Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1611 by Ellis (Relating to discovery in a criminal case.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure as it relates to discovery in certain criminal cases. The bill would provide specific timelines for reciprocal disclosure in criminal trials. Additionally, the bill would also provide that all reasonable and necessary costs related to disclosure be paid by the requesting party, except for indigent defendants, and total costs cannot exceed those provided by the Texas Public Information Act. The Office of Court Administration does not anticipate any significant fiscal impact to the court system resulting from the bill and no significant fiscal impact to the state is anticipated. The bill would take effect January 1, 2014.
Local Government Impact
According to the Office of Court Administration, there may be costs associated with the production of documents under the bill, but fiscal impact to units of local government is not anticipated to be significant.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council