SENATE
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
COMMITTEE:
Criminal Justice
TIME & DATE:
10:00 AM, Tuesday, September 07, 2010
PLACE:
E1.016 (Hearing Room)
CHAIR:
Senator John Whitmire
The Senate Committee on Criminal Justice will meet to hear invited and
public testimony on the following interim charges:
Interim Charge 4
Study and make recommendations related to municipal jails and other
detention facilities that operate without state agency oversight. Identify
the number of such facilities and the population detained, as well as
best practices for municipal jails. Make recommendations to improve
services and consider options for oversight of facilities by the Texas
Commission on Jail Standards.
Interim Charge 6
Study and make recommendations to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of
testing done in Texas forensic laboratories, including DNA and
blood/alcohol testing. Assess and make recommendations for improving the
capacity of Texas criminal laboratories to process evidence, identify ways
to reduce the backlog of DNA evidence processing, identify ways to
encourage qualified applicants for crime lab jobs, ensure adequate
training for new crime lab technicians, ensure the availability of
efficient crime lab processing to all regions of the state, and determine
the impact of additional collection requirements on the capacity of Texas
crime labs to process evidence. Consider the costs and benefits of
creating a statewide crime lab.