Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
John McGeady, Assistant Director Sarah Keyton, Assistant Director Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1492 by Whitmire (relating to grand jury proceedings and establishing a commission to study improvements and alternatives to those proceedings.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to define a fact witness as a person testifying regarding the person's personal knowledge of events relating to an investigated case by a grand jury, would establish parameters for investigations performed by a grand jury as defined in the bill, and establishes a Texas Commission on Grand Juries composed of members as defined in the bill. This commission is required to develop a report that recommends improvements to the grand jury system and presents alternative procedures for establishing probable cause in felony cases. The bill would require this report to be completed no later than December 1, 2020. Based on the analysis of the Office of Court Administration, duties and responsibilities associated with implementing the provisions of the bill could be accomplished by utilizing 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