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.
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