H.B. 2127 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS H.B. 2127 By: Castro Criminal Jurisprudence Committee Report (Amended) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law requires courts to appoint attorneys, selected from a rotating public appointment list, to represent indigent defendants. Too often, these attorneys are not provided with the actual date of the defendant's first court appearance. Providing attorneys with the date of appearance will better enable them to prepare for trial and reduce administrative costs. House Bill 2127 remedies these problems by requiring the court to ensure that an appointed attorney is provided sufficient notice of the defendant's first court appearance. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 2127 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to require a court or the court's designee to provide appointed attorneys with sufficient notice of the defendant's first court appearance following the attorney's appointment. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2003. EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS Committee Amendment 1 The amendment specifies that the defendant's first court date be provided to the appointed attorney.