Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1927 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Hughes S.B. No. 1927
2	2	(In the Senate - Filed March 8, 2023; March 20, 2023, read
3	3	first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;
4	4	March 30, 2023, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
5	5	Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 2; March 30, 2023,
6	6	sent to printer.)
7	7	Click here to see the committee vote
8	8	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1927 By: Hughes
9	9
10	10
11	11	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
12	12	AN ACT
13	13	relating to the appointment, duties, and removal of the state
14	14	prosecuting attorney.
15	15	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
16	16	SECTION 1. The heading to Section 42.001, Government Code,
17	17	is amended to read as follows:
18	18	Sec. 42.001. OFFICE; DUTIES; QUALIFICATIONS.
19	19	SECTION 2. Section 42.001, Government Code, is amended by
20	20	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
21	21	follows:
22	22	(a) The supreme court [of criminal appeals] shall appoint a
23	23	state prosecuting attorney.
24	24	(a-1) The state prosecuting attorney:
25	25	(1) shall [to] represent the state in all proceedings
26	26	before the court of criminal appeals;
27	27	(2) [. The state prosecuting attorney] may [also]
28	28	represent the state in any stage of a criminal case before a state
29	29	court of appeals if the attorney [he] considers it necessary for the
30	30	interest of the state; and
31	31	(3) may exercise concurrent jurisdiction to represent
32	32	the state in the district and inferior courts in this state in a
33	33	criminal case in which the criminal conduct alleged relates to:
34	34	(A) a violation of this state's election laws;
35	35	(B) a violation of this state's abortion laws,
36	36	including Chapters 170A and 171, Health and Safety Code, and
37	37	Chapter 6-1/2, Title 71, Revised Statutes; or
38	38	(C) an offense under Chapter 20A, 36, or 39,
39	39	Penal Code.
40	40	SECTION 3. Section 42.004, Government Code, is amended to
41	41	read as follows:
42	42	Sec. 42.004. REMOVAL. The supreme court [of criminal
43	43	appeals] may remove state prosecuting attorneys from office for
44	44	good cause.
45	45	SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
46	46	a state prosecuting attorney who is appointed on or after the
47	47	effective date of this Act. A state prosecuting attorney appointed
48	48	before the effective date of this Act continues to serve for the
49	49	term to which the state prosecuting attorney was appointed unless
50	50	otherwise removed as provided by law.
51	51	SECTION 5. (a) Notwithstanding any other section of this
52	52	Act, in a state fiscal year, the state prosecuting attorney is not
53	53	required to implement a mandatory provision in another section of
54	54	this Act imposing a duty on the state prosecuting attorney to take
55	55	an action unless money is specifically appropriated to the state
56	56	prosecuting attorney for that fiscal year to carry out that duty.
57	57	The state prosecuting attorney may implement the provision in that
58	58	fiscal year to the extent other funding is available to the state
59	59	prosecuting attorney for the implementation.
60	60	(b) If, as authorized by Subsection (a) of this section, the
61	61	state prosecuting attorney does not implement the mandatory
62	62	provision in a state fiscal year, the state prosecuting attorney,
63	63	in the state prosecuting attorney's legislative budget request for
64	64	the next state fiscal biennium, shall certify that fact to the
65	65	Legislative Budget Board and include a written estimate of the
66	66	costs of implementing the provision in each year of that next state
67	67	fiscal biennium.
68	68	(c) This section expires and any duty suspended by
69	69	Subsection (a) of this section becomes mandatory on September 1,
70	70	2027.
71	71	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
72	72	* * * * *