S.B. No. 825

	AN ACT
	relating to disciplinary standards and procedures applicable to
	grievances alleging certain prosecutorial misconduct.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 81.072, Government Code, is amended by
	amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) to
	read as follows:
	(b)  The supreme court shall establish minimum standards and
	procedures for the attorney disciplinary and disability system.
	The standards and procedures for processing grievances against
	attorneys must provide for:
	(1)  classification of all grievances and
	investigation of all complaints;
	(2)  a full explanation to each complainant on
	dismissal of an inquiry or a complaint;
	(3)  periodic preparation of abstracts of inquiries and
	complaints filed that, even if true, do or do not constitute
	misconduct;
	(4)  an information file for each grievance filed;
	(5)  a grievance tracking system to monitor processing
	of grievances by category, method of resolution, and length of time
	required for resolution;
	(6)  notice by the state bar to the parties of a written
	grievance filed with the state bar that the state bar has the
	authority to resolve of the status of the grievance, at least
	quarterly and until final disposition, unless the notice would
	jeopardize an undercover investigation;
	(7)  an option for a trial in a district court on a
	complaint and an administrative system for attorney disciplinary
	and disability findings in lieu of trials in district court,
	including an appeal procedure to the Board of Disciplinary Appeals
	and the supreme court under the substantial evidence rule;
	(8)  an administrative system for reciprocal and
	compulsory discipline;
	(9)  interim suspension of an attorney posing a threat
	of immediate irreparable harm to a client;
	(10)  authorizing all parties to an attorney
	disciplinary hearing, including the complainant, to be present at
	all hearings at which testimony is taken and requiring notice of
	those hearings to be given to the complainant not later than the
	seventh day before the date of the hearing;
	(11)  the commission adopting rules that govern the use
	of private reprimands by grievance committees and that prohibit a
	committee:
	(A)  giving an attorney more than one private
	reprimand within a five-year period for a violation of the same
	disciplinary rule; or
	(B)  giving a private reprimand for a violation:
	(i)  that involves a failure to return an
	unearned fee, a theft, or a misapplication of fiduciary property;
	or
	(ii)  of a disciplinary rule that requires a
	prosecutor to disclose to the defense all evidence or information
	known to the prosecutor that tends to negate the guilt of the
	accused or mitigates the offense, including Rule 3.09(d), Texas
	Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct; and
	(12)  distribution of a voluntary survey to all
	complainants urging views on grievance system experiences.
	(b-1)  In establishing minimum standards and procedures for
	the attorney disciplinary and disability system under Subsection
	(b), the supreme court must ensure that the statute of limitations
	applicable to a grievance filed against a prosecutor that alleges a
	violation of the disclosure rule does not begin to run until the
	date on which a wrongfully imprisoned person is released from a
	penal institution.
	(b-2)  For purposes of Subsection (b-1):
	(1)  "Disclosure rule" means the disciplinary rule that
	requires a prosecutor to disclose to the defense all evidence or
	information known to the prosecutor that tends to negate the guilt
	of the accused or mitigates the offense, including Rule 3.09(d),
	Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.
	(2)  "Penal institution" has the meaning assigned by
	Article 62.001, Code of Criminal Procedure.
	(3)  "Wrongfully imprisoned person" has the meaning
	assigned by Section 501.101.
	SECTION 2.  As soon as practicable after the effective date
	of this Act but not later than December 1, 2013, the Texas Supreme
	Court shall amend the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure to
	conform with Section 81.072, Government Code, as amended by this
	Act.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 825 passed the Senate on
	March 26, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 825 passed the House on
	May 14, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 147, Nays 0, one
	present not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	Approved:
	______________________________
	Date
	______________________________
	Governor