Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1424 by Buckingham ( relating to grand jury proceedings.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Civil Practice and Remedies Code as it applies to grand jury proceedings. The bill would prohibit any person from being investigated by a grand jury for an offense for which the person was previously investigated by a grand jury if the grand jury returned no bill of indictment, unless an ex parte hearing shows it is in the interest of justice that the person be investigated for the same offense. The bill would allow a grand jury indictment to be set aside if the investigation was not proper. The bill would expand judicial appointments for state attorneys in certain circumstances where an attorney for the state is not available. Based on the analysis of the Office of Court Administration, duties and responsibilities associated with implementing the provisions of the bill could be accomplished using existing resources.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 302 Office of the Attorney General