relating to official misconduct by and removal of prosecuting
attorneys.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 87.011, Local Government Code, is
amended by amending Subdivision (3) and adding Subdivisions (4) and
(5) to read as follows:
(3) "Official misconduct" means intentional, unlawful
behavior relating to official duties by an officer entrusted with
the administration of justice or the execution of the law. The term
includes:
(A) an intentional or corrupt failure, refusal,
or neglect of an officer to perform a duty imposed on the officer by
law;
(B)a prosecuting attorney's adoption or
enforcement of a policy of refusing to prosecute a class or type of
criminal offense under state law or instructing law enforcement to
refuse to arrest individuals suspected of committing a class or
type of offense under state law, except a policy adopted:
(i)in compliance with state law or an
injunction, judgment, or other court order;
(ii)in response to a reasonable
evidentiary impediment to prosecution; or
(iii)to provide for diversion or similar
conditional dismissals of cases when permissible under state law;
or
(C)permitting an attorney who is employed by or
otherwise under the direction or control of the prosecuting
attorney to refuse to prosecute a class or type of criminal offense
under state law or instruct law enforcement to refuse to arrest
individuals suspected of committing a class or type of offense
under state law for any reason other than a reason described by
Paragraph (B)(i), (ii), or (iii).
(4)"Policy"means an instruction or directive
expressed in any manner.
(5)"Prosecuting attorney"means a district attorney
or a county attorney with criminal jurisdiction.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 87, Local Government Code,
is amended by adding Section 87.0131 to read as follows:
Sec.87.0131.DEFENSE IN CERTAIN CASES. It is a defense in
an action alleging a prosecuting attorney committed official
misconduct described by Section 87.011(3)(C) that the prosecuting
attorney took action immediately on discovering an attorney
employed by or otherwise under the direction or control of the
prosecuting attorney was acting as described by Section
87.011(3)(C).
SECTION 3. Section 87.015, Local Government Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection
(b-1) to read as follows:
(b) A petition for removal of an officer other than a
prosecuting attorney may be filed by any [Any] resident of this
state who has lived for at least six months in the county in which
the petition is to be filed and who is not currently under
indictment in the county [may file the petition]. At least one of
the parties who files the petition must swear to it at or before the
filing.
(b-1)A petition for removal of a prosecuting attorney may
be filed by any resident of this state who, at the time of the
alleged cause of removal, lives and has lived for at least six
months in the county in which the alleged cause of removal occurred
and who is not currently charged with a criminal offense in that
county. At least one of the parties who files the petition must
swear to it at or before the filing.
(c) A [The] petition for removal of an officer other than a
prosecuting attorney must be addressed to the district judge of the
court in which it is filed. A petition for removal of a prosecuting
attorney must be addressed to the presiding judge of the
administrative judicial region in which the petition is filed. The
petition must set forth the grounds alleged for the removal of the
officer in plain and intelligible language and must cite the time
and place of the occurrence of each act alleged as a ground for
removal with as much certainty as the nature of the case permits.
SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 87, Local Government Code,
is amended by adding Section 87.0151 to read as follows:
Statutes affected: Introduced: () House Committee Report: Local Government Code 87.011, Local Government Code 87.015, Local Government Code 87.018 (Local Government Code 87) Engrossed: Local Government Code 87.011, Local Government Code 87.015, Local Government Code 87.018 (Local Government Code 87) Senate Committee Report: (Local Government Code 87) Enrolled: Local Government Code 87.011, Local Government Code 87.015, Local Government Code 87.018 (Local Government Code 87)