Consider this the sequel to Friday’s weekly update. Like most sequels, it may not make most fans of the original very happy considering it includes updates on bills relating to remote court proceedings, mandatory prosecutor training, mandatory pretrial diversions, prosecutorial immunity, and more. (Please don’t shoot the messenger!)
More hot button issues
Finishing what we started Friday, here are updates on yet more issues (listed alphabetically) we’ve been following for you this session.
Civil asset forfeiture: HB 402 by Hernandez (using funds to provide services to trafficking victims) is on Monday’s House floor calendar. HB 1441 by Schaefer (State must disprove innocent owner defense by clear and convincing evidence) is headed to the Calendars Committee for further consideration. (More information about that committee can be found in another entry below.) HB 2315 by Turner (forfeitures for street racing) is also headed to the Calendars Committee.
Death penalty: HB 252 by Moody (unanimous defense verdicts) is heading to the Calendars Committee. HB 679 by Gervin-Hawkins (expanding qualifications for defense appointments) was voted from committee Friday. HB 688 by Dutton and HB 1340 by Leach (excluding certain party defendants from the death penalty) are pending in the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.
Drugs: House committees have approved HB 441 by Zwiener (Class C POM < 1 oz.), HB 1086 by Moody (reducing felony drug penalties to misdemeanors), HB 1535 by Klick (expansion of low-THC medical marijuana), HB 1694 by Raney (“Good Samaritan” defense for overdosages), and HB 2593 by Moody (reducing penalties for THC edibles, gummies, vapes, etc.)—all of which are now, or soon will be, in the hands of the Calendars Committee. The Senate has passed SB 768 by Huffman (fentanyl enhancement), which now moves to the House for further consideration.
Guns: HB 1911 by White (permitless carry, aka “constitutional carry”) and HB 1927 by Schaefer (a different permitless carry bill) were both approved by the House Homeland Security & Public Safety Committee and are now on their way to the Calendars Committee. Look for one of them to be placed on a House floor calendar in the upcoming week or two. (And for those interested, various law enforcement representatives and public safety advocates will be holding a press conference on the south steps of the capitol this Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. in opposition to whichever “constitutional carry” bill first gets calendared for House floor debate.)
Juveniles/young offenders: The House Juvenile Justice & Family Issues Committee has approved HB 487 by Wu (changing juvenile jurisdiction from 10 to 16 years of age to 12 to 17 years of age), HB 488 by Wu (juvenile attire in court), HB 890 by VanDeaver (juvenile remote proceedings), and HB 967 by Dutton (“Raise the Age” to include 17-year-olds), which all now head to the Calendars Committee, along with HB 3315 by Crockett (diversion of non-3g offenses committed by 17-year-olds), which was changed from being optional to mandatory before being sent to the Calendars Committee. In addition, HB 686 by Moody (“Second Look” early parole review) was passed by the House this week and is now in the Senate.
Policing reform: HB 54 by Talarico (no reality TV cop shows) is heading to the Calendars Committee. HB 88 by S. Thompson (the George Floyd Act) was heard and left pending in committee. HB 492 by Wu (limits on no-knock warrants) was approved by the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Friday. HB 744 by Collier and SB 111 by West (law enforcement discovery compliance) have both been approved by their initial committees, along with HB 834 by S. Thompson (corroboration of undercover drug testimony), HB 1550 by Cyrier (TCOLE sunset review), and HB 2631 (notice, hearing, jury instruction for jailhouse informants), which are all heading to the Calendars Committee. Across the rotunda, SB 24 by Huffman (transparency in peace officer hiring) has been passed by the Senate and sent to the House for more action.
Other bills to watch: HB 1374 by Minjarez (privilege for sexual assault victim counselors), and HB 1717 by S. Thompson (employment lawsuit over Brady compliance) are all in, or on the way, to the Calendars Committee, while HB 2335 by Middleton (suing prosecutors over riot cases) and SB 252 by Bettencourt (AG prosecution of public corruption crimes) are both still pending in their respective committees.
Calendars Committee bills
We are currently tracking 53 of the 180 bills now before the House Calendars Committee. In addition to other bills mentioned in this week’s two updates that are—or soon will be—before that committee for possible floor consideration are the following bills: HB 225 by S. Thompson (subsequent writs based on non-scientific evidence), SB 275 by Moody (expanding scientific writs to punishment evidence), HB 379 by Smith (parole limitations for online solicitation of a minor), HB 1293 by Smithee (out-of-time new trial with consent of prosecutor), HB 1352 by Crockett (shortening time for state to be ready under CCP Art. 17.151), HB 1403 by Ann Johnson (stacking of certain sentences), and HB 2733 by Tinderholt (DWI database).
Remember, the eleven-member Calendars Committee does not take additional testimony on bills sent to it from other committees, but its members do take input on bills individually. If you know any members of that committee, don’t be shy about reaching out to them on bills as you see fit.
Upcoming floor calendars
Bills calendared for debate on the House floor can be found here; check back for updates as needed. Among the tracked bills coming up the first half of this week are HB 187 by S. Thompson (subsequent writs), HB 375 by Smith (continuous sexual abuse of a disabled individual), HB 376 by Smith (increasing penalty for improper sexual activity with a person in custody), HB 766 by Harless (certain bond conditions entered into TCIC), HB 789 by Geren (punishment for tampering with evidence), and HB 1540 by S. Thompson (human trafficking).
Bills eligible for possible debate on the Senate floor are available here; the list changes daily so check as needed. Among the tracked bills that might be taken up on Monday are SJR 45 and SB 1025 by Birdwell (limiting gubernatorial power during a disaster), SB 21 by Huffman (bail bond reform), SB 23 by Huffman (local election required before defunding law enforcement), SB 623 by Blanco (sexual assault by or against Texas Military Forces member), and SB 1529 by Huffman (statewide appellate court for certain civil cases).
Committee notices
Our initial list of bills for Monday and Tuesday can be found here. Below are more abridged committee notices for later in the week. For a full agenda of all the bills to be heard at each meeting, please click the link in the committee’s name below; the text of each individual bill will be accessible on that notice by clicking the bill number.
Wednesday, April 14
House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence – 8:00 a.m., E2.026
HB 1089 by Reynolds increasing the cap for damages under the Tort Claims Act
HB 2020 by Gonzalez allowing recovery of attorneys fees from the state or an agency or institution of the state
HB 2714 by Hernandez mandating implicit bias training for judges and lawyers (including prosecutors)
HB 2950 by Smith relating to multidistrict litigation in consumer protection actions
HB 3611 by Leach authorizing remotely-conducted court proceeding
HB 3913 by Ramos mandating judicial training regarding family violence victims
HB 3966 by Morales authorizing certain ex-district judges with past disciplinary issues to serve as visiting judges
HB 3986 by Guillen relating to uncollectible fines, fees, and court costs
HB 4293 by Hinojosa mandating a “court reminder program” for all counties
House Corrections – 8:00 a.m., E2.026
HB 358 by Sherman limiting the consequences for technical violations of certain probations
HB 385 by Pacheco accelerating the conditions for early termination from probation
HB 757 by Dutton relating to the consequences of completing deferred adjudication
HB 870 by S. Thompson accelerating eligibility for some orders of non-disclosure
HB 1894 by White mandating review of felony inmates for clemency suitability
HB 2442 by White creating a Justice Reinvestment Incentive Progra
HB 3547 by Allen mandating automatic non-disclosure for most misdemeanors and expanding non-disclosure of certain felony offenses
HB 3598 by Leach imposing a mandatory minimum sentence for intoxication manslaughter
House Public Health – 8:00 a.m., JHR 140
HB 4295 by K. Bell relating to the release and confidentiality of autopsy reports
Thursday, April 15
House Homeland Security & Public Safety – 10:30 a.m. or upon adj., E2.030
HB 368 by Sherman authorizing driver’s license address confidentiality to legislators and prosecutors
HB 882 by Hinojosa relating to the unlawful transfer of a firearm
HB 1513 by Zwiener relating to the use of non-lethal projectiles for crowd control
HB 2302 by White criminalizing an officer’s false statement in an incident report
HB 2618 by Hernandez relating to disclosure of information in a traffic citation
HB 3017 by Wu creating an offense for “swatting” by false statement
HB 4145 by Coleman “relating to criminal justice” (a grab-bag of random provisions)
HB 4286 by K. King relating to the dishonorable discharge of peace officers and related consequences
House County Affairs – 10:30 a.m. or upon adj., E2.014
HB 2244 by Wilson relating to the state salary supplement for a county judge
HB 2272 by Ordaz Perez relating to the delegation of a county’s disaster powers
HB 4354 by Coleman relating to the administration of medication to certain jail inmates
Scattershooting
We’ll wrap up this addendum with a fun column by Ken Herman of the Austin American-Stateman: “Knives. Guns. Mermaids. State militia. A day at the Texas Capitol.”
As always, if you need anything further, please reach out to Rob or Shannon.
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