plea, jury trial, or bench trial; and
139139 (D) if a judge dismisses the case, the reason for
140140 the dismissal;
141141 (45) the presiding judge at disposition;
142142 (46) the disposition date;
143143 (47) the sentence type, including fines, probation,
144144 suspended sentences, and incarceration;
145145 (48) the sentence length;
146146 (49) the presiding judge at sentencing;
147147 (50) the supervision terms;
148148 (51) any services required or provided to the defense
149149 or defendant;
150150 (52) any fines, reimbursement fees, or court costs
151151 imposed; and
152152 (53) any forfeiture of property required.
153153 (b) The prosecutor's office shall maintain a record of the
154154 information required by Subsection (a) for each case until at least
155155 the 10th anniversary of the date the alleged offense for the case
156156 was committed.
157157 (c) The prosecutor's office shall collect all office
158158 policies, including policies related to the following:
159159 (1) case dismissal and charging of offenses;
160160 (2) bail;
161161 (3) sentencing;
162162 (4) plea bargains;
163163 (5) grand jury practices;
164164 (6) discovery practices;
165165 (7) witness treatment, including the timing and
166166 procedures to procure material witness warrants;
167167 (8) the procedure for deciding whether to prosecute
168168 juveniles as adults;
169169 (9) the manner in which fines, reimbursement fees, and
170170 court costs are assessed;
171171 (10) asset forfeiture practices;
172172 (11) mental health screening and history;
173173 (12) substance abuse screening and history;
174174 (13) domestic violence survivors;
175175 (14) diversion practices;
176176 (15) human resources, including hiring, evaluation,
177177 firing, promotion, and rotation among divisions or units in the
178178 prosecutor's office;
179179 (16) internal discipline and related procedures;
180180 (17) victim services;
181181 (18) restorative justice programs;
182182 (19) office trainings offered in the prosecutor's
183183 office in the preceding year;
184184 (20) procedures for tracking and responding to
185185 incarcerated individuals' applications for parole or resentencing;
186186 and
187187 (21) vulnerable populations, including members of the
188188 immigrant, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer
189189 communities.
190190 (d) The prosecutor's office shall collect the following
191191 information for each attorney employed in the office with the name
192192 and other personally identifying information redacted or otherwise
193193 ensuring the anonymity of the attorney:
194194 (1) age;
195195 (2) gender;
196196 (3) race;
197197 (4) date hired;
198198 (5) title; and
199199 (6) disciplinary history.
200200 (e) The prosecutor's office must collect the following
201201 information:
202202 (1) the number of attorneys on staff;
203203 (2) the average number of cases handled by an attorney
204204 each year;
205205 (3) the number of attorneys who worked for the office
206206 in a temporary or contract capacity during the preceding calendar
207207 year;
208208 (4) the number of paralegals and administrative staff
209209 employed by the office;
210210 (5) the number of investigators who provided services
211211 to the office during the preceding calendar year;
212212 (6) the number of experts who provided services to the
213213 office during the preceding calendar year; and
214214 (7) the number of peace officers or detectives who
215215 work directly for the prosecutor's office.
216216 Sec. 47.0003. PUBLIC POSTING REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN
217217 INFORMATION. (a) A prosecutor's office shall make publicly
218218 available the information required by Sections 47.0002(c)-(e) by:
219219 (1) posting the information on the office's Internet
220220 website; and
221221 (2) otherwise making the information available on
222222 request.
223223 (b) The information made available under Subsection (a)
224224 must include the effective date of each policy or the date the
225225 information was gathered. The prosecutor's office at least
226226 annually shall post revised or newly drafted policies or newly
227227 collected information.
228228 (c) A prosecutor's office that does not maintain a policy
229229 related to a topic listed in Section 47.0002(c) shall affirmatively
230230 disclose that fact.
231231 Sec. 47.0004. REPORT OF CERTAIN INFORMATION TO OFFICE. (a)
232232 The office shall:
233233 (1) establish a uniform and consistent method for a
234234 prosecutor's office to transmit the information required under
235235 Section 47.0002(a) to the office; and
236236 (2) develop an implementation schedule and plan for
237237 all prosecutors' offices in this state to report the information
238238 required under Section 47.0002(a), which may include, as determined
239239 by the office, a staggered implementation that prioritizes a subset
240240 of the information or prioritizes reporting by prosecutors' offices
241241 from counties with the largest populations.
242242 (b) In accordance with Subsection (a), on or before January
243243 31 of each year, a prosecutor's office shall transmit required
244244 information for the preceding calendar year that does not contain
245245 any personally identifying information about an individual
246246 arrested or prosecuted to the office.
247247 Sec. 47.0005. USE OF INFORMATION TRANSMITTED TO OFFICE.
248248 The office shall:
249249 (1) on May 1 of each year, publish on the office's
250250 Internet website the information received from all prosecutors'
251251 offices under Section 47.0004 in an open electronic format that is
252252 machine-readable, machine-searchable, and readily accessible to
253253 the public, provided the information does not contain personally
254254 identifying information about any individual arrested or
255255 prosecuted;
256256 (2) on September 1 of each year, issue a report
257257 analyzing the information received from all prosecutors' offices
258258 that compares and contrasts the practices and trends among
259259 prosecutors' offices in this state and identifies any prosecutors'
260260 offices that are not in compliance with this chapter;
261261 (3) biannually publish issue-specific reports with
262262 more in-depth analysis of one or more areas of prosecutorial
263263 decision-making; and
264264 (4) annually publish at least one report focusing on
265265 racial disparities in prosecutorial decision-making.
266266 Sec. 47.0006. ADVISORY BOARD. (a) An advisory board is
267267 established to advise the office under this chapter. The advisory
268268 board shall meet at least quarterly with the office to provide
269269 comments and guidance to the office on any draft rules, policies,
270270 plans, reports, or other decisions made by the office related to
271271 this chapter.
272272 (b) The advisory board:
273273 (1) is composed of at least seven members, appointed
274274 by the governor; and
275275 (2) must include at least:
276276 (A) two members who are public defenders or other
277277 criminal defense attorneys; and
278278 (B) two members with direct experience as
279279 criminal defendants prosecuted under this state's criminal justice
280280 system.
281281 (c) An advisory board member is not entitled to compensation
282282 for service on the advisory board.
283283 Sec. 47.0007. NONCOMPLIANCE. Notwithstanding any other
284284 law, if the office determines that a prosecutor's office is not in
285285 compliance with this chapter, the prosecutor's office is ineligible
286286 to receive funding from this state's general revenue fund or other
287287 fund or any state grant program administered by the attorney
288288 general or other entity controlling grants to the prosecutor's
289289 office. The office shall inform the comptroller and the
290290 Legislative Budget Board of the ineligibility. Eligibility for
291291 funding may be restored only after:
292292 (1) the prosecutor's office fully complies with this
293293 chapter and provides the required information; and
294294 (2) the office certifies that the prosecutor's office
295295 is in compliance with this chapter.
296296 Sec. 47.0008. RELATION TO PUBLIC RECORDS ACTS. (a)
297297 Notwithstanding any other law, a prosecutor's office that is in
298298 compliance with this chapter and that receives a request for
299299 information under Chapter 552 that the prosecutor's office
300300 reasonably and in good faith believes can be satisfied by reference
301301 to information publicly available under this chapter may satisfy
302302 the obligation under Chapter 552 by referring the requesting party
303303 to the Internet website that contains the information. The
304304 prosecutor's office is not required to otherwise collect and
305305 disclose the requested information.
306306 (b) A requesting party that does not agree that the party's
307307 request can be satisfied with information collected under this
308308 chapter and published on the relevant website may file suit in
309309 accordance with Chapter 552 to compel disclosure.
310310 SECTION 2. (a) Not later than December 1, 2021, the
311311 governor shall make the initial appointments to the advisory board
312312 established under Section 47.0006, Government Code, as added by
313313 this Act.
314314 (b) Not later than March 1, 2022, a prosecutor's office
315315 shall post on the Internet website for the office the initial
316316 information as required by Section 47.0003, Government Code, as
317317 added by this Act.
318318 (c) Not later than September 1, 2022, the Office of Court
319319 Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall make the
320320 determinations required under Section 47.0004(a), Government Code,
321321 as added by this Act.
322322 (d) Not later than May 1, 2023, the Office of Court
323323 Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall post on the
324324 office's Internet website the initial information required under
325325 Section 47.0005(1), Government Code, as added by this Act.
326326 (e) Not later than September 1, 2023, the Office of Court
327327 Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall produce the
328328 initial reports required under Sections 47.0005(2), (3), and (4),
329329 Government Code, as added by this Act.
330330 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.