By Danburg                                       H.B. No. 333

      75R1283 SAW-F                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to voter registration lists used for jury wheels.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Sections 62.001(a), (d), and (e), Government

 1-5     Code, are amended to read as follows:

 1-6           (a)  The jury wheel must be reconstituted by using, as the

 1-7     source:

 1-8                 (1)  except as provided by Subsection (d), the names of

 1-9     all persons on the current voter registration lists from all the

1-10     precincts in the county;  and

1-11                 (2)  all names on a current list to be furnished by the

1-12     Department of Public Safety, showing the citizens of the county who

1-13     hold a valid Texas driver's license and the citizens of the county,

1-14     other than persons who are disqualified from jury service, who hold

1-15     a valid personal identification card or certificate issued by the

1-16     department.

1-17           (d)  The list required by Subsection (c):

1-18                 (1)  must exclude the names of convicted felons and the

1-19     names of persons exempt from jury service under Sections 62.108 and

1-20     62.109; and

1-21                 (2)  may exclude, at the option of the voter registrar

1-22     of each county, the names of persons on the suspense list

1-23     maintained under Section 15.081, Election Code.

1-24           (e)  The voter registrar shall send [a list of the names of

 2-1     persons excluded] to the secretary of state with the list required

 2-2     by Subsection (c):

 2-3                 (1)  a list of the names of persons excluded under

 2-4     Subsection (d)(1); and

 2-5                 (2)  a list of the names of persons excluded under

 2-6     Subsection (d)(2) unless the registrar has delivered a copy of the

 2-7     suspense list to the secretary of state under Section 15.083,

 2-8     Election Code.

 2-9           SECTION 2.  Section 62.002(a), Government Code, is amended to

2-10     read as follows:

2-11           (a)  The officials or their deputies who reconstitute the

2-12     jury wheel shall write on a separate jury wheel card of uniform

2-13     size and color the name and, if possible, the post office address

2-14     of each prospective juror that resides in the county and whose name

2-15     appears on the current combined lists used under Section 62.001.

2-16     The name of each prospective juror may appear on only one card.

2-17           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-18           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-19     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-20     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-21     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-22     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.