Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1847 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R6427 EAS-F
2	2	By: Collier H.B. No. 1847
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to a maximum allowable caseload for certain attorneys.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Article 26.04(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
12	12	amended to read as follows:
13	13	(b) Procedures adopted under Subsection (a) shall:
14	14	(1) authorize only the judges of the county courts,
15	15	statutory county courts, and district courts trying criminal cases
16	16	in the county, or the judges' designee, to appoint counsel for
17	17	indigent defendants in the county;
18	18	(2) apply to each appointment of counsel made by a
19	19	judge or the judges' designee in the county;
20	20	(3) ensure that each indigent defendant in the county
21	21	who is charged with a misdemeanor punishable by confinement or with
22	22	a felony and who appears in court without counsel has an opportunity
23	23	to confer with appointed counsel before the commencement of
24	24	judicial proceedings;
25	25	(4) require appointments for defendants in capital
26	26	cases in which the death penalty is sought to comply with any
27	27	applicable requirements under Articles 11.071 and 26.052;
28	28	(5) ensure that each attorney appointed from a public
29	29	appointment list to represent an indigent defendant perform the
30	30	attorney's duty owed to the defendant in accordance with the
31	31	adopted procedures, the requirements of this code, and applicable
32	32	rules of ethics; [and]
33	33	(6) ensure that appointments are allocated among
34	34	qualified attorneys in a manner that is fair, neutral, and
35	35	nondiscriminatory; and
36	36	(7) ensure that an appointment will not result in the
37	37	applicable attorney having a caseload that is larger than the
38	38	maximum allowable caseload established under Section 79.043,
39	39	Government Code.
40	40	SECTION 2. Article 26.047(c), Code of Criminal Procedure,
41	41	is amended to read as follows:
42	42	(c) The commissioners court or commissioners courts shall
43	43	require a written plan of operation from an entity operating a
44	44	program under this article. The plan of operation must include:
45	45	(1) a budget for the program, including salaries;
46	46	(2) a description of each personnel position,
47	47	including the program's director;
48	48	(3) the maximum allowable caseload for each attorney
49	49	appointed by the program, not to exceed the maximum allowable
50	50	caseload established under Section 79.043, Government Code;
51	51	(4) provisions for training personnel of the program
52	52	and attorneys appointed under the program;
53	53	(5) a description of anticipated overhead costs for
54	54	the program;
55	55	(6) a policy regarding licensed investigators and
56	56	expert witnesses used by attorneys appointed under the program;
57	57	(7) a policy to ensure that appointments are
58	58	reasonably and impartially allocated among qualified attorneys;
59	59	and
60	60	(8) a policy to ensure that an attorney appointed
61	61	under the program does not accept appointment in a case that
62	62	involves a conflict of interest for the attorney that has not been
63	63	waived by all affected clients.
64	64	SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 79, Government Code, is
65	65	amended by adding Section 79.043 to read as follows:
66	66	Sec. 79.043. MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE CASELOAD FOR CRIMINAL
67	67	DEFENSE ATTORNEYS. (a) The commission shall establish a maximum
68	68	allowable caseload for a criminal defense attorney that,
69	69	considering the attorney's total caseload, including appointments
70	70	made under Article 26.04, Code of Criminal Procedure, appointments
71	71	made under Title 3, Family Code, and other work, would allow the
72	72	attorney to give each criminal defendant the time and effort
73	73	necessary to ensure effective and diligent representation.
74	74	(b) The maximum allowable caseload described by Subsection
75	75	(a) is not required to be a specific number and may vary according
76	76	to one or more formulas established by the commission.
77	77	(c) The commission shall revise the maximum allowable
78	78	caseload described by Subsection (a) as necessary.
79	79	(d) The commission shall post the maximum allowable
80	80	caseload described by Subsection (a) on the commission's Internet
81	81	website.
82	82	(e) The commission shall adopt rules to promote compliance
83	83	by each county in this state with the maximum allowable caseload
84	84	described by Subsection (a). The commission shall impose a remedy
85	85	for noncompliance occurring in any county in which the commission
86	86	provided, for the preceding state fiscal year, grant funds under
87	87	Section 79.037 in an amount that equaled more than 50 percent of the
88	88	county's expenditures on indigent defense services for that year.
89	89	SECTION 4. Not later than November 1, 2025, the Texas
90	90	Indigent Defense Commission shall establish and post on its
91	91	Internet website the maximum allowable caseload described by
92	92	Section 79.043, Government Code, as added by this Act.
93	93	SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
94	94	a criminal case in which the indictment or information is filed on
95	95	or after November 1, 2025. A criminal case in which the indictment
96	96	or information was filed before November 1, 2025, is governed by the
97	97	law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and
98	98	the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
99	99	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.