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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to property and evidence technicians. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Title 10, Occupations Code, is amended by adding |
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Chapter 1705 to read as follows: |
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CHAPTER 1705. PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE |
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SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS |
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Sec. 1705.001. SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as |
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the Texas Act for Property and Evidence (TAPE). |
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Sec. 1705.002. EVIDENCE TECHNICIANS. (a) In this section: |
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(1) "Evidence technician" means a person employed by |
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or serving a law enforcement agency who receives, preserves, |
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stores, disposes of, and accounts for any and all property and/or |
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evidence coming into the possession of the law enforcement agency. |
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People assigned to Property/Evidence Rooms may also be titled |
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"Property Control Officer", "Property Attendant", "Property |
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Specialist", or any other classification as long as the position is |
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assigned to the Property/Evidence Room. |
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(2) "Property" means any item submitted to the |
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Property/Evidence Room that does not have evidentiary value or is |
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not related to or alleged to be related to any criminal act. The |
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terms "abandoned", "unclaimed" and "found" may also be used to |
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further describe property submitted under this definition. |
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(3) "Evidence" means any item that tends to prove or |
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disprove that a criminal act occurred or can prove or disprove guilt |
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or innocence. |
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Sec. 1705.003. EVIDENCE TECHNICIANS CERTIFICATION. |
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(a) This state or a political subdivision of this state may not |
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appoint or employ a person to act as an evidence technician and/or |
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court clerk, unless the person has had at least eight hours of |
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evidence technician training as determined by the commission. |
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(b) The commission shall accredit evidence technician |
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training programs that fulfill the minimum requirements for an |
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evidence technician and/or court clerk. The commission shall adopt |
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rules providing for the accreditation of an evidence technician |
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training program developed and taught by the Texas Association of |
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Property and Evidence Inventory Technicians, the Department of |
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Public Safety, an institution of higher education, including a |
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junior college, community college, or technical school, or any |
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other entity approved by the commission. |
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(c) A person who completes an accredited training program |
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under this section may, by letter to the commission, request a |
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written acknowledgment from the commission that the person has met |
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the minimum requirements for an evidence technician as determined |
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by the commission. The request must be accompanied, in accordance |
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with commission rules, by evidence of satisfactory completion of an |
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accredited evidence technician training program. On a |
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determination by the commission that the person meets the minimum |
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requirements for an evidence technician, the commission shall issue |
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the written acknowledgment to the person. |
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(d) A person performing the duties of an evidence technician |
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and serving under permanent appointment on and before September 1, |
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2009, is not required to meet the requirements of this section as a |
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condition of continued employment. |
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(e) Notwithstanding this section, a person may be appointed |
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or serve as an evidence technician on a temporary or probationary |
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basis or may perform the duties of an evidence technician in an |
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emergency. |
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(f) A person appointed on a temporary or probationary basis |
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after September 1, 2009, who does not satisfactorily complete an |
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accredited evidence technician training program before the first |
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anniversary of the date the person is originally appointed shall be |
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removed from the position. The person's temporary or probationary |
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appointment may not be extended for more than one year except that |
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not earlier than the first anniversary of the date the person is |
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removed under this subsection, the employing agency may petition |
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the commission for reinstatement of the person to temporary or |
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probationary employment. |