Senator Judith Zaffirini told the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice that Senate Bill 1848 would add managed assigned counsel programs (MACs) to the narrowly tailored list of people who may access confidential juvenile case information under current law.

The bill, Zaffirini said, is a companion to House Bill 4885 and would allow MAC programs that appoint counsel for indigent juvenile defendants to receive sensitive but relevant juvenile records necessary to ensure appointed attorneys can represent young clients effectively.

“We want to ensure juvenile defendants with indigent parents have their rights to counsel met,” Zaffirini said, explaining the bill’s narrow purpose.

Scott Ehlers, executive director of the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, told the committee the measure went through the commission’s legislative work group and was supported by the TIDC board. He said Bexar County asked for the change because it is the first county seeking to oversee juvenile cases through a MAC program.

There was no invited testimony and no public speakers who asked to speak beyond Ehlers. After public testimony closed, the chair said the committee would leave the bill pending and move to the bill’s House companion when appropriate.

The committee did not take a final vote on SB 1848 at the hearing; the measure was left pending for further action.