82R4961 MAW-F

By: West S.B. No. 1233

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the promotion of efficiencies in and the administration of certain county services and functions.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Chapter 2, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Article 2.31 to read as follows:

Art. 2.31. COUNTY JAILERS. A jailer licensed under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, may execute lawful process issued to the jailer by any magistrate or court on a person confined in the jail at which the jailer is employed to the same extent that a peace officer is authorized to execute process under Article 2.13(b)(2), including:

(1) a warrant under Chapter 15, 17, or 18;

(2) a capias under Chapter 17 or 23;

(3) a subpoena under Chapter 20 or 24; or

(4) an attachment under Chapter 20 or 24.

SECTION 2. Article 20.011(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:

(a) Only the following persons may be present in a grand jury room while the grand jury is conducting proceedings:

(1) grand jurors;

(2) bailiffs;

(3) the attorney representing the state;

(4) witnesses while being examined or when necessary to assist the attorney representing the state in examining other witnesses or presenting evidence to the grand jury;

(5) interpreters, if necessary; [and]

(6) a stenographer or person operating an electronic recording device, as provided by Article 20.012; and

(7) a person operating a video teleconferencing system for use under Article 20.151.

SECTION 3. Article 20.02(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:

(b) A grand juror, bailiff, interpreter, stenographer or person operating an electronic recording device, [or] person preparing a typewritten transcription of a stenographic or electronic recording, or person operating a video teleconferencing system for use under Article 20.151 who discloses anything transpiring before the grand jury, regardless of whether the thing transpiring is recorded, in the course of the official duties of the grand jury, is [shall be] liable to a fine as for contempt of the court, not exceeding $500 [five hundred dollars], imprisonment not exceeding 30 [thirty] days, or both the [such] fine and imprisonment.

SECTION 4. Chapter 20, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Article 20.151 to read as follows:

Art. 20.151. CERTAIN TESTIMONY BY VIDEO TELECONFERENCING. (a) With the consent of the foreman of the grand jury and the attorney representing the state, a peace officer summoned to testify before the grand jury may testify through the use of a closed circuit video teleconferencing system that provides an encrypted, simultaneous, compressed full motion video and interactive communication of image and sound between the peace officer, the attorney representing the state, and the grand jury.

(b) In addition to being administered the oath described by Article 20.16(a), before being interrogated, a peace officer testifying through the use of a closed circuit video teleconferencing system under this article shall affirm that:

(1) no person other than a person in the grand jury room is capable of hearing the peace officer's testimony; and

(2) the peace officer's testimony is not being recorded or otherwise preserved by any person at the location from which the peace officer is testifying.

(c) Testimony received from a peace officer under this article shall be recorded and preserved.

SECTION 5. Article 26.13, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Subsection (j) to read as follows:

(j) Notwithstanding any provision of this code, a person who is incarcerated in a facility operated by or under contract with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice may submit in writing a plea of guilty or plea of nolo contendere regarding any misdemeanor charge. The plea may be transmitted to the court by mail, facsimile, or other means. On receipt of a plea under this subsection, the court shall make the admonitions required by this article to the defendant in writing as provided by Subsection (d).

SECTION 6. Article 27.18, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (c-1) and (c-2) to read as follows:

(c) A recording of the communication shall be made and preserved until all appellate proceedings have been disposed of. A court reporter or court recorder is not required to transcribe or make a separate recording of a plea taken under this article.

(c-1) The defendant may obtain a copy of a [the] recording made under Subsection (c) on payment of a reasonable amount to cover the costs of reproduction or, if the defendant is indigent, the court shall provide a copy to the defendant without charging a cost for the copy.

(c-2) The loss or destruction of or failure to make a video recording of a plea entered under this article is not alone sufficient grounds for a defendant to withdraw the defendant's plea or to request the court to set aside a conviction or sentence based on the plea.

SECTION 7. Article 38.073, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:

Art. 38.073. TESTIMONY OF INMATE WITNESSES. In a proceeding in the prosecution of a criminal offense in which an inmate in the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is required to testify as a witness, any deposition or testimony of the inmate witness may be conducted by a video teleconferencing system in the manner described by Article 27.18 [electronic means, in the same manner as permitted in civil cases under Section 30.012, Civil Practice and Remedies Code].

SECTION 8. Article 49.25, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Section 13A to read as follows:

Sec. 13A. FEES. A medical examiner may charge reasonable fees for services provided by the office of medical examiner under this article, including cremation approvals, court testimonies, consultations, and depositions.

SECTION 9. Section 31.037, Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 31.037. SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT. The employment of the county elections administrator may be suspended, with or without pay, or terminated at any time for good and sufficient cause on the four-fifths vote of the county election commission and approval of that action by a majority vote of the commissioners court.

SECTION 10. Sections 51.318(b) and (e), Government Code, are amended to read as follows:

(b) The fees are:

(1) for issuing a subpoena, including one copy$8

(2) for issuing a citation, commission for deposition, writ of execution, order of sale, writ of execution and order of sale, writ of injunction, writ of garnishment, writ of attachment, or writ of sequestration not provided for in Section 51.317, or any other writ or process not otherwise provided for, including one copy if required by law$8

(3) for searching files or records to locate a cause when the docket number is not provided$5

(4) for searching files or records to ascertain the existence of an instrument or record in the district clerk's office$5

(5) for abstracting a judgment$8

(6) for approving a bond$4

(7) for a certified copy of a record, judgment, order, pleading, or paper on file or of record in the district clerk's office, including certificate and seal, for each page or part of a page$1

(8) for a noncertified copy, for each page or part of a page not to exceed $1

(9) notwithstanding Section 51.3195, for an electronic certified copy of a record, judgment, order, pleading, or paper on file or of record in the district clerk's office, including certificate and seal, for each page or part of a pagenot to exceed $1.

(e) The district clerk may not charge the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services [Naturalization Service] a fee for a copy of any document on file or of record in the clerk's office relating to an individual's criminal history, regardless of whether the document is certified.

SECTION 11. Subchapter D, Chapter 101, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 101.06118 to read as follows:

Sec. 101.06118. ADDITIONAL DISTRICT COURT FEES: GOVERNMENT CODE. The clerk of a district court shall collect for an electronic certified copy of a record, judgment, order, pleading, or paper on file or of record in the district clerk's office, including certificate and seal, a fee not to exceed $1 for each page or part of a page under Section 51.318, Government Code.

SECTION 12. (a) Articles 20.011(a) and 20.02(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act, and Article 20.151, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act, apply only to testimony before a grand jury that is impaneled on or after the effective date of this Act.

(b) Article 27.18, Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act, and Article 26.13(j), Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act, apply to a plea of guilty or nolo contendere entered on or after the effective date of this Act, regardless of whether the offense with reference to which the plea is entered is committed before, on, or after that date.

(c) Article 38.073, Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act, applies only to the testimony of an inmate witness that is taken on or after the effective date of this Act.

(d) Section 13A, Article 49.25, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act, applies only to a service provided by a medical examiner's office on or after the effective date of this Act. A service provided before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect on the date the service was provided, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

(e) Section 51.318(b), Government Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to a request for an electronic certified copy of a record, judgment, order, pleading, or paper on file or of record in the district clerk's office, including certificate and seal, made on or after the effective date of this Act. A request made before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the request was made, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 13. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2011.