By Brown                                              S.B. No. 1075
       74R7399 KLL-D
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to a probable cause ruling by the Texas Ethics Commission
    1-3  concerning an offense involving a public servant's misuse of a
    1-4  thing of value belonging to the government or violation of a law
    1-5  relating to the public servant's office or employment; providing a
    1-6  criminal penalty.
    1-7        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-8        SECTION 1.  Chapter 39, Penal Code, is amended by adding
    1-9  Section 39.021 to read as follows:
   1-10        Sec. 39.021.  PROBABLE CAUSE RULING BY TEXAS ETHICS
   1-11  COMMISSION.  (a)  On the written request of a prosecuting attorney,
   1-12  the Texas Ethics Commission by majority vote shall issue a ruling
   1-13  as to whether the commission believes there is probable cause to
   1-14  believe a public servant committed an offense under Section 39.02.
   1-15        (b)  The ruling must be issued as soon as possible, but not
   1-16  later than the 14th day after the date the commission receives the
   1-17  request.
   1-18        (c)  A grand jury may not consider an indictment against a
   1-19  public servant for an offense under Section 39.02 unless the grand
   1-20  jury first receives a ruling under this section.
   1-21        (d)  The grand jury shall consider the commission ruling but
   1-22  is not bound by the ruling and may return an indictment or refuse
   1-23  to return an indictment regardless of the conclusion in the
   1-24  commission ruling.
    2-1        (e)  A request for a ruling under this section, proceedings
    2-2  of the commission relating to the issuance of the ruling, the text
    2-3  of the ruling, and the deliberations of the grand jury relating to
    2-4  the ruling are confidential and may not be disclosed, except that
    2-5  the text of the ruling may be disclosed if entered into evidence at
    2-6  a criminal trial.
    2-7        (f)  A person commits an offense if the person discloses
    2-8  information made confidential by this section.  An offense under
    2-9  this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor.
   2-10        SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
   2-11  to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
   2-12  An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
   2-13  covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and
   2-14  the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
   2-15        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-16  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-17  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-18  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   2-19  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
   2-20  and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
   2-21  passage, and it is so enacted.