This website will be unavailable from Thursday, May 30, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, June 3, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. due to data center maintenance.



	Amend HB 268 (2nd Reading Engrossment) on third reading as 
follows:        
	(1)  On page 1, line 5, strike "Sections 2(c) and (d)" and 
substitute "Section 2".
	(2)  On page 1, line 6, strike "are amended" and substitute 
"is amended by amending Subsections (c) and (d) and adding 
Subsection (d-1)".
	(3)  Strike the language on page 1, line 21, through page 2, 
line 18, and substitute the following:
	(d) (1) The Task Force on Indigent Defense [court of 
criminal appeals] shall adopt standards [rules] for the appointment 
of attorneys as counsel under this section [and the convicting 
court may appoint an attorney as counsel under this section only if 
the appointment is approved by the court of criminal appeals in any 
manner provided by those rules].
		(2)  The standards must require that an attorney 
appointed as lead counsel under this section:
			(A)  be a member of the State Bar of Texas;                           
			(B)  exhibit proficiency and commitment to 
providing quality representation to defendants in death penalty 
cases;
			(C)  have participated in continuing legal 
education courses or other training relating to criminal defense in 
death penalty cases;
			(D)  not have been found by a federal or state 
court to have rendered ineffective assistance of counsel during the 
trial or appeal of any criminal case;
			(E)  have at least five years of experience in 
criminal trial or appellate litigation or habeas corpus practice; 
and 
			(F)  have participated in the preparation of 
appellate briefs for the prosecution or defense, or in the drafting 
of appellate opinions as a staff attorney for an appellate court, in 
felony cases, including homicide cases and other cases involving an 
offense punishable as a capital felony or a felony of the first or 
second degree.
		(3)  The Task Force on Indigent Defense shall maintain a 
list of attorneys qualified for appointment under this section and 
make that list available to a convicting court for the purpose of 
assisting that court with the appointment of qualified counsel 
under this section.
	(4)  On page 2, between lines 25 and 26, insert the following:                 
	(d-1)  The court of criminal appeals may annually review the 
list of attorneys qualified for appointment under this section to 
ensure that the attorneys included on the list are suitably 
qualified and proficient to be eligible for appointment. The court 
may determine whether an attorney is eligible for appointment on a 
case-by-case basis. The court may remove an attorney from the list 
if the attorney is determined to be ineligible for appointment.