Amend CSHB 427 as follows:                                                   
	(1)  On page 2, line 16, between the period and "In", insert 
"(a)".
	(2)  On page 2, strike lines 18 thru 20 and substitute 
"district attorney for the 201st Judicial District shall prosecute 
an offense".
	(3)  On page 2, between lines 22 and 23, insert the 
following:               
	"(b)(1)  The district attorney for the 201st Judicial 
District is chosen as provided in Subdivision (2).
		(2)(A)  Each person named on the list maintained under 
Section 74.055, Government Code, who served as a judge of the Court 
of Criminal Appeals and did not fail to be renominated for election 
to that court is a member of the board of appointment for the 201st 
Judicial District.
			(B)  Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of 
district attorney for the 201st Judicial District, the judge of the 
201st District Court, not later than the 10th day after the date the 
vacancy is created, shall summon each member of the board to the 
courthouse at which the court holds its sessions for the purpose of 
appointing the district attorney for the 201st Judicial District.  
The judge of the 201st District Court presides at meetings of the 
board until the board elects a presiding officer.
			(C)  The board shall appoint the district attorney 
for the 201st Judicial District.  To be appointed district 
attorney, a person must be board-certified in criminal law by the 
Texas Board of Legal Specialization and may not have served as a 
public or private attorney for any public officer nominated for 
election by a political party during the preceding 10 years.
			(D)  The board's appointment shall be entered in 
the minutes of the 201st District Court.  The person appointed 
district attorney qualifies by taking the oath required of state 
officials.  The district attorney serves without bond.  The oath 
shall be filed in the district clerk's office.
			(E)  The governor may not appoint a person to fill 
any vacancy in the office of district attorney of the 201st Judicial 
District pending the convening of the board of appointment.
		(3)  The district attorney for the 201st Judicial 
District is entitled to compensation equal to the compensation paid 
to a district judge in Travis County.  The district attorney for the 
201st Judicial District serves a term of four years.
		(4)  The district attorney for the 201st Judicial 
District may appoint assistant district attorneys.  A person may 
not be appointed as an assistant district attorney under this 
subdivision if the person served as the employee of a public officer 
nominated for election by a political party during the preceding 10 
years.  Before beginning any duties, an assistant district attorney 
must take the official oath of office, which must be endorsed on his 
written appointment.  An assistant district attorney serves without 
bond.  The appointment and oath of an assistant district attorney 
shall be recorded and deposited in the district clerk's office.
		(5)  An investigator appointed by the district attorney 
for the 201st Judicial District has the same authority as the 
sheriff of a county to make arrests anywhere in any county of the 
state and to serve anywhere in the state warrants, capiases, 
subpoenas in criminal cases, and all other processes in criminal 
cases issued by a district court, county court, or justice court of 
this state.  An investigator is under the exclusive authority and 
direction of the district attorney for the 201st Judicial District 
and is not under the authority and direction of the sheriff.  The 
district attorney for the 201st Judicial District is responsible 
for the official acts of investigators appointed under this 
subsection and has the same remedies against the investigators and 
their sureties as any person has against a prosecuting attorney and 
the prosecuting attorney's sureties.  An investigator may not draw 
a fee of any character for performing a duty prescribe by this 
subsection.
		(6)  The commission shall pay the salaries of the 
district attorney for the 201st Judicial District and any assistant 
district attorneys and investigators from money appropriated or 
otherwise available to the commission, except to the extent that 
money to pay the salary is specifically appropriated or made 
available through the budget execution process for that purpose.
		(7)  A limit provided by appropriation on the amount of 
reimbursement that state officers or members of state boards and 
commissions may generally receive does not apply to reimbursement 
of the reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by the district 
attorney for the 201st Judicial District in the course of 
performing duties under this section.
		(8)  The reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by 
the district attorney for the 201st Judicial District in the course 
of performing duties under this section shall be paid from funds 
appropriated or otherwise available to the commission, except to 
the extent that money to pay those expenses is specifically 
appropriated or made available through the budget execution process 
for that purpose.
		(9)  The department shall provide the district attorney 
for the 201st Judicial District with administrative services and 
investigative support.  The administrative services and 
investigative support shall be paid from funds appropriated or 
otherwise available to the department or commission, except to the 
extent that money to pay those expenses is specifically 
appropriated or made available through the budget execution process 
for that purpose.
		(10)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
district attorney for the 201st Judicial District:
			(A)  may conduct any investigation concerning 
illegal or improper conduct by commission officers or employees 
jeopardizing the health, safety, and welfare of children in the 
commission's custody and related conduct if any conduct 
investigated by the district attorney is or reasonably could 
involve an element of an offense under Article 104.003(a), Code of 
Criminal Procedure; and
			(B)  may appear in any court in the state as 
necessary to enforce Article 104.003(a), Code of Criminal Procedure 
to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of children in the 
commission's custody or the protection of any whistleblower 
providing information about the commission's inability to ensure 
the health, safety and welfare of children in the commission's 
custody reasonably related to conduct constituting an element of an 
offense under Article 104.003(a), Code of Criminal Procedure.
		(11)  As used in this section:                                         
			(A)  "Commission" means the Texas Youth 
Commission.                 
			(B)  "Department" means the Department of Public 
Safety.            
		(12)  The section expires September 1, 2011, and the 
office of district attorney for the 201st Judicial District is 
abolished on that date.".