By:  Lucio, Carona                                                S.B. No. 1751


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the right of a foreign national to contact a foreign 
consular official.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Article 15.17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is 
amended by adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
	(h)(1)  If a magistrate knows or suspects that a person 
brought before the magistrate after an arrest is a foreign 
national, the magistrate shall inform the person that after an 
arrest a foreign national has a right to communicate with an 
official from the consulate of the person's country.  If the person 
chooses to exercise the right to communicate with the consular 
official, the magistrate shall notify an official of the penal 
institution in which the person is confined that the person wants a 
foreign consular official to be notified.  The official of the penal 
institution shall allow the person to communicate with, correspond 
with, and be visited by a consular official of the person's country.
		(2)  In providing a foreign national with rights 
described by Subdivision (1), the magistrate and the official of 
the penal institution shall comply with policies and procedures 
adopted by the United States Department of State that apply to the 
notification of foreign consular officials on the arrest of foreign 
nationals.
		(3)  Absent other factors, the failure of a magistrate 
or an official of a penal institution to comply with Subdivision (1) 
or (2) is not, in a criminal case:
			(A)  sufficient grounds for a mistrial;                               
			(B)  sufficient grounds for excluding evidence 
from use during the trial; or
			(C)  reversible error on appeal.                                      
	SECTION 2.  Section 1701.253, Occupations Code, is amended 
by adding Subsection (i) to read as follows:
	(i)  As part of the minimum curriculum requirements, the 
commission shall establish a statewide comprehensive education and 
training program on the requirements for handling the arrest and 
detention of a foreign national as provided by Article 15.17(h), 
Code of Criminal Procedure.
	SECTION 3.  (a)  The Commission on Law Enforcement Officer 
Standards and Education shall establish the curriculum for a 
comprehensive education and training program for peace officers as 
required by Subsection (i), Section 1701.253, Occupations Code, as 
added by this Act, on or before January 1, 2004.
	(b)  For persons who are licensed peace officers on September 
1, 2003, the first course required under Subsection (i), Section 
1701.253, Occupations Code, as added by this Act, must be completed 
before September 1, 2005.
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.