Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB508 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
	1	+	87R1297 TSS-F
1	2		By: West S.B. No. 508
2		-	(In the Senate - Filed January 28, 2021; March 9, 2021, read
3		-	first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
4		-	April 21, 2021, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 7,
5		-	Nays 0; April 21, 2021, sent to printer.)
6		-	Click here to see the committee vote
7	3
8	4
9	5		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	6		AN ACT
11	7		relating to the confidentiality of and discovery procedures
12	8		relating to certain material regarding the protection or security
13	9		of a witness; creating a criminal offense.
14	10		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
15	11		SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Tyrek Jenkins Act.
16	12		SECTION 2. Article 39.14(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
17	13		amended to read as follows:
18	14		(a) Subject to the restrictions provided by Section
19	15		264.408, Family Code, and Articles [Article] 39.15 and 39.16 of
20	16		this code, as soon as practicable after receiving a timely request
21	17		from the defendant the state shall produce and permit the
22	18		inspection and the electronic duplication, copying, and
23	19		photographing, by or on behalf of the defendant, of any offense
24	20		reports, any designated documents, papers, written or recorded
25	21		statements of the defendant or a witness, including witness
26	22		statements of law enforcement officers but not including the work
27	23		product of counsel for the state in the case and their investigators
28	24		and their notes or report, or any designated books, accounts,
29	25		letters, photographs, or objects or other tangible things not
30	26		otherwise privileged that constitute or contain evidence material
31	27		to any matter involved in the action and that are in the possession,
32	28		custody, or control of the state or any person under contract with
33	29		the state. The state may provide to the defendant electronic
34	30		duplicates of any documents or other information described by this
35	31		article. The rights granted to the defendant under this article do
36	32		not extend to written communications between the state and an
37	33		agent, representative, or employee of the state. This article does
38	34		not authorize the removal of the documents, items, or information
39	35		from the possession of the state, and any inspection shall be in the
40	36		presence of a representative of the state.
41	37		SECTION 3. Chapter 39, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
42	38		amended by adding Article 39.16 to read as follows:
43	39		Art. 39.16. MATERIAL RELATED TO WITNESS PROTECTION OR
44	40		SECURITY. (a) This article applies to any record, claim, writing,
45	41		document, information, or other material:
46	42		(1) received, made, or kept by an agency or program
47	43		with the primary purpose of protecting, securing, or relocating
48	44		witnesses; or
49	45		(2) in the possession of the state and relating to the
50	46		protecting, securing, or relocating of a witness by an agency or
51	47		program described by Subdivision (1).
52	48		(b) Notwithstanding Article 39.14, the state may not
53	49		produce for the defendant or permit the inspection by the defendant
54	50		of material described by Subsection (a) before the material has
55	51		been submitted to the court for an in camera review and the court
56	52		has determined that the production or inspection of the material
57	53		is:
58	54		(1) required under the United States Constitution; or
59	55		(2) otherwise necessary for a matter before the court.
60	56		(c) To preserve material for appellate review, the court
61	57		shall place any material reviewed in camera under this article
62	58		under seal of the court.
63	59		(d) A prosecutor or other attorney representing an agency or
64	60		program with the primary purpose of protecting, securing, or
65	61		relocating witnesses has standing in any criminal action to oppose
66	62		the disclosure of material under this article.
67	63		SECTION 4. Chapter 30, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
68	64		amended by adding Section 30.0065 to read as follows:
69	65		Sec. 30.0065. MATERIAL RELATED TO WITNESS PROTECTION OR
70	66		SECURITY. (a) This section applies to any record, claim, writing,
71	67		document, information, or other material:
72	68		(1) received, made, or kept by an agency or program
73	69		with the primary purpose of protecting, securing, or relocating
74	70		witnesses; or
75	71		(2) in the possession of the state and relating to the
76	72		protecting, securing, or relocating of a witness by an agency or
77	73		program described by Subdivision (1).
78	74		(b) A party in a civil case may not produce or release
79	75		material described by Subsection (a) before the material has been
80	76		submitted to the court for an in camera review and the court has
81	77		determined that the production or release of the material is
82	78		necessary for a matter before the court.
83	79		(c) To preserve material for appellate review, the court
84	80		shall place any material reviewed in camera under this section
85	81		under seal of the court.
86	82		(d) A prosecutor or other attorney representing an agency or
87	83		program with the primary purpose of protecting, securing, or
88	84		relocating witnesses has standing in any civil action to oppose the
89	85		disclosure of material under this section.
90	86		SECTION 5. Subchapter C, Chapter 552, Government Code, is
91	87		amended by adding Section 552.1082 to read as follows:
92	88		Sec. 552.1082. EXCEPTION: CONFIDENTIALITY OF CERTAIN
93	89		INFORMATION REGARDING WITNESS PROTECTION OR SECURITY. Information
94	90		is confidential and excepted from the requirements of Section
95	91		552.021 if the information is:
96	92		(1) received, made, or kept by an agency or program
97	93		with the primary purpose of protecting, securing, or relocating
98	94		witnesses; or
99	95		(2) in the possession of the state and relating to the
100	96		protecting, securing, or relocating of a witness by an agency or
101	97		program described by Subdivision (1).
102	98		SECTION 6. Chapter 38, Penal Code, is amended by adding
103	99		Section 38.20 to read as follows:
104	100		Sec. 38.20. UNLAWFUL DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL RELATED TO
105	101		WITNESS PROTECTION OR SECURITY. (a) A person commits an offense if
106	102		the person knowingly discloses any record, claim, writing,
107	103		document, information, or other material:
108	104		(1) in violation of Article 39.16, Code of Criminal
109	105		Procedure, or Section 30.0065, Civil Practice and Remedies Code; or
110	106		(2) in response to a request under Chapter 552,
111	107		Government Code, when the record, claim, writing, document,
112	108		information, or other material is confidential and excepted from
113	109		disclosure under Section 552.1082, Government Code.
114	110		(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
115	111		SECTION 7. (a) Article 39.14, Code of Criminal Procedure,
116	112		as amended by this Act, and Article 39.16, Code of Criminal
117	113		Procedure, as added by this Act, apply only to the prosecution of an
118	114		offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. The
119	115		prosecution of an offense committed before the effective date of
120	116		this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was
121	117		committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
122	118		purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed
123	119		before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
124	120		occurs before the effective date.
125	121		(b) Section 30.0065, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as
126	122		added by this Act, applies only to an action commenced on or after
127	123		the effective date of this Act.
128	124		(c) Section 552.1082, Government Code, as added by this Act,
129	125		applies only to a request for public information received on or
130	126		after the effective date of this Act. A request for public
131	127		information received before the effective date of this Act is
132	128		governed by the law in effect on the date the request was received,
133	129		and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
134	130		SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
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