This website will be unavailable from Friday, April 26, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, April 29, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. due to data center maintenance.



	
Amend HB 3060 on third reading by inserting the following 
sections and renumbering accordingly.
	SECTION __.  Chapter 43, Code of Criminal Procedure, is 
amended by adding Article 43.27 to read as follows:
	Art. 43.27.  TEXAS INNOCENCE COMMISSION                                 
	Sec. 1.  CREATION.  The Texas Innocence Commission is 
created.        
	Sec. 2.  COMPOSITION.  (a)  The commission is composed of 
nine members.  The governor shall appoint two members, one of whom 
must be a dean of a law school and one of whom must be a law 
enforcement officer.  The lieutenant governor shall appoint one 
member, who may be a member of the legislature.  The speaker of the 
house of representatives shall appoint one member, who may be a 
member of the legislature.  The presiding judge of the court of 
criminal appeals shall appoint one member, who must be a member of 
the judiciary.  The presiding officer of the Texas Forensic Science 
Commission shall appoint one member, who must work in the forensic 
science field.  The Texas District and County Attorneys Association 
shall appoint one member, who must be a prosecuting attorney.  The 
Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association shall appoint one 
member, who must be a criminal defense lawyer.  The president of the 
Texas Center for Actual Innocence at The University of Texas School 
of Law, the director of the innocence project at the University of 
Houston Law Center, or the director of the innocence project at the 
Texas Tech University School of Law, on a rotating basis, shall 
appoint one member, who must be an attorney with experience in 
filing successful appellate claims based on actual innocence.
	(b)  Each member serves a two-year term.                                
	(c)  The governor shall designate a member to serve as 
presiding officer.
	Sec. 3.  DUTIES.  (a)  The commission shall investigate 
thoroughly all postconviction exonerations, including convictions 
vacated based on a plea to time served, to:
		(1)  ascertain errors and defects in the criminal 
procedure used to prosecute the defendant's case at issue;
		(2)  identify errors and defects in the criminal 
justice process in this state generally;
		(3)  develop solutions and methods to correct the 
identified errors and defects; and
		(4)  identify procedures and programs to prevent future 
wrongful convictions.
	(b)  The commission may enter into contracts for research 
services as considered necessary to complete the investigation of a 
particular case, including forensic testing and autopsies.
	Sec. 4.  REPORT.  (a)  The commission shall compile a 
detailed annual report of its findings and recommendations, 
including any proposed legislation to implement procedures and 
programs to prevent future wrongful convictions or executions.
	(b)  The report shall be made available to the public on 
request.     
	(c)  The findings and recommendations contained in the 
report may not be used as binding evidence in a subsequent civil or 
criminal proceeding.
	Sec. 5.  SUBMISSION.  The commission shall submit the report 
described by Section 4 to the governor, the lieutenant governor, 
and the speaker of the house of representatives not later than 
December 1 of each even-numbered year.
	Sec. 6.  REIMBURSEMENT.  A member of the commission is not 
entitled to compensation but is entitled to reimbursement for the 
member's travel expenses as provided by Chapter 660, Government 
Code, and the General Appropriations Act.
	Sec. 7.  ASSISTANCE.  The Texas Legislative Council, the 
Legislative Budget Board, and The University of Texas at Austin 
shall assist the commission in performing the commission's duties.
	Sec. 8.  OTHER LAW.  The commission is not subject to Chapter 
2110, Government Code.
	SECTION __.  (a)  The purpose of this section is to 
establish the rotating basis for appointments by law schools as 
required by Section 2, Article 43.27, Code of Criminal Procedure, 
as added by this Act.
	(b)  The president of the Texas Center for Actual Innocence 
at The University of Texas School of Law shall make the first 
appointment under Section 2, Article 43.27, Code of Criminal 
Procedure, as added by this Act.  After the expiration of the 
appointee's two-year term, the director of the innocence project at 
the University of Houston Law Center shall make the second 
appointment under Section 2, Article 43.27, Code of Criminal 
Procedure, as added by this Act.  After the expiration of the second 
appointment, the director of the innocence project at Texas Tech 
University School of Law shall make the third appointment.
	SECTION __.  The appointments to the Texas Innocence 
Commission as required by Article 43.27, Code of Criminal 
Procedure, as added by this Act, shall be made not later than the 
60th day after the effective date of this Act.
	SECTION __.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.