Bill Text: TX HB3919 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to prosecutorial transparency.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-21 - Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence [HB3919 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HB3919-Introduced.html
86R10463 PMO-F | ||
By: Dutton | H.B. No. 3919 |
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relating to prosecutorial transparency. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 2, Government Code, is amended | ||
by adding Chapter 47 to read as follows: | ||
CHAPTER 47. PROSECUTORIAL TRANSPARENCY | ||
Sec. 47.0001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
(1) "Case number" means the unique number assigned to | ||
a criminal case associated with a particular criminal charge. | ||
(2) "Charge" means any accusation of a crime by a | ||
prosecutor's office, including an ordinance, citation, summary, | ||
misdemeanor, felony, or other type of crime, and an accusation | ||
brought by ticket, citation, information, complaint, indictment, | ||
or other charging instrument. | ||
(3) "Disposition" means the conclusion of the | ||
prosecution of a charge, including an entry of nolle prosequi, | ||
diversion, dismissal, dismissal as part of plea bargain, conviction | ||
as part of plea bargain, conviction at trial, or acquittal. | ||
(4) "Policy" means any policy, procedure, guideline, | ||
manual, training material, direction, instruction, or other | ||
information, formal or informal, and written or unwritten, that | ||
contains guidance for employees of the prosecutor's office. | ||
(5) "Unique identifier" means a randomly generated | ||
number assigned in place of a defendant's name. | ||
Sec. 47.0002. INFORMATION COLLECTED, MAINTAINED, AND | ||
DISCLOSED. (a) Except as provided by this section, a prosecutor's | ||
office shall collect and disclose the following information for | ||
each case prosecuted by the office: | ||
(1) the case number; | ||
(2) the indictment number; | ||
(3) the docket number; | ||
(4) the unique identifier; | ||
(5) the defendant's race; | ||
(6) the defendant's gender; | ||
(7) the defendant's disability status, including, as | ||
applicable: | ||
(A) mental disability; | ||
(B) physical disability; or | ||
(C) sensory disability; | ||
(8) the source of the information in Subdivision (7), | ||
including, as applicable: | ||
(A) the defendant's advocate or attorney; | ||
(B) observation by defense attorney; or | ||
(C) another source; | ||
(9) the incident date; | ||
(10) the arrest date; | ||
(11) the district or neighborhood of the arrest; | ||
(12) the primary arresting agency; | ||
(13) other agencies involved in the arrest; | ||
(14) the charges listed on arresting agency paperwork; | ||
(15) if the prosecutor declines to prosecute the | ||
arrest, the reason for not prosecuting the alleged offense; | ||
(16) any charges brought by the prosecutor; | ||
(17) the prosecutor who approved each charge; | ||
(18) the defendant's eligibility for court-appointed | ||
counsel and the proceeding in which the determination was made; | ||
(19) the arraignment date; | ||
(20) the charge modification date; | ||
(21) the charge following modification; | ||
(22) whether diversion was offered; | ||
(23) the date diversion was offered; | ||
(24) the judge's position on diversion if stated on the | ||
record; | ||
(25) if diversion was offered, whether it was accepted | ||
by the defendant; | ||
(26) the diversion terms, including the amount of any | ||
fees, the defendant must pay; | ||
(27) whether the charge carried a mandatory minimum | ||
sentence; | ||
(28) whether the charge was death penalty-eligible; | ||
(29) the prosecutor's recommendation on amount of bail | ||
or bond, including release conditions; | ||
(30) whether bail or bond was imposed on the | ||
defendant; | ||
(31) whether bond was secured, unsecured, or another | ||
type of arrangement; | ||
(32) the date bail or bond was imposed; | ||
(33) any ordered release conditions; | ||
(34) the date range of any pretrial detention; | ||
(35) whether a risk assessment or other | ||
algorithm-based or quantitative tool was used in determining | ||
pretrial detention or the amount of bail or bond and, if so: | ||
(A) the name of the office or agency that | ||
conducted the risk assessment; and | ||
(B) the name of offices, agencies, individuals, | ||
or attorneys that received the risk assessment results; | ||
(36) whether any statutory or constitutional rights of | ||
defendants were waived by stipulation or in the court's record and, | ||
if so: | ||
(A) the dates of the waiver; | ||
(B) the rights waived; and | ||
(C) whether and which rights were waived as a | ||
condition of a plea bargain; | ||
(37) whether a plea was offered; | ||
(38) whether an acceptance time was included with a | ||
plea offer; | ||
(39) the terms of all pleas offered to the defendant, | ||
including: | ||
(A) any charges dismissed; | ||
(B) the sentence ranges for charges dismissed; | ||
(C) the charges in the plea; | ||
(D) the sentence ranges for charges in the plea; | ||
(E) any charges covered by the plea but not the | ||
conviction; and | ||
(F) any penalties or sentence offered for | ||
accepting the plea; | ||
(40) whether the plea was accepted or rejected; | ||
(41) whether discovery was offered to the defendant | ||
before the plea; | ||
(42) the date discovery was disclosed to the defense | ||
or defendant; | ||
(43) the presiding judges for pretrial proceedings; | ||
(44) the case's disposition, including: | ||
(A) whether the case or charges were dropped by | ||
the prosecutor or dismissed on the motion of the prosecutor and the | ||
reason for the dismissal; | ||
(B) the charges of which the defendant was | ||
convicted; | ||
(C) if the defendant was convicted, whether by | ||
plea, jury trial, or bench trial; and | ||
(D) if the case was dismissed by a judge, the | ||
reason for the dismissal; | ||
(45) the presiding judge at disposition; | ||
(46) the disposition date; | ||
(47) the sentence type; | ||
(48) the sentence length; | ||
(49) the presiding judge at sentencing; | ||
(50) the supervision terms; | ||
(51) any services required or provided to the defense | ||
or defendant; | ||
(52) any fines, fees, or surcharges imposed; and | ||
(53) any forfeiture of property required. | ||
(b) The prosecutor's office shall maintain a record of the | ||
information required by Subsection (a) for each case until at least | ||
the 10th anniversary of the date of the alleged offense that is the | ||
subject of the case. | ||
(c) The prosecutor's office shall collect and publish all | ||
office policies including the policies listed in this subsection. | ||
If the prosecutor's office does not maintain a policy related to any | ||
topics listed in this subsection, the prosecutor's office shall | ||
affirmatively disclose that fact. The policies may include: | ||
(1) charge dismissal and charging; | ||
(2) bail; | ||
(3) sentencing; | ||
(4) plea bargains; | ||
(5) grand jury practices; | ||
(6) discovery practices; | ||
(7) witness treatment, including the timing and | ||
procedures to procure material witness warrants; | ||
(8) the procedure for deciding whether to prosecute | ||
juveniles as adults; | ||
(9) the manner in which fines and fees are assessed; | ||
(10) criminal and civil forfeiture practices; | ||
(11) mental health screening and mental health | ||
history; | ||
(12) substance abuse screening and history; | ||
(13) domestic violence survivors; | ||
(14) diversion policies and practices; | ||
(15) human resources, including hiring, evaluation, | ||
firing, promotion, and rotation among divisions or units in the | ||
prosecutor's office; | ||
(16) internal discipline policies and procedures in | ||
the prosecutor's office; | ||
(17) victim services; | ||
(18) restorative justice programs; | ||
(19) office trainings offered in the prosecutor's | ||
office in the preceding year; | ||
(20) practices involving tracking and responding to | ||
prison inmates' applications for parole or resentencing; and | ||
(21) policies specific to vulnerable populations, | ||
including members of the immigrant, lesbian, gay, bisexual, | ||
transgender, or queer communities. | ||
(d) The prosecutor's office shall collect and publish the | ||
following information for each attorney employed in the office, | ||
redacting the names and other personally identifying information or | ||
otherwise ensuring the anonymity of each attorney: | ||
(1) age; | ||
(2) gender; | ||
(3) race; | ||
(4) date hired; | ||
(5) title; and | ||
(6) disciplinary history. | ||
(e) The prosecutor's office must collect and publish the | ||
following information: | ||
(1) the number of attorneys on staff; | ||
(2) the number of cases handled by an attorney each | ||
year; | ||
(3) the number of attorneys who worked for the office | ||
in a temporary or contract capacity during the preceding calendar | ||
year; | ||
(4) the number of paralegals and administrative staff | ||
employed by the office; | ||
(5) the number of investigators used during the | ||
preceding calendar year; | ||
(6) the number of experts, on staff or in another | ||
capacity, used during the preceding calendar year; and | ||
(7) the number of police or detectives who work | ||
directly for the prosecutor's office. | ||
Sec. 47.0003. PUBLIC POSTING REQUIREMENTS. (a) A | ||
prosecutor's office shall make publicly available the information | ||
required by Section 47.0002(c)-(e) by posting the information on | ||
the office's Internet website and making the information available | ||
on request. | ||
(b) The information made available under Subsection (a) | ||
must include the effective date of the policy or the date the | ||
information was gathered. The prosecutor's office shall ensure | ||
that the office posts revised or newly drafted policies or newly | ||
collected information in a timely manner, and not less frequently | ||
than annually. | ||
Sec. 47.0004. REPORT TO OFFICE OF COURT ADMINISTRATION. | ||
(a) A prosecutor's office shall report the information required | ||
under Section 47.0002(a) to the Office of Court Administration of | ||
the Texas Judicial System. | ||
(b) The Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial | ||
System shall: | ||
(1) determine the manner in which information required | ||
under Section 47.0002(a) is transmitted to the office by a | ||
prosecutor's office in a uniform and consistent fashion; | ||
(2) determine an implementation schedule and plan for | ||
all prosecutors' offices in the state to report the information | ||
required under Section 47.0002(a). That plan may include, at the | ||
sole discretion of the office, implementation on a rolling basis | ||
that starts by prioritizing a subset of the information or starts by | ||
prioritizing reporting from prosecutors' offices from counties | ||
with the largest population; | ||
(3) on May 1 of each year, publish on the office's | ||
Internet website the information collected under Section | ||
47.0002(a) in an open electronic format that is machine-readable, | ||
machine-searchable, and readily accessible to the public, provided | ||
the information does not contain personally identifying | ||
information about any person arrested or prosecuted; | ||
(4) on September 1 of each year, produce an annual | ||
report that analyzes the information received from all prosecutors' | ||
offices, comparing and contrasting the practices and trends among | ||
prosecutors' offices in this state, and identifying any | ||
prosecutors' offices that are not in compliance with this chapter; | ||
and | ||
(5) biannually publish issue-specific reports that | ||
provide a deeper analysis of one or more areas of prosecutorial | ||
decision-making, with at least one report each year focusing on | ||
racial disparities in prosecutorial decision-making. | ||
(c) In accordance with the plan implemented under | ||
Subsections (b)(1) and (2), on or before January 31 of each year, a | ||
prosecutor's office shall transmit information that does not | ||
contain any personally identifying information about a person | ||
arrested or prosecuted to the Office of Court Administration of the | ||
Texas Judicial System for the preceding calendar year. | ||
Sec. 47.0005. ADVISORY BOARD. (a) A board is established | ||
to advise the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial | ||
System under this chapter. The board shall meet at least quarterly | ||
with the office to provide comments and guidance to the office on | ||
any draft rules, policies, plans, reports, or other decisions made | ||
by the office related to this chapter. | ||
(b) The advisory board: | ||
(1) is composed of at least seven members, appointed | ||
by the governor; and | ||
(2) must include at least: | ||
(A) two members who are public defenders or | ||
criminal defense attorneys; and | ||
(B) two members who have direct experience being | ||
prosecuted in the state's criminal justice system. | ||
(c) An advisory board member is not entitled to compensation | ||
for service on the advisory board. | ||
Sec. 47.0006. NONCOMPLIANCE. Notwithstanding any other | ||
law, if the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial | ||
System determines that a prosecutor's office is not in compliance | ||
with this chapter, the prosecutor's office is ineligible to receive | ||
funding from the state's general revenue fund or other fund or any | ||
state grant program administered by the attorney general or other | ||
entity controlling grants to the prosecutor's office, and the | ||
office shall inform the comptroller and the Legislative Budget | ||
Board of the ineligibility. Eligibility for funding may be | ||
restored only after: | ||
(1) the prosecutor's office fully complies with this | ||
chapter and provides the required information; and | ||
(2) the Office of Court Administration of the Texas | ||
Judicial System certifies that the prosecutor's office is in | ||
compliance with this chapter. | ||
Sec. 47.0007. RELATION TO PUBLIC RECORDS ACTS. (a) If the | ||
prosecutor's office is in compliance with this chapter and receives | ||
a request for information under Chapter 552 that the prosecutor's | ||
office reasonably and in good faith believes can be satisfied by | ||
reference to information publicly available under this chapter, the | ||
prosecutor's office may satisfy the obligation under Chapter 552 by | ||
referring the requesting party to the Internet website of the | ||
Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System that | ||
contains the information and is not required to otherwise collect | ||
and disclose the requested information. | ||
(b) If the requesting party does not agree that the party's | ||
request can be satisfied with information collected and published | ||
under this chapter on the relevant website, the requesting party | ||
may file suit in accordance with Chapter 552 to compel disclosure. | ||
SECTION 2. (a) Not later than March 1, 2020, a prosecutor's | ||
office shall post on the prosecutor's office's Internet website the | ||
initial information required under Section 47.0002(c)-(e), | ||
Government Code, as added by this Act. | ||
(b) Not later than September 1, 2020, the Office of Court | ||
Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall make the initial | ||
determinations required under Sections 47.0004(b)(1) and (2), | ||
Government Code, as added by this Act. | ||
(c) Not later than May 1, 2021, the Office of Court | ||
Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall post on the | ||
office's Internet website the initial information required under | ||
Section 47.0004(b)(3), Government Code, as added by this Act. | ||
(d) Not later than September 1, 2021, the Office of Court | ||
Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall produce the | ||
initial reports required under Sections 47.0004(b)(4) and (5), | ||
Government Code, as added by this Act. | ||
(e) Not later than December 1, 2020, the governor shall make | ||
the initial appointments to the advisory board required under | ||
Section 47.0005, Government Code, as added by this Act. | ||
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |