By: Johnson  S.B. No. 335
         (In the Senate - Filed January 13, 2021; March 9, 2021, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Jurisprudence;
  April 12, 2021, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
  Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 5, Nays 0; April 12, 2021,
  sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 335 By:  Johnson
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the taking of a specimen to test for intoxication and
  retention and preservation of toxicological evidence of certain
  intoxication offenses.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Article 38.50, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
  amended by amending Subsections (c), (d), and (e) and adding
  Subsections (g) and (h) to read as follows:
         (c)  An entity or individual described by Subsection (b)
  shall ensure that toxicological evidence collected pursuant to an
  investigation or prosecution of an offense under Chapter 49, Penal
  Code, is retained and preserved, as applicable:
               (1)  for the greater of two years or the period of the
  statute of limitations for the offense, if the indictment or
  information charging the defendant, or the petition in a juvenile
  proceeding, has not been presented or has been dismissed without
  prejudice;
               (2)  for the duration of a defendant's sentence or term
  of community supervision, as applicable, if the defendant is
  convicted or placed on community supervision, or for the duration
  of the commitment or supervision period applicable to the
  disposition of a juvenile adjudicated as having engaged in
  delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision; or
               (3)  until the defendant is acquitted or the indictment
  or information is dismissed with prejudice, or, in a juvenile
  proceeding, until a hearing is held and the court does not find the
  child engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need
  for supervision.
         (d)  A person from whom toxicology evidence was collected
  and, if the person is a minor, the person's parent or guardian,
  shall be notified [For each offense subject to this article, the
  court shall determine as soon as practicable the appropriate
  retention and preservation period for the toxicological evidence
  under Subsection (c) and notify the defendant or the child or
  child's guardian and the entity or individual charged with storage
  of the toxicological evidence] of the periods [period] for which
  [the] evidence may [is to] be retained and preserved under this
  articleThe notice must be given by:
               (1)  an entity or individual described by Subsection
  (b) that collects the evidence, if the entity or individual
  collected the evidence directly from the person or collected it
  from a third party; or 
               (2)  the court, if the records of the court show that
  the person was not given the notice described by Subdivision (1) and
  the toxicological evidence is subject to the retention period under
  Subsection (c)(2) or (3) [If an action of the prosecutor or the
  court changes the applicable period under Subsection (c), the court
  shall notify the persons described by this subsection about the
  change].
         (e)  The entity or individual charged with storing
  toxicological evidence may destroy the evidence on expiration of
  the applicable retention period:
               (1)  described by Subsection (c)(1); or
               (2)  described by Subsection (c)(2) or (c)(3), provided
  that:
                     (A)  notice was given in accordance with this
  article; and
                     (B)  if applicable, the prosecutor's office gives
  written approval for the destruction under Subsection (h) [provided
  by the notice most recently issued by the court under Subsection
  (d)].
         (g)  Notice given under this article must be given:
               (1)  in writing, as soon as practicable, by hand
  delivery, e-mail, or first class mail to the person's last known
  e-mail or mailing address; or 
               (2)  if applicable, orally and in writing on requesting
  the specimen under Section 724.015, Transportation Code.
         (h)  A prosecutor's office may require that an entity or
  individual charged with storing toxicological evidence seek
  written approval from the prosecutor's office before destroying
  toxicological evidence subject to the retention period under
  Subsection (c)(2) or (c)(3) for cases in which the prosecutor's
  office presented the indictment, information, or petition.
         SECTION 2.  Section 724.015, Transportation Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 724.015.  INFORMATION PROVIDED BY OFFICER BEFORE
  REQUESTING SPECIMEN; STATEMENT OF CONSENT.  (a) Before requesting
  a person to submit to the taking of a specimen, the officer shall
  inform the person orally and in writing that:
               (1)  if the person refuses to submit to the taking of
  the specimen, that refusal may be admissible in a subsequent
  prosecution;
               (2)  if the person refuses to submit to the taking of
  the specimen, the person's license to operate a motor vehicle will
  be automatically suspended, whether or not the person is
  subsequently prosecuted as a result of the arrest, for not less than
  180 days;
               (3)  if the person refuses to submit to the taking of a
  specimen, the officer may apply for a warrant authorizing a
  specimen to be taken from the person;
               (4)  if the person is 21 years of age or older and
  submits to the taking of a specimen designated by the officer and an
  analysis of the specimen shows the person had an alcohol
  concentration of a level specified by Chapter 49, Penal Code, the
  person's license to operate a motor vehicle will be automatically
  suspended for not less than 90 days, whether or not the person is
  subsequently prosecuted as a result of the arrest;
               (5)  if the person is younger than 21 years of age and
  has any detectable amount of alcohol in the person's system, the
  person's license to operate a motor vehicle will be automatically
  suspended for not less than 60 days even if the person submits to
  the taking of the specimen, but that if the person submits to the
  taking of the specimen and an analysis of the specimen shows that
  the person had an alcohol concentration less than the level
  specified by Chapter 49, Penal Code, the person may be subject to
  criminal penalties less severe than those provided under that
  chapter;
               (6)  if the officer determines that the person is a
  resident without a license to operate a motor vehicle in this state,
  the department will deny to the person the issuance of a license,
  whether or not the person is subsequently prosecuted as a result of
  the arrest, under the same conditions and for the same periods that
  would have applied to a revocation of the person's driver's license
  if the person had held a driver's license issued by this state;
  [and]
               (7)  the person has a right to a hearing on the
  suspension or denial if, not later than the 15th day after the date
  on which the person receives the notice of suspension or denial or
  on which the person is considered to have received the notice by
  mail as provided by law, the department receives, at its
  headquarters in Austin, a written demand, including a facsimile
  transmission, or a request in another form prescribed by the
  department for the hearing; and
               (8)  if the person submits to the taking of a blood
  specimen, the specimen will be retained and preserved in accordance
  with Article 38.50, Code of Criminal Procedure.
         (b)  If a person consents to the request of an officer to
  submit to the taking of a specimen, the officer shall request the
  person to sign a statement that: 
               (1)  the officer requested that the person submit to
  the taking of a specimen;
               (2)  the person was informed of the consequences of not
  submitting to the taking of a specimen; and
               (3)  the person voluntarily consented to the taking of
  a specimen.
         SECTION 3.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsections (b) and
  (c) of this section, the changes in law made by this Act to Article
  38.50, Code of Criminal Procedure, apply only to evidence for which
  the appropriate retention and preservation period under that
  article expires on or after the effective date of this Act.  
  Evidence for which the appropriate retention and preservation
  period expired before the effective date of this Act is governed by
  the law in effect on the date of expiration of that period, and the
  former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         (b)  If the applicable retention and preservation period
  under Article 38.50(c)(1), Code of Criminal Procedure, has expired
  with respect to toxicological evidence held in storage on the
  effective date of this Act, and notice regarding that evidence has
  not yet been given under Article 38.50(d), Code of Criminal
  Procedure, as that subsection existed immediately before the
  effective date of this Act, the entity or individual charged with
  storing the evidence may destroy the evidence pursuant to Article
  38.50(e), Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act.
         (c)  If the appropriate retention and preservation period
  under Article 38.50(c)(2) or (3), Code of Criminal Procedure, as
  applicable, has expired with respect to evidence held in storage on
  the effective date of this Act, and notice regarding that evidence
  has not yet been given under Article 38.50(d), Code of Criminal
  Procedure, as that subsection existed immediately before the
  effective date of this Act, the court shall provide the notice
  required by Article 38.50(d), Code of Criminal Procedure, as
  amended by this Act, not later than September 1, 2022.
         (d)  The change in law made by this Act to Section 724.015,
  Transportation Code, applies only to a request for the taking of a
  breath or blood specimen to test for intoxication that occurs on or
  after the effective date of this Act.  A request for the taking of a
  specimen that occurs before the effective date of this Act is
  governed by the law in effect on the date the specimen was
  requested, and the former law is continued in effect for that
  purpose.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
 
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