| 1 | 1 | | By: Cook H.B. No. 3307 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to the official misconduct and removal of district |
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| 7 | 7 | | attorneys and county attorneys. |
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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. Section 87.011 of the Local Government Code is |
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| 10 | 10 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | Sec. 87.011. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (1) "District attorney" includes a criminal district |
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| 13 | 13 | | attorney. |
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| 14 | 14 | | (2) "Incompetency" means: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (A) gross ignorance of official duties; |
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| 16 | 16 | | (B) gross carelessness in the discharge of those |
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| 17 | 17 | | duties; or |
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| 18 | 18 | | (C) unfitness or inability to promptly and |
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| 19 | 19 | | properly discharge official duties because of a serious physical or |
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| 20 | 20 | | mental defect that did not exist at the time of the officer's |
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| 21 | 21 | | election. |
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| 22 | 22 | | (3) "Official misconduct" means intentional, unlawful |
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| 23 | 23 | | behavior relating to official duties by an officer entrusted with |
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| 24 | 24 | | the administration of justice or the execution of the law. The term |
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| 25 | 25 | | includes an intentional or corrupt failure, refusal, or neglect of |
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| 26 | 26 | | an officer to perform a duty imposed on the officer by law. A |
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| 27 | 27 | | district attorney or a county attorney may not announce, adopt, or |
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| 28 | 28 | | implement a formal or stated policy under which the district |
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| 29 | 29 | | attorney prohibits or materially limits the enforcement of any |
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| 30 | 30 | | criminal offense, save and except to comply with an injunction, |
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| 31 | 31 | | judgment, or order issued by a court with jurisdiction over the |
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| 32 | 32 | | officer. |
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| 33 | 33 | | SECTION 2. Section 87.015 of the Local Government Code is |
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| 34 | 34 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 35 | 35 | | Sec. 87.015. PETITION FOR REMOVAL. (a) A proceeding for |
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| 36 | 36 | | the removal of an officer is begun by filing a written petition for |
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| 37 | 37 | | removal in a district court of the county in which the officer |
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| 38 | 38 | | resides. However, a proceeding for the removal of a district |
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| 39 | 39 | | attorney is begun by filing a written petition in a district court |
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| 40 | 40 | | of: |
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| 41 | 41 | | (1) the county in which the attorney resides; or |
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| 42 | 42 | | (2) the county where the alleged cause of removal |
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| 43 | 43 | | occurred, if that county is in the attorney's judicial district; or |
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| 44 | 44 | | (3) in a county contiguous to where the alleged cause |
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| 45 | 45 | | of removal occurred. |
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| 46 | 46 | | (b) Any resident of this state who has lived for at least six |
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| 47 | 47 | | months in the county in which the petition is to be filedalleged |
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| 48 | 48 | | cause of removal occurred and who is not currently under |
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| 49 | 49 | | information or indictment in thesuch county, may file the |
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| 50 | 50 | | petition. Additionally, a district attorney or a county attorney |
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| 51 | 51 | | in a county contiguous to where the alleged cause of removal |
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| 52 | 52 | | occurred may file a petition in the county where the alleged cause |
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| 53 | 53 | | of removal occurred or in a county contiguous to where the alleged |
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| 54 | 54 | | cause of removal occurred. At least one of the parties who files |
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| 55 | 55 | | the petition must swear to it at or before the filing. |
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| 56 | 56 | | (c) The petition must be addressed to the district judge of |
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| 57 | 57 | | the court in which it is filed. The petition must set forth the |
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| 58 | 58 | | grounds alleged for the removal of the officer in plain and |
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| 59 | 59 | | intelligible language and must cite the time and place of the |
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| 60 | 60 | | occurrence of each act alleged as a ground for removal with as much |
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| 61 | 61 | | certainty as the nature of the case permits. |
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| 62 | 62 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 63 | 63 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 64 | 64 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 65 | 65 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 66 | 66 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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