TITLE: Relating to providing certain information to criminal defendants charged with certain drug offenses before a plea is entered.

SUMMARY: Relating to providing certain information to criminal defendants charged with certain drug offenses before a plea is entered.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to providing certain information to criminal defendants charged with certain drug offenses before a plea is entered. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Article 26.13, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Subsections (j) and (k) to read as follows: (j) Before accepting a plea of guilty or nolo contendere with reference to an offense under Chapter 481, 483, or 485, Health and Safety Code, for which the indictment is based on the results of a field test indicating the presence of a prohibited substance, the court shall inform the defendant that the prohibited substance was identified on the basis of a field test conducted by law enforcement and not on the basis of a forensic analysis conducted by an accredited crime laboratory. (k) The court must substantially comply with Subsection (j). The failure of the court to comply with Subsection (j) is not a ground for reversal unless the defendant shows that the defendant was harmed by the failure of the court to provide the information. SECTION 2. Articles 26.13(j) and (k), Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act, apply to a plea of guilty or nolo contendere entered on or after the effective date of this Act, regardless of whether the offense with reference to which the plea is entered is committed before, on, or after that date. SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.