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Senate Bill 1238 |
Senate Author: Hinojosa et al. |
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Effective: 6-14-13 |
House Sponsor: Pickett |
Senate Bill 1238 amends provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure regarding the Texas Forensic Science Commission and the accreditation of criminal laboratories by the Department of Public Safety (DPS). The bill revises the manner in which certain commission members are appointed, changes certain member qualifications and terms, and requires the governor to appoint a person to fill the applicable vacancies on or before specified dates. The bill clarifies that the commission's duties apply with respect to a crime laboratory, rather than an accredited laboratory, facility, or entity, authorizes the commission to initiate for educational purposes an investigation of a forensic analysis without receiving a complaint, and establishes requirements for the investigation report. The bill expands the commission's duties with respect to investigating an allegation of professional negligence or professional misconduct that would affect the integrity of the results of a forensic analysis conducted by a DPS-accredited crime laboratory and establishes provisions relating to such a commission investigation with respect to a laboratory that is not accredited by DPS or an investigation that is conducted pursuant to an allegation involving a forensic method or methodology that is not an accredited field of forensic science. The bill prohibits the commission from issuing findings relating to professional negligence or misconduct in certain investigations or relating to the guilt or innocence of a party in an underlying civil or criminal trial involving conduct investigated by the commission. The bill requires the commission to annually prepare and publish a report that includes information on complaints filed with the commission, recommendations regarding forensic methodologies, forensic science developments in other state or federal investigations, and other information relevant to forensic science investigations. The bill provides for the administrative attachment of the commission to Sam Houston State University, exempts certain information relating to an allegation of professional misconduct or professional negligence or an investigation of such an allegation from state public information law until the conclusion of an investigation, and makes a written report prepared by the commission inadmissible in a civil or criminal action.
Senate Bill 1238 amends the Government Code to specify that a criminal justice agency includes a local government corporation created for governmental purposes relating to criminal identification activities, including forensic analysis, that allocates a substantial part of its annual budget to those activities.