1-1 By: Luna (Senate Sponsor - West) H.B. No. 176 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 27, 2001; 1-3 April 30, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on 1-4 Jurisprudence; May 8, 2001, reported favorably, as amended, by the 1-5 following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 8, 2001, sent to printer.) 1-6 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1 By: West 1-7 AMEND H.B. 176 by striking subsection (a) (House Engrossed 1-8 version page 1, lines 24-30) and substitute (a) With the agreement 1-9 of the parties, and subject to Subsection (b), a trial judge may 1-10 order that a hearing of a preliminary matter or witness testimony 1-11 at trial may be conducted by electronic means, including satellite 1-12 transmission, closed-circuit television transmission, or any other 1-13 method of two-way electronic communication that is available to the 1-14 parties, approved by the court, and capable of visually and audibly 1-15 recording the proceedings. 1-16 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-17 AN ACT 1-18 relating to the use of certain communication equipment in certain 1-19 civil and criminal pretrial and trial proceedings. 1-20 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-21 SECTION 1. Chapter 30, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is 1-22 amended by adding Section 30.012 to read as follows: 1-23 Sec. 30.012. USE OF COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT IN CERTAIN 1-24 PROCEEDINGS. (a) Subject to Subsection (b) and the order of the 1-25 trial judge, a hearing of a preliminary matter or witness testimony 1-26 at trial may be conducted by electronic means, including satellite 1-27 transmission, closed-circuit television transmission, or any other 1-28 method of two-way electronic communication that is available to the 1-29 parties, approved by the court, and capable of visually and audibly 1-30 recording the proceedings. 1-31 (b) Witness testimony at trial may be conducted by 1-32 electronic means only if the witness is deposed before the 1-33 commencement of the trial. 1-34 (c) A court that allows a transmission made under this 1-35 section shall consider it accurate and include it in the record of 1-36 the case, unless the court determines otherwise. 1-37 (d) A party to a transmission made under this section that 1-38 is not in court: 1-39 (1) shall provide at the party's own expense any 1-40 equipment that is compatible with the equipment used in court; and 1-41 (2) may record the proceedings at the party's own 1-42 expense. 1-43 (e) A copy of a proceeding videotaped by a court under this 1-44 section may be obtained from the clerk of the court on payment of a 1-45 reasonable amount to cover the cost of producing the copy. 1-46 (f) Expenses incurred by a court in conducting a proceeding 1-47 or recording a transmission under this section shall be assessed 1-48 and collected as court costs. 1-49 SECTION 2. Chapter 38, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended 1-50 by adding Article 38.073 to read as follows: 1-51 Art. 38.073. TESTIMONY OF INMATE WITNESSES. In a proceeding 1-52 in the prosecution of a criminal offense in which an inmate in the 1-53 custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is required to 1-54 testify as a witness, any deposition or testimony of the inmate 1-55 witness may be conducted by electronic means, in the same manner as 1-56 permitted in civil cases under Section 30.012, Civil Practice and 1-57 Remedies Code. 1-58 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a 1-59 vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as 1-60 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this 1-61 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this 1-62 Act takes effect September 1, 2001. 2-1 * * * * *