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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to a criminal justice system pretrial and sentencing |
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database established by the Office of Court Administration of the |
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Texas Judicial System. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Chapter 72, Government Code, is amended by |
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adding Subchapter H to read as follows: |
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SUBCHAPTER H. CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM PRETRIAL AND SENTENCING |
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DATABASE |
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Sec. 72.201. DATABASE. (a) The office shall establish and |
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maintain a database to collect, compile, and analyze pretrial and |
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sentencing information for each defendant arrested for an offense |
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in this state. |
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(b) The office shall include in the database the following |
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information for each defendant, as applicable: |
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(1) the cause number of the case; |
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(2) the court in which the case is pending; |
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(3) the defendant's: |
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(A) date of birth; |
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(B) race, ethnicity, and sex; |
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(C) primary language; and |
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(D) zip code and county of primary residence; |
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(4) the offense for which the defendant was arrested, |
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including the date the offense was committed and the punishment |
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classification level; |
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(5) the date and county of arrest; |
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(6) the date and time the person was taken to jail |
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after arrest; |
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(7) whether the defendant was determined to be |
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indigent for purposes of appointment of counsel under Article |
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26.04, Code of Criminal Procedure; |
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(8) information regarding bail in the case, including: |
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(A) the date bail was set; |
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(B) the name and position of the person setting |
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bail; |
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(C) the type of bail and, for a monetary bail |
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bond, the amount of bail; |
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(D) the date of the defendant's release on bail; |
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(E) whether the defendant filed an affidavit |
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under Article 17.028(f), Code of Criminal Procedure; |
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(F) any conditions of release on bail; and |
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(G) whether the defendant was denied bail or was |
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unable to give bail in the amount set by the court; |
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(9) the length of pretrial confinement; |
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(10) any modification of the conditions of release on |
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bail after the defendant's release; |
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(11) whether the defendant failed to appear for a |
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scheduled court appearance and, if known, the reason for the |
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failure; |
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(12) whether the defendant violated a release |
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condition and, if so, a description of the violation; |
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(13) whether the defendant was arrested for committing |
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an offense while released on bail or community supervision; |
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(14) the disposition of the case, including the |
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sentence imposed; |
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(15) the date the defendant's sentence commenced; and |
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(16) any credit for time served. |
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(c) Information in the database is public information and |
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subject to disclosure under Chapter 552. |
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Sec. 72.202. SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION BY COURTS. (a) Not |
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later than the fifth day of each month, the clerk of each court in |
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this state with criminal jurisdiction shall submit to the office, |
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on a form prescribed by the office, the information described by |
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Section 72.201(b) with respect to defendants arrested for offenses |
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in the preceding month. |
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(b) In submitting the information under Subsection (a), the |
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clerk shall include any updated or additional information with |
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respect to each defendant for whom information has already been |
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reported. |
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Sec. 72.203. PUBLISHED INFORMATION. (a) Except as |
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provided by Subsection (d), the office shall publish deidentified |
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pretrial and sentencing data from the database on the office's |
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Internet website in a modern, open, electronic format that is |
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machine-readable and readily accessible by the public free of |
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charge. The office shall update the information on the Internet |
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website on an annual basis. |
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(b) The published data must be searchable by each item of |
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information described by Section 72.201(b). |
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(c) The data published on the office's Internet website may |
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not disclose the name or identifying information of a defendant. |
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(d) The office may not publish data at the offense level for |
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any offense for which there are fewer than five arrests during a |
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year. |
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Sec. 72.204. RULES. The office may adopt rules as necessary |
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to implement this subchapter. |
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SECTION 2. As soon as practicable after the effective date |
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of this Act, the Office of Court Administration of the Texas |
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Judicial System shall establish the database described by Section |
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72.201, Government Code, as added by this Act. |
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SECTION 3. A court is not required to submit information to |
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the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System |
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under Section 72.202, Government Code, as added by this Act, with |
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respect to any defendant arrested before the effective date of this |
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Act. |
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SECTION 4. The Office of Court Administration of the Texas |
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Judicial System shall begin publishing pretrial and sentencing data |
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under Section 72.203, Government Code, as added by this Act, not |
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later than January 1, 2024. |
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SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |