BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 46

By: Zaffirini

Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties contend that there are situations in which it might not be in the best interest of jurors to have their names called out by a judge when polling the jury as the jurors would assume a potential safety risk. S.B. 46 seeks to mitigate this risk by authorizing a judge to assign an identification number to each juror to use in place of the juror's name when polling the jury.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

S.B. 46 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to authorize a judge for the purpose of polling the jury to assign each juror an identification number to use in place of the juror's name. The bill clarifies that both the state and the defendant each have the right to have the jury polled.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2017.