By: Allen H.B. No. 735
73R3424 DRH-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to information provided to a jury in the punishment stage
1-3 of a criminal trial for a felony offense.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 4, Article 37.07, Code of Criminal
1-6 Procedure, is amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
1-7 (e) In the penalty phase of the trial of a felony offense in
1-8 which the punishment is to be assessed by the jury rather than the
1-9 court, the court, in order to inform the jury about the effect of
1-10 good conduct time and eligibility for parole or mandatory
1-11 supervision on the amount of time served by a defendant, shall
1-12 include in the charge to the jury information showing, for the
1-13 administrative judicial region that the court is in, the various
1-14 lengths of sentences previously imposed for the same offense and
1-15 the average time served by defendants receiving those sentences of
1-16 varying lengths. The court shall obtain the information for the
1-17 charge from the report developed by the Criminal Justice Policy
1-18 Council under Section 413.019, Government Code.
1-19 SECTION 2. Chapter 413, Government Code, is amended by
1-20 adding Section 413.019 to read as follows:
1-21 Sec. 413.019. TIME-SERVED REPORT. (a) The policy council
1-22 shall prepare a report for each administrative judicial region of
1-23 the state to enable the district judges in that region to charge
1-24 juries as required by Section 4(e), Article 37.07, Code of Criminal
2-1 Procedure. In making the report, the policy council shall list by
2-2 statutory reference each offense for which there is a conviction in
2-3 the region during the five-year period immediately preceding the
2-4 report. The policy council shall then develop categories that
2-5 group together by length of sentence the various sentences for each
2-6 listed offense. Finally, the policy council shall average the
2-7 amount of time actually served by defendants in each sentence
2-8 grouping for the previous five years. If in the policy council's
2-9 discretion there is insufficient data to compute a statistically
2-10 meaningful average during the five years immediately preceding the
2-11 report, the policy council, using current sentencing practices and
2-12 good time policies, may estimate the average amount of time served
2-13 by defendants in a particular sentence grouping.
2-14 (b) The policy council shall update the report and provide a
2-15 copy to each presiding judge of an administrative judicial region
2-16 at least once every six months.
2-17 (c) The presiding judge of each administrative judicial
2-18 region receiving a report shall provide a copy of the report to
2-19 each district court having felony jurisdiction in that region.
2-20 SECTION 3. The Criminal Justice Policy Council shall prepare
2-21 and distribute the first report required by Section 413.019,
2-22 Government Code, as added by Section 2 of this Act, not later than
2-23 January 1, 1994.
2-24 SECTION 4. (a) The change in law made by Section 1 of this
2-25 Act applies only to the jury charge for an offense committed on or
2-26 after January 1, 1994. For purposes of this section, an offense is
2-27 committed before January 1, 1994, if any element of the offense
3-1 occurs before that date.
3-2 (b) The jury charge for an offense committed before January
3-3 1, 1994, is governed by the law in effect when the offense was
3-4 committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
3-5 purpose.
3-6 SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993, except
3-7 that Section 1 of this Act takes effect January 1, 1994.
3-8 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the
3-9 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-10 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-11 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-12 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.