By Hinojosa, Thompson                                 H.B. No. 2351
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to requiring the corroboration of certain testimony in a
 1-3     criminal case involving controlled substances.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1. Chapter 38, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended
 1-6     by adding Article 38.141 to read as follows:
 1-7           Art. 38.141.  TESTIMONY OF UNDERCOVER PEACE OFFICER. (a)(1)
 1-8     Except as provided by Subsection (b), a defendant may not be
 1-9     convicted of an offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code,
1-10     on the testimony of an undercover peace officer or of a person
1-11     acting covertly on behalf of a law enforcement agency or under the
1-12     color of law enforcement unless the testimony is corroborated by
1-13     other evidence tending to connect the defendant with the offense
1-14     committed.
1-15                 (2)  Corroboration may include the testimony of
1-16     witnesses described by Subdivision (1) or the production of
1-17     evidence of paraphernalia, fingerprints, audio or video recordings,
1-18     or an effort to evade arrest.
1-19                 (3)  Corroboration is not sufficient for the purposes
1-20     of this article if the corroboration only shows the commission of
1-21     the offense.
1-22           (b)(1)  This article does not require the corroboration of
1-23     the testimony of an undercover peace officer who has been employed
1-24     as a full-time peace officer for at least one year before the
 2-1     undercover operation leading to the arrest of the defendant, who
 2-2     holds a peace officer's license that has not been suspended or
 2-3     revoked at the time of the operation, and who during the operation
 2-4     complied with guidelines of the officer's agency or the Commission
 2-5     on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education designed to
 2-6     ensure the reliability of the identification of the defendant as
 2-7     the person who the officer believes committed the offense.
 2-8                 (2)  The requirement under Subdivision (1) that an
 2-9     undercover peace officer must have been employed as a full-time
2-10     peace officer for at least one year does not apply to a peace
2-11     officer participating in an undercover operation at or primarily
2-12     involving the students of a school or institution of higher
2-13     education.
2-14           (c)  In this article:
2-15                 (1)  "Institution of higher education" means any public
2-16     or private technical institute, junior college, senior college or
2-17     university, medical or dental unit, or other agency of higher
2-18     education as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code.
2-19                 (2)  "Peace officer" means an individual listed in
2-20     Article 2.12.
2-21                 (3)  "School" means a public or private elementary or
2-22     secondary school.
2-23           SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.