Bill Text: TX SB89 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the creation of a commission to investigate and prevent wrongful convictions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-03-18 - Co-author authorized [SB89 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-SB89-Introduced.html
| 83R910 ADM-D | ||
| By: Ellis | S.B. No. 89 | |
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| relating to the creation of a commission to investigate and prevent | ||
| wrongful convictions. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Chapter 43, Code of Criminal Procedure, is | ||
| amended by adding Article 43.27 to read as follows: | ||
| Art. 43.27. TEXAS INNOCENCE COMMISSION | ||
| Sec. 1. CREATION. The Texas Innocence Commission is | ||
| created. | ||
| Sec. 2. COMPOSITION. (a) The commission is composed of | ||
| nine members. The governor shall appoint two members, one of whom | ||
| must be a dean of a law school and one of whom must be a law | ||
| enforcement officer. The lieutenant governor shall appoint one | ||
| member, who may be a member of the legislature. The speaker of the | ||
| house of representatives shall appoint one member, who may be a | ||
| member of the legislature. The presiding judge of the court of | ||
| criminal appeals shall appoint one member, who must be a member of | ||
| the judiciary. The presiding officer of the Texas Forensic Science | ||
| Commission shall appoint one member, who must work in the forensic | ||
| science field. The Texas District and County Attorneys Association | ||
| shall appoint one member, who must be a prosecuting attorney. The | ||
| Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association shall appoint one | ||
| member, who must be a criminal defense lawyer. The president of the | ||
| Texas Center for Actual Innocence at The University of Texas School | ||
| of Law, the director of the Texas Innocence Network at the | ||
| University of Houston Law Center, or the executive director of the | ||
| Innocence Project of Texas at the Texas Tech University School of | ||
| Law, on a rotating basis, shall appoint one member, who must be an | ||
| attorney with experience in filing successful appellate claims | ||
| based on actual innocence. | ||
| (b) Each member serves a two-year term. | ||
| (c) The governor shall designate a member to serve as | ||
| presiding officer. | ||
| Sec. 3. DUTIES. (a) The commission shall investigate | ||
| thoroughly all postconviction exonerations, including convictions | ||
| vacated based on a plea to time served, to: | ||
| (1) ascertain errors and defects in the criminal | ||
| procedure used to prosecute the defendant's case at issue; | ||
| (2) identify errors and defects in the criminal | ||
| justice process in this state generally; | ||
| (3) develop solutions and methods to correct the | ||
| identified errors and defects; and | ||
| (4) identify procedures and programs to prevent future | ||
| wrongful convictions. | ||
| (b) The commission may enter into contracts for research | ||
| services as considered necessary to complete the investigation of a | ||
| particular case, including forensic testing and autopsies. | ||
| Sec. 4. REPORT. (a) The commission shall compile a | ||
| detailed annual report of its findings and recommendations, | ||
| including any proposed legislation to implement procedures and | ||
| programs to prevent future wrongful convictions or executions. | ||
| (b) The report shall be made available to the public on | ||
| request. | ||
| (c) The findings and recommendations contained in the | ||
| report may not be used as binding evidence in a subsequent civil or | ||
| criminal proceeding. | ||
| Sec. 5. SUBMISSION. The commission shall submit the report | ||
| described by Section 4 to the governor, the lieutenant governor, | ||
| and the speaker of the house of representatives not later than | ||
| December 1 of each even-numbered year. | ||
| Sec. 6. REIMBURSEMENT. A member of the commission is not | ||
| entitled to compensation but is entitled to reimbursement for the | ||
| member's travel expenses as provided by Chapter 660, Government | ||
| Code, and the General Appropriations Act. | ||
| Sec. 7. ASSISTANCE. The Texas Legislative Council, the | ||
| Legislative Budget Board, and The University of Texas at Austin | ||
| shall assist the commission in performing the commission's duties. | ||
| Sec. 8. OTHER LAW. The commission is not subject to Chapter | ||
| 2110, Government Code. | ||
| SECTION 2. (a) The purpose of this section is to establish | ||
| the rotating basis for appointments by law schools as required by | ||
| Section 2, Article 43.27, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by | ||
| this Act. | ||
| (b) The president of the Texas Center for Actual Innocence | ||
| at The University of Texas School of Law shall make the first | ||
| appointment under Section 2, Article 43.27, Code of Criminal | ||
| Procedure, as added by this Act. After the expiration of the | ||
| appointee's two-year term, the director of the Texas Innocence | ||
| Network at the University of Houston Law Center shall make the | ||
| second appointment under Section 2, Article 43.27, Code of Criminal | ||
| Procedure, as added by this Act. After the expiration of the second | ||
| appointment, the executive director of the Innocence Project of | ||
| Texas at the Texas Tech University School of Law shall make the | ||
| third appointment. | ||
| SECTION 3. The appointments to the Texas Innocence | ||
| Commission as required by Article 43.27, Code of Criminal | ||
| Procedure, as added by this Act, shall be made not later than | ||
| October 31, 2013. | ||
| SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. | ||
