Spring Break is just around the corner, but we’ll be stuck here in Austin as they hear bills on criminal discovery, election fraud, prosecutor disqualifications, human trafficking, DWI search warrants, fake weed and other new drugs, and more—and that’s just on Tuesday!

DA apportionment update

On Thursday, a House Appropriations subcommittee voted to restore a portion of the apportionment funding for felony prosecutor offices that was stripped from the original baseline budget for FY 2012-13.  The original budget reduced the amount for offices in the Professional Prosecutor Act (PPA) from $34,450 to the statutory minimum of $22,500, and eliminated it entirely for the nine felony offices outside the PPA.  In response, several prosecutors suggested that the legislature devote what little extra money they had to the smallest felony offices in the state, using population as a measuring stick.  Under that plan (as now adopted by the subcommittee), offices serving jurisdictions with a population of 50,000 or more will still get the minimum $22,500, but offices serving jurisdictions of less than 50,000 will receive $27,500, while offices not in the PPA will receive $11,803.  (If you want to see where your jurisdiction falls using the latest census data, contact Rob)  This proposal now goes to the full Appropriations Committee for their review.  Meanwhile, over in the Senate, there is still no news on this front—the Senate Finance Committee has taken testimony on apportionment but has yet to meet in work groups to hammer out a plan which would restore apportionment funding above the statutory minimum ($22,500) in the baseline budget.

The final countdown

With a few minor exceptions, Friday is the last day a bill may be introduced during this 82nd Regular Session.  The volume of bills filed this week has been impressive, but we are trying to keep up.  Through Wednesday, we have logged in more than 1,100 bills to track (or about 20% of the total bills filed).  We hope to be caught up by the end of next week so we can share with you some statistics regarding what the legislature has put on its plate for the rest of the session.  That project should be helped by the fact that the Legislature is still focused almost exclusively on issues that have little or nothing to do with your business.  That has made our job easier to this point, but our Spidey-sense keeps telling us that strange things are afoot at the Circle K, so check in next week for the full run-down on bill filings for the session.

Two, two, two agencies in one!

The House Corrections Committee heard testimony this week on HB 1915 by Madden to consolidate TYC and TJPC into a new Texas Juvenile Justice Department.  There was more than two hours’ worth of testimony on the bill at the hearing, but it was all much ado about nothing because HB 1915 is merely a “shell bill.”  According to our sources, the House bill will be left pending in committee while the Senate takes up and considers its version of a consolidation bill (SB 653 by Whitmire).  The House will let the Senate do most of the spade work and then take up the “real” bill sometime in April.

Scheduled floor debates

The Senate is well ahead of the House in getting bills to the floor for debate and eventual passage.  This week’s slate of bills that may be brought up for votes by the full Senate include SB 121 by Ellis (reforming line-up identification procedures) and SB 321 by Hegar (authorizing employees to transport/store firearms while at work).  There have been some indications that the House might take up SB 14 by Fraser (voter ID) later this week, but that’s not official yet.

Committee recap

The Senate Criminal Justice Committee approved SB 116 by Uresti (third-party family violence protective orders), SB 170 by Ellis (indigent defense funding and oversight), SB 250 by Zaffirini (protective orders for stalking victims), and SB 279 by W. Davis (including pets in family violence protective orders).  Over in the House, the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee passed HB 371 by Hochberg (no deferred adjudication for murder unless convicted as a party) … Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence approved HB 119 by Castro (third-party family violence protective orders), HB 462 by Kleinschmidt (special county court judges in certain counties) … and House State Affairs voted out HB 183 by Solomons (verification of immigration status of arrested persons).

Committee hearings

Here’s a glimpse of what’s on tap for next week.

Monday, March 14

Senate State Affairs (9:00 a.m., Senate Chamber)

SJR 37 by Van de Putte to repeal the automatic “resign to run” provision in the constitution

House Elections (2:00 p.m. or upon adjournment, E2.028)

HB 174 by J. Jackson requiring certain voting reports to be submitted to local prosecutors
HB 1696 by Zedler requiring certain election complaints to be sent to the Attorney General

House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence (2:00 p.m. or upon adjournment, E2.010)

HB 417 by Anchia limiting attorneys fees for certain wrongful imprisonment claims
HB 906 by Thompson relating to appeals of SAPCR/termination rulings

Tuesday, March 15

House Criminal Jurisprudence (10:30 a.m. or upon adjournment, JHR 120)

HB 38 by Menendez increasing the punishment for certain offenses of graffiti
HB 108 by F. Brown adding synthetic derivatives of marihuana to Penalty Group 2
HB 446 by Guillen mandating open-file discovery w/in 30 days of the filing of charges
HB 470 by C. Anderson adding Salvia divinorum to Penalty Group 3
HB 489 by Dutton mandating reciprocal discovery in a criminal case
HB 597 by Madden adding certain synthetic cannabinoids to Penalty Group 2
HB 853 by Dutton reducing certain POCS penalties from SJFs to Class A misdemeanors
HB 934 by T. Smith authorizing an administrative fee for community service
HB 976 by Carter authorizing warrant affiants to appear electronically before a magistrate
HB 1009 by Callegari changing procedures for obtaining informed consent for an autopsy
HB 1011 by Bonnen adding various new drugs to Penalty Group 2
HB 1103 by Lucio III requiring a $100 probation fee from animal cruelty offenders
HB 1332 by Creighton relating to Medicaid fraud; creating the offense of Exploitation
HB 1343 by Carter relating to proper venue for certain mortgage fraud prosecutions
HB 1389 by Hopson increasing the penalties for the owner of a dog that injures someone
HB 1507 by Christian facilitating the issuance of certain search warrants in certain counties
HB 1548 by Sheets adding certain synthetic substances (“bath salts”) to Penalty Group 2
HB 1573 by Gallego relating to certain pretrial and post-trial procedures in a criminal case
HB 1638 by Aliseda disqualifying a prosecutor who is a suspect in a criminal investigation
HB 1647 by Gallego mandating reciprocal discovery in a criminal case
HB 1658 by Y. Davis relating to the refund of a cash bond to a defendant
HB 1748 by Kuempel relating to the withholding/assignment of a cash bond
HB 2097 by Giddings adding MDPV and other “bath salts” to Penalty Group 2
HB 2118 by Coleman adding certain synthetic compounds (“bath salts”) to PG 2

Senate Criminal Justice (1:30 p.m. or upon adjournment, E1.016)

SB 24 by Van de Putte relating to human trafficking (omnibus bill)
SB 144 by West allowing a pardon for successful completion of a deferred adjudication
SB 153 by Huffman limiting a judge’s authority to probate a sentence after a jury trial
SB 166 by Shapiro relating to the sex offender civil commitment program
SB 623 by Whitmire disqualifying a prosecutor who is a suspect in a criminal investigation
SB 881 by Whitmire relating to a surety’s liability for a defendant who dies or is deported
SJR 9 by West allowing a pardon for successful completion of a deferred adjudication

Wednesday, March 16

Senate Transportation & Homeland Security (8:00 a.m., E1.016)

SB 119 by Uresti prohibiting certain uses of wireless devices while driving
SB 138 by Wentworth relating to certain uses of wireless devices while driving
SB 182 by Wentworth making reckless driving w/ SBI a Class B misdemeanor
SB 934 by Williams relating to the enforcement of tax laws.

House Corrections (2:00 p.m. or upon adjournment, E2.014)

HB 1940 by Perry waiving a preliminary hearing for certain parolees alleged to have violated a condition of release
HB 2124 by Workman relating to victim notification regarding the release of a defendant who was acquitted by reason of insanity in a criminal case

House Homeland Security & Public Safety (2:00 p.m. or upon adjournment, E1.010)

HB 86 by Simpson authorizing concealed handguns on certain college campuses
HB 750 by Driver authorizing concealed handguns on certain college campuses
HB 698 by Huberty authorizing concealed handguns at certain school board meetings
HB 1167 by V. Taylor authorizing concealed handguns on certain college campuses
HB 1356 by Gooden authorizing concealed handguns on certain college campuses

Bill filings

We’ve added over 300 new bills to our tracking system since last week’s update.  That is way too much information for most of you to process, so here is the briefest of summaries listing only a few of the new bills filed since then (current through Wednesday):

HB 3 by Thompson imposing life without parole for certain sex offenders

HB 274 by Creighton creating “loser pays” procedures in civil actions

HB 2189 by Elkins regulating the practice of handfishing, aka “noodling”

HB 2196 by E. Rodriguez (and SB 1024 by J. Rodriguez) on theft of service

HB 2200 by Miles mandating severance of defendants’ trials in death penalty cases

HB 2285 by Nash authorizing reimbursement for blood draws, etc., from probationers

HB 2318 by Kolkhorst authorizing expunction of probations

HB 2337 by Gallego relating to the admissibility of certain juvenile statements

HB 2361 by Truitt overruling AG Op. GA-0846 (limiting use of laser speed guns)

HB 2374 by Gallego relating to the detention of juveniles by certain officers

HB 2425 by Thompson mandating OAG notice of constitutional challenges to state statutes

HB 2465 by Larson authorizing commissioners to offset the budgets of county officers

HB 2506 by Chisum creating a defined contribution retirement plan for certain elected DAs

HB 2511 by Dutton eliminating the death penalty for those convicted as a party

HB 2612 by Aliseda mandating OAG notice regarding election fraud cases

HB 2629 by Branch (and SB 1269 by Wentworth) relating to honorariums

HB 2649 by Allen authorizing earned time credits for certain state jail felons

HB 2650 by Allen establishing progressive sanctions for probation violators

HB 2685 by Lucio III mandating the enforcement of certain DWI-related laws

HB 2735 by Madden (and SB 1530 by Hinojosa) authorizing certain parole violators to be    released on bond pending their revocation hearing

HB 2822 by Coleman making certain window-peeping a state jail felony

HB 2845 by Madden regulating jail time assessed for a violation of probation

HB 2847 by Madden authorizing video teleconferencing technology in certain proceedings

HB 2887 by Fletcher relating to DPS seizures and forfeitures

HB 3000 by Thompson (and SB 1436 by Van de Putte) creating the offense of Continuous     Human Trafficking

HB 3031 by McClendon authorizing shock deferred adjudication

HB 3034 by McClendon authorizing certain magistrates to issue certain search warrants

HB 3046 by Lucio III relating to oversight of evidence retention by local prosecutors

HB 3050 by Lucio III relating to prosecutors’ oversight of law enforcement seizures

HB 3121 by Thompson giving parties in a criminal case a veto over certain visiting judges

HB 3181 by Johnson authorizing more expunctions

HB 3214 by Aliseda requiring notice to OAG of certain election investigations

SB 1158 by West authorizing non-disclosure of certain straight probations