HB 578 — Procedures for initial

90R4133 JSC-D By: Moody H.B. No. 578 relating to procedures for initial and subsequent applications for writs of habeas corpus in death penalty cases.

SECTION 1. Section 4(b), Article 11.071, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows: (b) The convicting court, before the filing date that is applicable to the applicant under Subsection (a), may for good cause shown and after notice and an opportunity to be heard by the attorney representing the state grant an initial [ one ] 90-day extension that begins on the filing date applicable to the defendant under Subsection (a). The court may for good cause shown and after notice and an opportunity to be heard by the attorney representing the state grant a subsequent 90-day extension, provided that each subsequent extension is requested before the preceding extension expires. Either party may request that the court hold a hearing on a [ the ] request for an initial or subsequent extension . If the convicting court finds that the applicant cannot establish good cause justifying the requested extension, the court shall make a finding stating that fact and deny the request for the extension.

SECTION 2. Section 5(a), Article 11.071, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows: (a) If a subsequent application for a writ of habeas corpus is filed after final disposition of [ filing ] an initial application or if an application for a writ of habeas corpus is considered to be a subsequent application under Subsection (f) , a court may not consider the merits of or grant relief based on the subsequent application unless the application contains sufficient specific facts establishing that: (1) the current claims and issues have not been and could not have been presented previously in a timely initial application or in a previously considered application filed under this article or Article 11.07 because the factual or legal basis for the claim was unavailable on the date the applicant filed the previous application; (2) by a preponderance of the evidence, but for a violation of the United States Constitution no rational juror could have found the applicant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; or (3) by clear and convincing evidence, but for a violation of the United States Constitution no rational juror would have answered in the state's favor one or more of the special issues that were submitted to the jury in the applicant's trial under Article 37.071, 37.0711, or 37.072.

SECTION 3. Section 4(b), Article 11.071, Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act, applies only to an application for a writ of habeas corpus for which filing is not untimely under Section 4(a), Article 11.071, Code of Criminal Procedure, or, if applicable, Section 4(b) of that article, as amended by this Act, on or after the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 4. Section 5(a), Article 11.071, Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act, applies only to an application for a writ of habeas corpus filed on or after the effective date of this Act. An application filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the application was filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2027.